12 days of Valentine's Day

Have you heard about the 12 Days of Valentine's Day? My version started years ago when I was in full Valentine's swing around our house (pink placemats, heart shaped brownies, mailing cards, pink sprinkles everywhere and he suddenly said, "What is this, the 12 Days of Valentine's Day?" And a celebration was born. 

You see, I am a firm believer in sharing love and happiness through easy and accessible gestures. Valentine's Day is the perfect time to acknowledge all of the love in your life. I also think we can agree that there is just not enough time to fit all that Valentine's Fun into one day. You can't possibly make heart-shaped pancakes, visit the school party, have a romantic dinner with a partner, celebrate with your galantines, practice some selfcare by treating yourself to a new scarf or face mask, bring heart donuts into work etc. etc. There is a lot of fun to be had and we can spread a lot of unexpected joy if you do it in the name of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day. 

You can do anything on any day. And if someone notices your bright pink sweater, say "Thanks, it's Day 2 of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day." Or when you bring your daughter an orchid on a Wednesday, answer her surprise with "It's Day 8 of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day." She'll love it. Mail some letters. Bake some cupcakes to give away. Whatever makes you happy and fits into your schedule, that should be the plan. I promise it will brighten your month. Let me know what you do and how it is received, ok? 

P.S. On Day 1, I bought a variety of 6 beautiful donuts (some Valentine theme) and a latte at our local Krispy Kreme to bring home. I then pulled into the Home Depot parking lot next door and proceeded to eat 2 of the donuts in my car while I sipped the latte. That somehow qualifies as self-care, right?

#12daysofvalentinesday #selfcare #valentinesday #beautyofeverydaylife #seattleblogger

12 Days of Valentine's Day: Celebrate the Joy of Loving So Many People in Your Life

Today is the first day of The 12 Days of Valentine’s Day! It’s a time when you do little things to show love for family, friends and yourself. Wear something red, set the table with pink place mats, put sprinkles on your kids' pancakes. Everything “counts” when you are celebrating the fact that you love a lot of people.

When someone notices, tell them about the 12 Days of Valentine’s Day and encourage them to find their own way of expressing love over the next 12 days. It's so fun. Today I am going to find something festive to hang in my front door. Tomorrow I will be mailing Valentines to a few old friends. 

This is how I celebrate the beauty of every day life. Join me? I'd love to hear how you are celebrating.

*How did this come to be? In February 2008, I had all of my heart-shaped cake pans out on the kitchen counter. I had pink carnations in a vase in the kitchen and was plotting all kinds of baking fun for the week. When I brought up which night we should order heart-shaped pizza (because they only make it for the 3 days leading up to Valentines Day) Dan blurted out, "What is this, the 12 Days of Valentine's Day?" and I stopped in my tracks. What an awesome name for what I had always done: the joy of celebrating Valentines Day for 2 weeks. It's impossible to get all of the heart-shaped food and decorations into one day, so why not spread it out over 12 days and share the fun with everyone you love.

#12daysofvalentinesday #beautyofeverydaylife #finddelight #givetoothers #sharethelove #itssofun #winwin #makeyourhearthappy

12 Days of Valentine's Day starts today!

I think you should have fun for 12 days straight. I know, we don't always look at things that way, but that is the beauty of celebrating the "12 Days of Valentine's Day". You decide what fun little thing you want to do each day in honor of Valentine's Day and the people that you love in your life.

Celebrating the 12 Days of Valentine's Day helps make lovely gestures a habit. It's a time when you do little things to show love for family, friends and yourself. Wear a pink sweater one day, put red food coloring in your cake batter, set the table with red place mats - everything counts when you are celebrating the fact that you love a lot of people.

There is no set schedule. There isn't a "number" relationship between the days (meaning you don't have to sneak 10 Hershey kisses into a loved one's pocket just because it is Day 10).  Nope, you just do what feels right and fits into your schedule on any particular day leading up to Valentine's Day.  

When someone compliments your pink scarf, just smile and say that its in honor of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  If your neighbor questions your sudden gift of 6 muffins, tell her it's The 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  Have fun with it. And let me know how your coworkers and friends respond.

My suggestion for today is order a rose bush for your garden. You will never regret the day-after-day beauty you will enjoy this summer.

#12daysofvalentinesday #valentinesday #celebratelove #beautyofeverydaylife #momentsofdelight #finddelight #valentine #bemyvalentine #bemine