With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we all have love on the brain. One thing you might not love is the fact that COVID-19 is still around, and Valentine’s Day will have to be celebrated differently. Fortunately, we have some ideas to keep you and your loved ones safe while still being festive.

Dinner at home

Valentine’s Day is usually the perfect occasion to get dressed up and make a reservation at that new restaurant you’ve been wanting to try. This year, skip the crowds and make your own candlelit dinner at home. There are lots of videos and recipes out there if you need a little inspiration in the kitchen.

If you are trying to support local restaurants, see if they offer curbside pickup or delivery. You can save the time you would spend cooking and put more effort into setting the scene instead. We recommend lots of hearts, roses and your finest dishes!

Play a game

Bring out you and your partner’s playful side with a fun game. You can go with a classic two-player game or make your own! Spark a conversation by creating your own trivia cards about each other. Some examples of questions to ask are:

• What is my coffee order?
• If I could travel anywhere, where would I go?
• What was my first car?

DIY date night

Three staples of Valentine’s Day are flowers, candy and gifts. Since date night options are limited right now, try creating these three things at home.

• Flowers – Pick up several handfuls of flowers and greenery either from a store or your own yard. Set up a DIY floral arranging session and give your finished masterpiece to your partner!
• Candy – Look up a tutorial online and create your own candy. For chocolate, you simply need melting chocolates, cooking oil and molds.
• Gifts – Still searching for that perfect gift? You can’t go wrong with something homemade. Organize an at-home painting class (or other crafting project) and see whose artistic abilities shine.

Video chat

For the ones you love who you can’t see in person, try video chatting. Call your family members, friends or a long-distance partner and tell them everything you love about them! This simple gesture will go a long way in a time when we all want to feel connected.

Have a theme

Come up with a theme and make sure every part of your Valentine’s Day fits it. For instance, if your theme is conversation hearts, decorate your house with printed cutouts of conversation hearts, draw a sweet saying on a colored shirt that you can wear or decorate your dessert of choice with conversation hearts. The possibilities are endless! Other theme options include queen of hearts, love letters or cupid.

Learn your love language

If you don’t have time to read the book The 5 Love Languages, you can still take the quick online quiz and do a little research about each type. Learning you and your partner’s love language can strengthen your relationship and spark a new layer of romance.

Take pictures

All dressed up and nowhere to go? Have a photo session and create an album that you can look back on. For a trendy twist, use a polaroid camera and write little sayings on the bottom part of each photo.

For the kids:

Valentine’s Day is a beloved holiday for anyone – and that means the kiddos, too! Here are some ideas to make your kids feel extra special this year:

• Rose bath – Put a fun spin on bath time! Take the petals from roses and let them float around the bath so that your kids will feel pampered and squeaky clean.
• “What I Love” dinner – Have everyone in the family say a food that they love and make each one of those things for a dinner that is outrageously fun! Yes, you might end up with salmon, macaroni, pickles, pizza and a chocolate cake, but the memories will be well worth the food coma.
• Write cards to each other – This activity is similar to “Secret Santa,” where each person secretly picks another person to give their card to. Once everyone has someone, each person creates the craziest, tackiest, sweetest card possible and gives it to the person they picked. The person receiving it tries to guess who their card came from. This is a great option for the kids who love arts and crafts!