14 Days of Love Challenge

For the last 2 years, I have done what I call, the 14 Days of Love Challenge.  The what?  Ooohh- just you wait, you're gonna love this!

The Love Challenge is basically small acts of love to show your spouse how special they are to you.  Taking the time to celebrate your spouse, is important.  And for added fun- let it be a surprise!

The rules of the 14 Days of Love Challenge are pretty simple.  And really- you can make up your own rules and adapt it to suit your needs.  The sky's the limit here!  But I thought I would share my own personal rules and guidelines just to get you started- here goes!

• Begin the challenge on February 1st and end it on Valentine's Day.
• It's not about money- try to keep the spending limit small.
• Do at least 1 thing per day for your spouse that is out of the ordinary.
• This is not about your children.  This is strictly something for your spouse.
• Try to incorporate handmade items as much as possible.
• It's the thought that truly counts!

So there you have it.  Pretty simple rules, right?  But I bet now you're wondering just what in the world you can do, make, give etc to show your love.  Especially for 14 days straight!  Not too worry- I've got you covered!  Here's a few things that I have done in the past for my husband.  

• Buy a romantic or funny card and send it with them to work in their lunch bag.
• Tie balloons to their car.
• Grab takeout from their favorite restaurant and plan a candlelight dinner for after the kids are in bed.
• Write a romantic message on the bathroom mirror.
• Bake their favorite treat- my husband LOVES my Chocolate Raspberry Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting.
• Set a "reminder" on their phone with a sweet love message.  Perhaps schedule the reminder to pop up while they are on their lunch break with a surprise- "I Love You" message.
• Write a love letter.
• Buy their favorite chocolates, beer, ice cream- whatever and surprise them when they get home.
• Plan a romantic date night mid-week for just the two of you.
• Cut hearts out of your kid's construction paper and leave a trail of hearts to the bedroom.  Make sure to write a special love note on each one!
• Buy them their favorite magazine and give them quiet time to enjoy it.
• Put their favorite flower on their nightstand.  So it's the first thing they see when they wake up.
• Text a picture of you smooching and say "sending you kisses..."
• Surprise them at work and take them out for a lunch date. 
• Rent their favorite movie, make some popcorn and have a quiet movie night after the kids are in bed.
• Change the ring tone on their phone to "your song".
• Go to a movie and make out- make sure you sit in the very back!  Or go for a drive and "park".
• Buy a bag of Hersey's Kisses and get creative!  A trail of "kisses", a pocket full of "kisses" etc.
• Treat them with a small gift card- Starbucks, a favorite store etc.
• Tell them something that you love about them everyday.  But write it on a small piece of paper and put it somewhere where they will find it throughout the day.  Jeans pocket, wallet, sock drawer....

Whew!  That's quite a list!  Hopefully this will help you to get started on your own Love Challenge.  And yes- this will totally work if you wanted to do something special for your kids.  You could easily do a Love Challenge for your kids and one for your spouse.  However, I typically just do one for my husband but keep it on the "down low" so the kiddo doesn't feel left out.  You could also have your kids join in on some of the ideas and activities.  

For me- celebrating Valentine's Day is more about showing someone how very much they mean to you.  I fully realize that it's a "greeting card holiday" but it's still fun to celebrate. Take the time to let your spouse know how important they are to you.  And what better time to do this, then Valentine's Day, right?