Fun ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day as a family on a budget

February 2023

Valentine's Day is a good excuse to celebrate love. But if you're on a budget, it can also be a great time to spend with your family. Here are some ideas for how to have fun on Valentine's Day while not spending too much money:

Order pizza and have a picnic.

Pizza is a great family meal, easy to order online, and easy to pick up or has delivered. You can make a picnic at home or go out to the park. If you want to be lazy and stay in your backyard, pack snacks and drinks in containers, so they don’t spill.

DIY heart-shaped pizzas.

Making heart-shaped pizzas is easier than you think. The first step is to create a heart-shaped cutter. All you need to do (provided your family has access to a 3D printer) is find an image of a heart on Google, then resize it and print it out. If you don't have access to one of these printers, try using an old credit card or gift card with the same dimensions as the pizza's crust—it will work fine!

Once your cutter has been created, use it along with some cookie cutters in any number of ways:

Cut out small shapes from the center of each slice before serving
Use cookie cutters instead of rolling out dough when making homemade pizzas together as a family

Have a family cupcake decorating party.

If you’re looking for a fun way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your kids or grandkids, consider having a cupcake decorating party. Whether you do the decorations yourself or let your little ones help, it'll be a great way to spend time together.

Not only will this be fun and cost-effective (since you probably have all the ingredients on hand), but it's also a great way to use leftover icing from previous baking adventures. You could also pick up pre-made frosting in tubs at the store if you want something easy—or just make some fresh from scratch!

If you decide to do this activity with younger children in mind (and if they're old enough), encourage them to come up with ideas for how best to decorate their cupcakes before diving into it. This will give them more ownership over what they create and likely result in some pretty awesome designs!

Watch a romantic movie together.

Pick a movie that everyone likes and is appropriate for the age of your children. You can find free movies online, you can rent them at the library or borrow them from friends or family.
Make sure you set aside enough time to watch the whole thing together! This can be problematic if there are younger children in your family—they may fall asleep during some parts of the movie, so try watching it at night or early in the morning when they're likely to be awake and interested (and not causing trouble). If you have older kids who don't mind staying up late, this might work well for you, too—maybe even after pizza dinner?
It's always nice to have snacks on hand during these sorts of activities—here are some ideas: popcorn with melted butter and salt; nuts/seeds with trail mix; cheese sticks dipped in salsa (my personal favorite). Try making one of each kind so everyone can choose their own flavor preference! For drinks, I'd suggest water bottles filled beforehand rather than buying soda cans beforehand because those tend to get warm quickly due to lack of insulation around them."

Create your own waffles and pancakes.

If you’re going to make homemade waffles and pancakes, you need the right tools. For waffles: a waffle iron that heats evenly and non-stick spray. For pancakes: a big bowl for mixing batter and a rubber spatula for folding in the ingredients.

A good waffle recipe makes a big batch of fluffy, crispy breakfast treats. It also tastes great with any toppings you like—bananas or chocolate chips are always popular choices! We love this recipe from Food Network because it's easy to mix up on the stovetop and doesn't require any extra equipment like an egg beater or whisk (though you could use those if they're available).

For pancakes, follow these simple steps:

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl; combine wet in another bowl
Add liquid mixture slowly into dry mixture while constantly stirring until combined completely 3) Coat your skillet with butter or cooking spray 4) Use ¼ cup measurer to pour batter onto hot pan 5) Flip when bubbles appear around edges 6) Cook until browned on both sides 7) Serve hot with butter maple syrup or anything else that tickles your fancy.

Buy donuts and make them into conversation hearts.

Buy donuts.
Make them into conversation hearts (or whatever you want).
Find a fun way to display them in the kitchen or your house.

Make your own candy and take it to your neighbors.

If you want to make candy as a family, you can do it in various ways. Below, we’ll go over the basics of making some simple candies and give you ideas for taking them over to your neighbors.

Chocolate-covered pretzels: This is one of the easiest candies that kids can help with. You need some pretzels and chocolate chips (or meltable chocolate). Break up the chocolate into little pieces and let each kid dip their own pretzel in it until covered. If desired, add sprinkles or other toppings like nuts or seeds during the dipping process for extra fun! Once done, set it on a plate or wax paper until hardened. You could also use M&Ms instead of chocolate chips if you prefer—be sure not to melt too many at once or they may lose their shape when melted together!
Marshmallow Peeps: These adorable marshmallow chicks are another easy-to-make treat for kids—or anyone who loves Peeps! All that's needed is one package each of yellow icing (with food coloring), pink icing (with food coloring), black decorating gel/paint pen, skewers/sticks/foil wrapped around sticks as "legs," small round containers such as plastic Easter eggs filled half full with water, so they stand upright on their own without being weighted down by anything else inside them--and most importantly--a heat source capable of bringing an average sized pan filled with these materials up slowly enough. Hence, no accidents occur while cooking, but quickly enough, so everything stays separated inside its container once put together outside before cooling down too much...

There are many fun ways to celebrate Valentine's Day without spending a lot of money.

You don't have to spend much money on Valentine's Day. There are many fun ways to celebrate it as a family on a budget.

Here are some ideas:

Make your own decorations and food using things you already have around the house, such as old clothes and toilet paper tubes.
Have a picnic instead of going out to eat at restaurants or theaters. Picnics can be made in the park or backyard, and they're cheaper than eating in a restaurant or theater! Plus, you can bring food from home instead of buying it at an expensive restaurant. If you do decide to go out, check Groupon for coupons first—some restaurants offer discounts for couples who want to celebrate Valentine's Day together!

If you follow these tips, you can have a fun day with your family that doesn’t break the bank.

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