12 Ways To Celebrate Safely for Valentine's Day

by Caroline Moassessi, FAACT’s Vice President of Community Relations

February is the month of love! Valentine’s Day reminds us to share our appreciation and affection for family, friends, classmates, and community. From a simple card to flowers and lovingly cooked meals, people will celebrate love from coast to coast. But for those of us living with food allergies, things can get complicated if we don’t plan for school parties, romantic dinners, or special events. Thankfully, creativity mixed with your family’s protocols for staying allergy-safe will help create an unforgettable day! Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Write an old-fashioned love note to your children or partner. Putting pen to paper to express your feelings goes a long way and doesn’t have to be expensive. Tip: cut up paper grocery bags and cut them into hearts!
2. Grab a stack of Post-It Notes and write one word describing a quality you LOVE about each family member per note (the more words the merrier). Stick your prose on bedroom doors the night before Valentine’s Day for a sweet morning surprise.
3. Heart-shaped cookie cutters aren’t just for sweet treats. Use them to cut out hearts in cucumber slices for salads, non-dairy cheese for crackers, or to make heart-shaped toast and sandwiches.
4. Play with your food! Search YouTube for videos on creating roses out of strawberries or salami.
5. Meet with teachers and school party parent/caregiver planners to strategize fun non-food activities, like a dance party, craft making, or watching a movie. If food is a must, work to create a menu of inclusive choices for all students and strategies to limit cross-contact risks.
6. Head to FAACT’s Valentine’s Day section to download adorable, themed games like word searches, crossword puzzles, and a coloring page. These non-food activities are fun AND help teach classmates about food allergies. 
7. Feeling overwhelmed looking for fun, easy-to-make crafts, or treats? Visit FAACT’s Pinterest Allergy-Friendly Ideas page to discover inspiration and fresh ideas.
8. Bring the family together in the kitchen to create a tasty Valentine’s Day dinner. Invite family members to choose one exceptional dish to create, and during dinner, ask them to share why the dish is special to them. Is there a story or memory behind it?
9. Make homemade Valentines for classmates from items found in nature, such as painting rocks with sweet messages.
10. Create a special Valentine’s Day themed beverage, such as strawberry soda served with heart-shaped strawberry slices.
11. Start a new tradition of writing down what you love about each family member and put the note in a jar to be read during dinner! For added fun, don’t write down names so everyone can guess who the note is about.
12. Use your voice to brighten the day! Pick up the phone and call those you love and tell them how much they mean to you. 

Your FAACT family wishes you a sweet Valentine’s Day full of love and happiness. We hope you know how much we appreciate having you and your family as part of our community!