How To Find Joy in February and Spread Love
February in the Northeast can be brutal. It is usually dreary and cold and lacks sunshine and, honestly, I don’t usually love it. HOWEVER, this year is going to be different.
This year I have decided I’m going to embrace February and grab ahold of all it has to offer. I’m excited and determined to find joy no matter what month I’m in.
If you are reading this and you are in the middle of a heat wave, you might not love it, but this post will help you find joy no matter what time of year.
For my New Year’s resolution, I’ve been focusing on eliminating negative thoughts and finding joy. If you didn’t catch my previous post How to Eliminate Negative Thoughts & Find Joy Every Day you might want to pop over there after you read this and see how you can do that too! I’m approaching this February with a new perspective. Want to join me and have some fun?
Find Joy in February
Let’s make the month of Valentine’s Day more fun and embrace all the love and joy it has to offer. It’s perfect that Valentine’s Day is in February. What a wonderful way to lift the spirits of a cold, dreary month by celebrating love.
As I contemplated doing a blog post about Valentine’s Day and February home decor I found myself curious about the holiday itself. It was a fun topic to research. I feel so much more knowledgeable on the subject. I hope these fun facts will enlighten and entertain you as well.
The Origin of Valentine’s Day
Where in the world did the concept of Valentine’s Day come from? I knew it was named after a guy named St. Valentine but for some reason, historians can’t seem to nail down which St. Valentine. February 14th is apparently the day he died and this is why we celebrate.
Alternatively, there is a theory about it being a pagan holiday all about infertility. But, for the purpose of this post, I like the aforementioned reason we celebrate Valentine’s Day and so we will go with that 😘.
It wasn’t until the Middle Ages, though, that Valentine’s Day became associated with love and romance. It is a tradition that first began with the common belief in France and England that birds started their mating season on February 14. Thus we get the saying “Love Birds”.
In the 1800s, the idea of sending a valentine was introduced. Does anyone else have fond memories of giving away Valentine’s in school?
Did you know that nearly 250 million roses are grown for Valentine’s Day? That’s a LOT of roses!! Red roses are a romantic choice, of course. Americans spend billions on Valentine’s Day alone! Candy and flowers are the romantic gifts of choice. Interestingly, the heart-shaped box was created in 1861.
Valentine’s Day at Home
Is decorating your home for Valentine’s Day really a thing? Well, let’s be honest, it’s kinda, sorta, somewhat, a thing, and in my mind, definitely something worth considering. Stick with me as I offer suggestions as to how to add a little Valentine’s decor to your home.
As we venture into the decor part of the post, as a disclaimer, last year was the first year I really added any heart decor to our home. I am by no means an expert on the subject. That being said, I believe that adding Valentine decor to your home will lift your spirits and set the mood for the month of love.
I like to keep things fairly simple and add subtle but noticeable holiday touches for various holidays. Keeping my home uncluttered is important to me for everyday functionality so simple works best for us.
That being said, if you like to go crazy and fill your home with hearts and an abundance of pink and red then, by all means, do it!!! It’s your home! Find freedom in making it exactly how you want it!
Last year, I found the cutest heart-shaped wooden carved bowl at Hobby Lobby. I filled it with my favorite candy, Dove Dark Chocolates. I could do a whole post on how much I love Dove dark chocolates but you get the point. You might want to add the infamous Sweetheart candies to your bowl too.
Sweethearts
I recently learned something about the Sweetheart candies. Did you know the company that first created Sweethearts, NECCO, went out of business in 2018? The good news is The Spangler Candy Co. bought it in 2020 and resurrected the Sweethearts for more generations to enjoy.
See the list below of the new sayings on Sweethearts for 2022. The theme is encouragement, which I think is perfect for 2023 Valentine’s Day!
- Way to go
- Crush it
- Proud of u
- Don’t quit
- Good job
- Push through
- Be you
- Fear less
- Chin up
- Youda best
- Go 4 it
- Superstar
- U got this
- Go time
- High five
- Big fan
Adding those candies to your home during February could be a fun way to encourage your family. Try adding one or two to their plate at dinner. Take any opportunity to encourage your kiddos.
What if you put sweethearts in their lunch? I bet it would put a smile on their face. What if you placed one of the hearts on their pillow at night and surprised them before they went to sleep? That would be so sweet…literally 🤣.
Vintage Decor
I love collecting vintage pieces for our home. In fact, there is a post called Thrifting: How to Thrift and What to Look For. In it, you will find my thoughts on vintage decor. Just a couple of weeks ago I found a 7-dollar vintage rug beater in the shape of a heart. It is an understated touch of Valentine’s Day and blends in perfectly with the style of our home. It could really work for any decor!
Above, you can see a stone heart atop a wooden stand in my guest bathroom.
Candles
I have a stone block of letters spelling love above our china cabinet mixed in with a collection of brass candlesticks. This creates a romantic vibe in our dining room, which I kind of love!
Hearts
I picked up a heart made of wood balls at Hobby Lobby this week and it hangs ever so nicely on this wood shutter we thrifted years ago.
A sweet little garland with hearts and the word LOVE grace our mantle. It is just enough to remind us to love every day. Of course, flowers around the house are always fu, bring joy, and a pop of color into our home during February. Tulips and roses are my favorite!
Coffee Mugs
I cannot forget to share my collection of February/Valentine’s coffee mugs. Can you ever have enough cute mugs? And even better, mugs with hearts. I have an affinity for cute mugs and I enjoy my coffee in them every morning.
Funny enough, my husband has an Ember mug. In case you don’t know what an Ember mug is, it is a mug that keeps your coffee hot. It sits on a charging base overnight. I reheat my coffee several times a morning in the microwave and Jeff keeps telling me I need to buy an Ember. I just can’t do it!
Having my coffee in a cute, adorable mug brings me joy every morning. And he should be so happy about that because, for the price of an Ember, I could buy 20 mugs…🤣🤣🤣
Remember, as you put Valentine’s Day decor around your home you are creating an atmosphere of love. This is one way to love your family intentionally.
Find Joy and Spread Love
For me, and for this post, Valentine’s Day is not solely about romantic love. Although that is an important love to celebrate. Millions of couples celebrate their love on February 14th every year. In fact, many couples get engaged on Valentine’s Day! But for this post, we will leave romantic love for another day.
Show Your Friends Love
Invite friends into your home and have a few heart-shaped treats on Valentine’s plates. My favorite thing to do is to invite a friend over and sit at my counter and talk about life, share our hearts, and encourage one another all while sipping coffee. This little act of hospitality can really bless someone in your life.
Show Your Family Love
Make a day in February memorable for your kids. Set a date to celebrate and do all the things together. Make a heart garland out of twine, clothes pins, and homemade hearts, or take those hearts and create a mobile and hang it in your family room or in their bedroom.
Do a fun tea with sandwiches cut in the shape of a heart, heart-shaped fruit, and, of course, CHOCOLATE. Help them make fun heart cards for people they love.
For your daughters, they will love it all. But for your sons, you are instilling in them the importance of showing their future wives love through fun and gifts. Your daughter-in-law will thank you one day!
Bake together. We love making chocolate chip cookies for people. It’s kind of what I’m known for and I love that. I did attempt to make them in the shape of a heart this year. See below. You can almost tell it’s a heart…lol 😘. Still need to perfect that one.
Buying pre-done cookie dough at the grocery store and making heart-shaped sugar cookies might be easier. Decorate them for a fun project together. Your kids will love this! For more info and my recipe for chocolate chip cookies go to Chocolate Chip Cookies: A Family Tradition
A day like this really doesn’t take much planning and you are creating beautiful memories and feelings of home in your child’s heart. Discover more about creating feelings of home in your children in my post How to Awaken Your Child’s Senses at Home.
Show Them How to Love Others
After you make the cookies and cards take them to a grandparent, a neighbor, or someone who needs a little love. Show your children ways to encourage and love others. Educate them on how to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Loving others is often caught, not just taught. Show them, mama, how it’s done!
Make Valentine’s Day Fun & Memorable
Start a fun tradition. Make heart-shaped food for your family on Valentine’s Day; heart-shaped pancakes, toast, fruit, cookies, and candies are all fun things to try. Your kids or grandkids will love it! I learned this from my very creative and loving friend Sherry! She was the best at this!
Remember, keep it simple so you don’t risk getting overwhelmed and ending up doing nothing at all. It doesn’t take much I promise!
The Reason We Love
I can’t close without directing your thoughts to the one who loves the greatest, Jesus. We love because He first loved us. By spreading love in your home and to others you are sharing the love of Jesus. Don’t leave Him out of the celebration. Remind your children why we are able to love.
I love these verses from Jesus in John 15: 9-13.
That really says it all, doesn’t it?! What beautiful sentiments from Jesus. I particularly love verse 11 given my post on finding joy. Our joy is complete by finding joy from Jesus.
There you have it, sweet mama. There is no better way to lift your spirits in a dreary month than to fill your home with hearts and love and more importantly to give that love away. You will feel good about yourself. Your kids will feel good about themselves. Remember, by blessing others you will feel blessed!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Much love~Kim💗
LINKED BLOG POSTS:
How to Eliminate Negative Thoughts & Find Joy Every Day
Thrifting: How to Thrift and What to Look For
