Do you buy Valentine's gifts? We don't tend to do much here in our household. There might be some flowers, perhaps a box of chocolates, and a special homemade brunch or out for a nice dinner. Nothing too fancy, but just enough to say "I love you". Note: affiliate links have been used for shopping convenience

2. Create a Valentine's Day Dessert Board

Are you looking forward to Valentine's Day? Chocolate, flowers, time with your loved ones, what's not to like. Plus, Valentine's Day reminds me that spring is not far behind and we've almost made it through the long, cold winter. Cheers to that!

I love making Valentine's Day special for Chloe. Over the years, I've created her a Valentine's Day coupon book, thrown a tea party, and created a Valentine's advent calendar for her. Holidays take on a whole new meaning when there's kids around.

Last year's Valentine's themed mantel with advent calendar

If you're looking for a Valentine's idea for kids, you can't go wrong with an advent or countdown calendar... why just celebrate the day of when you can celebrate all month long?



Aren't these little house boxes the cutest?? I grabbed them at Ikea at the after Christmas 2017 sales  (sorry, you won't find them in stores!) and promptly misplaced them. I just found them again during my recent purge and reorganization and knew they'd be cute to use for Valentine's Day. Just like I do with our Christmas Advent calendar, I've filled each box with a Valentines themed activity and a few contain a chocolate as well ;)



It's a fun treat we look forward to unveiling every morning and the activities are a way to encourage us to spend time together. Care to see what we're up to this year? Shhh, don't tell Chloe!




Don't they look cute, all lined up? I have such a love for miniature houses of all kinds!



The kit also came with date stickers which I've put on the back.



I've created a very simple display, with some faux flowers and the red leather bound books we inherited from Sean's mom.

Are you ready for Valentine's Day? If you no idea what to do to celebrate your loved ones, fear not because today I'm joining 30 other bloggers for a Valentines Day Blog Hop hosted by Jo-Anna at A Pretty Life. There's lots of crafts, recipes, and decor ideas so stay tuned for the links below.

In the past, we've celebrated Valentine's Day in many ways, with a tea party, Valentine's crafts, and even a mini Valentine's pink Christmas tree. Last year, I made a countdown to the holiday for Chloe using our Advent calendar. I enjoy finding creative ways to celebrate the holiday with Valentines activities for kids and adults to enjoy together.

This year, I wanted to do a countdown again but put more of a focus on showing our love for others so I came up with this Valentine's Day Kindness Countdown Calendar.


First I listed out 14 days of activities. These were simple activities Chloe could complete throughout the day - offer to help the teacher, tell a joke to a friend, hold the door for someone - and many others which would not only bring a smile to the face of the recipient, but make Chloe feel good about showing kindness to others. I put the notes in mini-envelopes I made out of craft paper (aside: did you know Dollarama carries Martha Stewart Crafts products? Score!)

I'll put one envelope a day (and maybe a treat!) into her mini mailbox for opening. On Valentine's Day, I'm also giving her this set of coupons. Chloe loves getting gift cards so I think she'll get a kick out of saving up these coupons for just the right moment.



Who doesn't love snail mail? Sean saw the coupon book as I was making it and asked why he wasn't getting one? Well, problem solved, guess I know what to give him for Valentine's Day ;) In case you want to make a countdown calendar for yourself, I've included some printables below!

With Valentine's Day just a week away, you'll want to get shopping for your loved one if you haven't already. I bought Sean the most unromantic gift last year because I knew he would love it and it proved to be his favourite gift ever. Just goes to show that taking into account the recipient's personal taste is one way to make sure your gift is a hit. And there's no taste I'm more familiar with than that of the design blogger. These items would look great in a room or styled for an instagram post. I guess you could consider this my personal Valentine's wish list.

Valentines Mantle Decor Ideas

As far as holidays go, we celebrate Valentine's Day fairly simply. We'll go out for a nice meal, exchange cards and give little gifts and chocolate (always chocolate). I'm not a big fan of red and pink (though my pastel-hued living room, inherited from the previous owner, might make you think otherwise) so shades of crimson don't usually find their way into my decor.

But I did want to give the mantel a Valentine's Day twist and create a display that was softly sweet and fitting for this time of year. I was happy to put away the Christmas decor but I'm still craving a cozy look.

Use What You Have

Valentines mantel decor doesn't have to be all pink hearts and cupid's arrows. I wanted my holiday decor to be subtle and less obvious and budget friendly, so I gathered items from around the house to create a look that is romantic and imperfect.

The soft hues of the Minted art set the tone. Creamy white candles, a white berry garland, and ceramics mixed with pinks in tones of pale blush to bright fuchsia. The leaves in the unpolished urn are from winter arrangements and are dry to the touch, yet they have a beautiful sculptural quality and their aubergine stalks give a hint of red so I'll keep using them until they crumble apart.

Valentine's Day Countdown

I've used our Christmas Advent bags to create a Valentine's Day countdown for my daughter Chloe. With our move mid-December, Chloe wasn't able to enjoy our Advent tradition as we normally do, so this is a fun way to make up for that. Starting on February 1st, she gets to open one bag a day. I've put a heart-shaped note in each, outlining a reason I love her, along with a few small tokens of affection.

Touches of Pink

One simple Valentines mantel idea? Add pink! Pink rain boots and pink beads in a lidded bowl are simple ways to add rosy colour. I find that I'm much more relaxed with my decorating in this house. There's no pressure to "get it right" the first time. I know that these rooms will evolve over time and I can just enjoy how they are today.


The rest of the living room is far from done. The furniture that worked in our old house doesn't quite work in this larger space, and I'm fine with that. We have grand plans for this room (as with all of our rooms). Built-in bookshelves, moulding, a new sofa and other furniture... it'll all come in time. For now, I'm moved furniture around and played with 3802 different layouts for this room.


We had brought the armchair from the cottage to help fill up this end of the room. The tufted bench used to be in our old dining room. The room still feels like a mish-mash of furniture but there's bound to be settling pains as you get comfortable in a new home.

It's Valentine's Day this Saturday. Do you have any plans? I hope it make it back to Cluny Bistro. A beautiful setting, yummy brunch - that to me says I love you.

I've haven't done much for Valentine's this year. Chloe took care of the cards for her classmates and Giftagram took care of chocolates for Sean.


Have you heard of Giftagram? Basically it's an app where you can order gifts right from your phone. I decided to try it out (I'm so susceptible to trendy ideas sometimes!) and it was pretty quick and easy.  I wrapped the box with a VELCRO Brand heart-shaped One Wrap Tie that a PR contact had sent me (cute, right?) and I'll tuck in a hand-calligraphed love note. Simple.

But in case you're looking for a last-minute gift to show someone you care, here's a fun little tutorial on how to make paper flowers out of cupcake liners. Chloe and I actually filmed this video last year to enter into a contest and I never shared the video here. I might be biased but Chloe is pretty darn cute and steals the show (maybe she'll distract you from the poor production value - why didn't I turn the phone camera the other way?!)  I'd love to do more of these videos as we do love to craft together. Think of this as the first episode of Chloe's Craft Corner :)

Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday this year which leaves ample opportunity to celebrate with your loved ones. Why not start the day with a brunch at home? Brunch is relaxed and casual and the only question is do you go sweet or savoury? (I can never choose!). Weekend breakfasts are always fun, but adding a few rosy-hued decor items and gifts makes it extra special. I'm not a fan of investing in overtly themed decor so each of these pieces would look right at home throughout the year.


1. Changing out your art is an easy way to make your home feel festive. I love the pale pink and peach hues of this piece. Bedroom, nursery, dressing room... it would work well in so many places.
2. These gingham table napkins add a touch of colour to your brunch table. After Valentine's Day, throw them in the picnic basket for summertime celebrations.
3. Rise and shine lovebirds. How cute is this mug?
4. This sweet love letter tray is officially on my wish list. I'd keep it on my bedside table to hold the earrings I always forget to take off until I'm lying in bed.
5. I love love love enamelware. This red and white dinnerware set is classic, simple, and durable.
6. I use ramekins all the time. You could start brunch with these heart-shaped ramekins filled with baked eggs, bacon, and spinach or end the meal with decadent molten chocolate cakes.
7. It's a rule. When it's Valentine's Day, you need to display at least one paper heart somewhere. This hand-sewn garland of white, red, and gold hearts is a sophisticated take on the decorating staple.
8. If I had a sit-down area in my kitchen, you can bet I would be putting this bistro bench in it. Perfect  seating for two!
9. This delicate arrow wrap ring would make a sweet gift. Let's hope my husband is reading ;)

Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day? I don't make too much of a fuss over it, though eating of chocolate that day is mandatory!

I've never been a big fan of Valentine's day. Maybe it's due to too many bad Valentine's day dates or  the heavy commercialization of the day or even the fact that I'm not fond of the colour red. Leave it to my daughter though, to help me fall in love again with this day of hearts.

Last week, Chloe and I hosted a Valentines Day themed tea party with her closest girlfriends. She has been dreaming of this day for weeks and a party filled with crafts, sugary treats and pretty things sounded like just what we needed to lift our spirits during this long and cold winter.


Decorations were kept simple but cute. A paper garland, updated chalkboard, and real and faux florals dressed up this corner of the living room. Then I walked around the house and gathered up books and accessories we had in red, pink, and white. Quick and easy!


I always like to have a few activities planned for Chloe's parties. For this party, the girls decorated sugar cookies which Chloe helped me bake and then we made paper flowers. We kept the mess contained by doing the crafting down in the basement and moving to the dining room for afternoon treats.



And the treats were so good! We enjoyed chocolate cupcakes with yummy icing, store-bought cranberry scones and raspberry thumbprint cookies, fruit, and chicken salad and tuna sandwiches. I also made this Paleo quiche which was surprisingly delish. The girls loved the raspberry lemonade served from the fancy silver teapot.

I think this party changed my attitude towards Valentine's Day. It isn't just a day celebrated over romantic candlelit dinners; it can be marked with sticky fingers and sugar highs and sharing giggles with sweet little girls. I'm already looking forward to next year's party!