Celebrate Green Blog

by Lynn

On Valentine’s Day, our love can be shown in so many ways other than buying, buying, buying. Or even (in my case), making, making making.

I recently read this: “My mother’s friend told her husband over 50 years ago not to waste on buying her a Valentine. So he gives her the same one every year with a new date.”

What I love about this idea is not only that it saves money and embodies the green ethic of avoiding purchasing new, but there is something just so sweet about it. Imagine receiving the same Valentine for 50 or 60 years! Now that’s “putting the meaning in the greening” as we like to say.

The other day I talked about making a special Valentine’s breakfast, but why stop in the morning? Why not provide that special Valentine’s touch all day long?

At lunch:

• sandwiches cut in the shape of hearts
• apples with hearts carved into them
• homemade heart shaped potato chips
• Beautiful Sweets gorgeous Valentine’s cookies

For dinner:

• Beet soup with floating heart shaped croutons
• Salad with beets cut into heart shapes
• A heart-shaped souffle for main dish or dessert
• One perfect organic, shade grown, fair trade chocolate

The idea idea is to think hearts all day long, so how about hiding messages of love around the house for your love to discover?

Or do something sweet in his name like volunteering for an organization he supports.

Attach (an admittedly hokey) but fun card, to ordinary items:

• On a shoe: I love you heart and sole (purposefully misspelled)
• On a recipe card: A recipe for love
• On a pancake turner: My heart flips for you
• On an LED light bulb: You light up my life

Give a Valentine’s twist to games:

• Pin the heart on me (played with tape on the hearts, not pins!)
• Hide and seek hearts-hide hearts around the house and see who can find the most in two or three minutes. The winner gets the same number of kisses as the hearts found.
• Heart word games like “How many words can you make from the letters in ‘I will love you for all the days of my life.’”

Do you have other ways to make Valentine’s Day one that shows your love for those you love including Mother Earth?

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and authors of  Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®.

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