Before having kids, I didn't put up too many knickknacks for Valentine's Day, and even now I just put touches here and there in the main area of the house. I highly recommend Dollarama for family-friendly seasonal décor, as well as Pinterest for tons of great DIY ideas. Here's what you can find in my open-concept main floor area this year:
I love wreaths, especially on the mudroom door in my very neutral-toned kitchen. From Thanksgiving to Easter, there's a pop of color in that prominent spot (if not dollar store, this one may have been from Zellers).
How can you go wrong with little dollar store hearts hanging in random places?
This was one of my first Pinterest-inspired projects (I blogged about it here) - my XO frames, on the half-wall right inside the front door.
I've gone a bit crazy using old photos to decorate for each holiday. These ones show Frannie and Maggie, each on their first Valentine's Day, in front of their traditional gifts from Daddy - a single rose for each of his girls.
Again, a Dollarama find:
This one's a new addition as of yesterday. I saw something similar on Pinterest, only it was larger and the candy hearts formed a big heart. My visual spatial skills aren't that good - I couldn't get the heart to look the shape I wanted it. Plus, I have this thing about rows and symmetry, though I tried not to be too careful with this piece. (Frannie: "Wow...you sure are into using frames for decorations, mom!")
Holiday window-clings are a must at our house. I will admit (to no one's surprise) that when the girls were really young I kind of micromanaged this task. And by micromanaged, I mean that I would let them do it, and then fix it all when they were done. Now, even five year old Maggie is able to space the hearts and Cupids in a visually pleasing way.
I've written before about my organizational strategy of holiday-themed bins, which include seasonal books. The girls are currently enjoying these stories, just pulled out of storage and unseen since last Valentine's Day. Any books that they've outgrown are passed along to a coworker with younger children.
A small bit of storage for the Valentine's Day greetings that will be arriving chez Winn (yep, it's from Dollarama).
Since I spend so much time in the kitchen (sorry if I just made your drink come out your nose), it's a great place to add a festive touch. These are new from Target this year as well. (I also have my eye on another cute wreath there, but need to decide if it's hardy enough to hold up on the front door or not. With open concept, there's not a lot of place for hanging.)
Hope you enjoyed that quick little holiday tour. As you can clearly see, I don't spend a lot for these sorts of items, and they're more for the kids than for adult enjoyment, but I do love to have some seasonal touches around the house.
For more Valentine's Day ideas (including some classroom crafts), check out my Valentine's Day Pinterest Board.
Speaking of holidays, I guess I should get to opening all of my blogiversary cards and gifts now. The traditional fourth anniversary gift is flowers, so the vases are ready...