Set one foot inside your nearest convenience store and it’s clear from the pink and red explosion of heart shaped merchandise that Valentine’s Day is fast upon us. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m hardly one to despise the deemed “Hallmark Holiday”. I actually find Valentine’s Day’s warm fuzzy intentions a welcomed reprieve from winter’s doom and gloom. However, I’ll admit the commercialized push to purchase candy, flowers and mass printed love letters as a means to show someone you care about them is a little far-fetched. In my book, an act of love is much more sound when it’s from the heart and not just granted because an expectation associated with a date on the calendar.
This Valentine’s Day, why not instead resolve to show your love for those you care about year round (and with action instead of objects)? To get you started on your loving way, check out our list of fifteen easy and free ways to show those you love that you care!
15 Easy & Free Ways to Show a Loved One You Care Any Day of the Year:
- Create a funny or sweet handmade card for no particular occasion. Place it somewhere they wouldn’t expect to find, like on the bathroom counter by your child’s toothbrush or tucked away inside your significant other’s gym bag.
- Next time your significant other is in the shower or bath after a hard day, throw their towel in the dryer so it’s nice and toasty when they get out. Just be sure you remember to get it back to them before they reach for it and find an empty hook instead!
- Give someone you love a good book you’ve already read, with a heartfelt message to them on the inside.
- Ask someone you care about how they’re doing… really? If they open up to you, be a good listener and only respond to what they’re telling you.
- Call up your Mom or Dad or someone who has offered you advice through the years that you might have brushed off at the time. Tell them they were “so right” about whatever it was and explain to them how their insight impacted your life.
- Value your relationship over your ego and learn how to pick your battles. Recognize when a disagreement over something trivial is getting overly heated and decide when to let your loved one be “right” or keep your own contradicting opinion to yourself.
- Happily offer a free afternoon or evening of babysitting to a friend or sibling, without the expectation of the same favor in return. Enjoy spending time with their children and know you’ve gifted your loved one time for themselves that they likely wouldn’t have had otherwise.
- “Accidentally” make too much for dinner and deliver the leftovers to a loved one you know might not have the time, energy or resources to be cooking tonight.
- Learn to forgive without having to hear the words “I’m sorry”.
- Take a moment to compliment a loved one on something that may typically go unnoticed, like your significant other’s work ethic or their concern for others.
- Leave work stress at work. This one isn’t easy, but chances are you spend most of your day at the office and have just a few hours at night to be with your family. Be present in the moments you have with those you love and drop any unrelated emotional baggage you have from the work day at the front door.
- Whether it be as grueling as a round of yard work or as tedious as folding the family’s laundry for the week, offer to help a loved one complete a dreaded task that is typically their responsibility.
- Make a simple sacrifice, like recording your weekly TV show, to spend time with someone you love.
- Craft a collection of “Open When…” letters for someone special. This is especially useful if you can’t be with your loved one all the time, like in the case of long distance relationships. Look to Pinterest for inspiration or check out blogger Hannah’s collection of free, printable envelope labels for your letters on her blog, We Lived Happily Ever After.
- Say “I love you” whenever you feel it. And more often than you think you should!
For even more great ideas, visit our Valentine’s Day 2015 Pinterest board.
Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!
