Here at Finders Keepers, we just love Valentine’s Day, because, in the end, it is a day that celebrates love. And what’s not to love about love? And who says it’s a day only for the romantically attached? To heck with that! Here is all you need to know to make today fun and simple and fun and easy and fun and fun.
There are some things about Valentine’s Day that are pretty universal. We both remember, when we were young, getting those boxes of valentines for our classmates and making valentine mail boxes that sat on the corner of our desks. We remember that the valentine for the teacher was a little bigger and that some kids taped candy (like SweetTarts) to the back of the valentines. We remember going home and putting all our valentines in a pile on our beds and going through them one by one.
These are memories that are crystal clear in our heads and that we share with many people. Even today, our kids exchange those classroom valentines and make those mailboxes.
In Sarah’s family, however, Valentine’s Day was a little different. The Innerst Family gathered together in the days leading up to the holiday and created handmade valentines for each other. In this family of teachers, every family member created a poem for every other family member. Then, on Valentine’s Day morning, the table would be set and they’d all get up early and place the valentines they made for each person on the table. So, when Mom served the special breakfast (like heart-shaped pancakes!), everyone would dig in and read their poems while they ate.
Fast forward 40 years and Sarah has evolved this tradition into one that works for her family. In the week before Valentine’s Day, she takes out some paper (she has just a little bit of paper…..ahem….), some inks and stamps, maybe some stickers, a few markers, and so forth. People make their way to this papercrafting station and create their masterpieces.
The table is set for the Valentines’ dinner…..which is…..waffles! So, the Innerst-Petersons enjoy breakfast for dinner and read and enjoy the cards created especially for them by the people whom they love the most. (Sarah has friends from the south who have adapted this waffle tradition into chicken and waffles–so fun! So easy!)
Go ahead and create a simple card for someone you love and then create your own special meal. Keep it simple and fun and you will be set up for years of wonderful Valentine’s Days.
And, just for you, we have included Sarah’s recipe for spectacular valentines waffles. Enjoy!
Love,
