Valentine’s Day is an occasion that the entire family can share. Words and gifts of love are exchanged on this day and we want to remember them for years to come. When we have kids, those memories become more precious to us. Here are some ideas to make keepsake mementos of the love day each year.
Press it in a book. When kids are too small to make mommy a gift, daddy may bring home a bouquet of flowers and let them give it to mom. Those flowers can be kept by pressing the petals between the pages of a book. Pressed flowers can be sealed between two pieces of glass to make bookends or a paperweight. A tag can be placed in the glass with the flowers that gives the year the gift was given and by whom.
That first card that comes home from school is the sweetest of all. It was made for you with their own little hands. If you already scrapbook or have thought about it, it is a good way to preserve the memories each Valentine’s Day. Devote a different page in the scrapbook to the cards given to you by your child. Include pictures of them and you enjoying the day together. Add a paragraph or two about what made the day stick out in your mind.
During the early years in school, many kids bring home clay handprints from art class as a token of love for mom and dad. Save these handprints as keepsakes for Valentine’s Day. Even when they get too old to make them in school, purchase your own kit and make handprints at home. The kids can decorate them as they wish and you can put the date on the back.
Get the entire day on film. A video camera is a good investment with kids because they are always doing unexpected things. Valentine’s Day is no different. Capture the words they use to describe you when they give you that card. Remember the hug they gave you at three years old as they handed you a bouquet of paper roses. Those moments won’t come again. Start a video keepsake library of family moments that can be enjoyed by all generations.
Memories are important. They are what we carry with us long after an event is over. Start this year putting your Valentine’s Day memories into a keepsake you can enjoy for years and years to come.
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