Not sure how to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year? I highly suggest making a ‘Simple but Special’ meal and having a lovely night at home! This can be as a family, with your sweetheart, or with some friends.

You can put this simple celebration together a number of ways depending on who you will be with. Here’s the basic formula.

Festive Tablecloth

+

Candles

+

Simple but Special Homemade Meal

That’s it!

Let’s dig into it a bit more.

Festive Tablecloth + Candles—

You do not need to buy any new tablecloths or candles. Pull out something you have and find a way to make the setting festive—pinks and reds in most any combination work well, cut out a few paper hearts to layer under your centerpiece, maybe add a faux flower in a vase.

For the candles, you can use one big candle in the center, a bunch of taper candles in candlesticks, or anything in between. Again, you do not need to go buy anything new. Since it is one dinner, and meant to be a low-key night, don’t stress about it. It’s fun to pull together what you have and make something festive from it.

Simple but Special Homemade Meal—

What is a ‘Simple but Special’ homemade meal, you might be wondering? It’s something I’m hoping to talk more about on here, but basically it is a meal you wouldn’t normally make on a weeknight. It takes a bit more effort to prepare or maybe needs a long time to simmer. For our family, we love to make Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs. It is not hard, but it does take a bit more time because it needs to simmer. The results are always amazing, and it feels special and a bit fancy.

A few other ideas that come to mind are

• Lamb Ragu served with Pappardelle Noodles
• Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce
• Homemade Chicken Pot Pie (including the pie crust)
• Marry Me Chicken served with Penne Noodles

Any of these meals, served with a simple salad would make for a lovely meal!

In terms of dessert, you can make a cake or cookies, or to keep it simple, pick up a bar of high quality chocolate and divy it up accordingly. (These Hu chocolate bars are my absolute favorite, and they have no vegetable oils or lecithins in them!)

Other Thoughts / Variations—

For families, make sure to plan ahead with your meal so it will be ready when your family normally eats dinner. If there are things you can prep the night before, that would be a huge help. While you are cooking, enlist your spouse to entertain the kids for a bit to keep them from asking for 10,000 snacks while you are trying to concentrate 🙂 or have your spouse help cook and put on a movie for the kids or maybe print out a few Valentines’s Day coloring pages they can work on before it’s time to eat. Definitely enlist the kids to help clear off and set the table. My daughter loves to pick the plates and silverware. My son loves to assign where everyone will sit. Ha!

For an at-home date with your spouse, put the kids to bed a bit early and have a later dinner just the two of you. It’s so nice to have time to talk together and connect, but it isn’t always feasible to get a babysitter. This is a great way to enjoy time together without going out. We try to have an at-home date on Friday nights. We feed the kids something simple—macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti noodles with a jar of sauce, and then I put the kids to bed while my husband makes a special dinner. Then, we light candles and enjoy a meal with no one asking how much more they have to eat before they can be done. 🙂 Wine or cocktails are a nice touch too.

For friends, enlist everyone to bring something for the meal. The host can make the main part of the dinner but have someone bring salad, someone bread, someone a dessert. If someone loves to decorate, assign them to the tabletop decor. If someone is your wine or cocktail connoisseur, put their talents to use. What are friends for if not to gather together for a special meal that everyone contributed toward. Light the candles and linger over dinner, or head to the living room to play a game or watch a movie.

I hope you have the most lovely, special Valentine’s Day at home this year!