Lynn Colwell, co-author of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family shared the following ideas from her book regarding how to “green up” Valentine’s Day. (The book itself is packed with quick, easy, inexpensive and fun ideas!)
Options for free (or low-cost) and green love expressions are infinite. For example, you could write your love a heartfelt letter, take him on a moonlight hike, enjoy a tandem bike ride, or prepare a picnic at the site you first met each other or where you first fell in love. You could create a video-montage of fun times you’ve spent together, or collect some quotes and poems that remind you of all the reasons you fell in love and continue to care. Or how about writing a song, giving a full body massage, or taking digital pictures of yourself in various locations holding signs that say, “I love you!” Be silly, be creative, but most of all, be thoughtful, and your gifts will be treasured.
Here are a few more ideas:
-Cut a bunch of old photos into heart shapes, punch a hole in each, then thread them onto a piece of yarn. Hang the strand above the bed.
-Write her a book of love. Each page might have a single sentence telling her why she is wonderful. Decorate pages with hand drawn hearts. Doesn’t matter that you can’t draw. This is one of those situations in which the thought really does count.
-Make a book of coupons, each one good for a massage, bubble bath, or cleaning the house, clothing optional.
-Get some cookie cutters that spell out LOVE (Beau-Coup.com) and make some sugar cookies together.
-Have a candlelit dinner with two twists:
1. You cannot speak (laughter exempt).
2. You have to feed each other every bite.
-Offer an admittedly hokey, but sweetly romantic gift like:
1. Two pears with a sign that says: We’re a perfect pair
2. A recipe book with a card inscribed: A recipe for love
3. A pancake turner with a card that says: My heart flips for you
4. A light bulb (LED) with a sign that says: You light up my life
Kids can spread the love too. Instead of handing out store-bought cards that are not necessarily all that thoughtful or earth-friendly, encourage your children to make cards using recycled materials. (My daughter’s class did this over a year ago and the cards were so special that she still keeps them in her bedroom.) Origami, paper airplane, or “fortune” cards can be made from junk mail or magazines and are a fun twist on the conventional valentine. Or, here’s a sweet idea: banish paper cards altogether and instead give away edible cards by making healthy cookies or cup-cakes that say “Be Mine,” “I HEARTU,” and “Friends Forever.”
-Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net