How do parents celebrate love?7x the most beautiful moments of…
February, the month of love, has commenced, which has to be celebrated! Do you celebrate it with your partner, friends or family? Or maybe just by taking a moment to yourself? From a weekend away, a day at the spa or simply going out for dinner… We asked 7 parents how they celebrate love!
1. “We do well together.”
Late at night, before I go to sleep, I usually peek into the bedrooms of our four kids. To tuck them in, turn off the light, give them a kiss, but mostly just to look at them for a little bit. Because whatever happened that day, when I watch them quietly like that, I get a warm feeling inside. I enjoy it! When I go back to bed afterwards, I tell my boyfriend: “I love our kids.” And then we cuddle closer. We do well together.
- Mom Josine (Rotterdam)
2. “Our kids adopt our traditions.”
When we celebrate love, we like to get together with our dearest friends. Every get-together is a new tradition. We think of what we want to do together on the spot; this is how the tradition was born to celebrate Kingsday together, to go on a yearly vacation together and to occasionally go ice-skating together. The best tradition is to order pizza every time we visit each other. It is beautiful to see that our kids are adopting our traditions. This makes our celebration of love complete!
- Mom Liedwine (Rotterdam)
3. “He didn’t want to go alone…”
The most beautiful gesture of the last year was my father-in-law’s present: going skiing together! He knew I had always wanted to go skiing, but that my wife preferred to book a beach vacation. Secretly I knew that my father-in-law mostly wanted to bring me so he could go himself. Which didn’t make it any less fun: we had an awesome weekend together!
- Dad Chris (Amsterdam)
4. “A small gesture says so much more.”
For Valentine’s, I like to surprise my partner every year with homemade cake or cookies. I notice we attach a lot more value to homemade gifts than bought ones. A homemade gift is personal and makes the other person feel special. It doesn’t have to cost a lot, a small gesture often says so much more!
- Mom Kirsten
5. “Romantic dinner.”
To celebrate love we go out for dinner a couple of times a year! Not very original, but seeing as we cook every day for the whole family, going out for dinner is a real treat! Of course, we think it is important to be together with the whole family and barbecue in the garden or ‘gourmetten’ with everyone. That makes our happiness complete!
- Dad Koen and mom Lisa (Amsterdam)
6. “A lovely moment to myself.”
I love doing fun things with my husband and kids as much as possible. Think birthdays, visits to grandma and grandpa or delicious family dinners. But having a demanding job and a large family means that it is lovely to do something for yourself now and then: me time! That’s why I sometimes book a relaxed day at the sauna or grab a good book. Especially in this cold weather, that is something to enjoy!
- Mom Els (Utrecht)
7. "During school holidays I'll go all out."
As a single mom, I work full-time, and as a result, “doing fun things” will be forgotten sometimes. But during the school holidays I’d like to go all out and treat my daughter on a nice family weekend. She may decide which theme park we’ll go to and I take a look for nice hotels with a swimming pool. My daughter is in high spirits, because she can pack her cute little suitcase again! We enjoy good food, watch movies in bed, and have breakfast in bed. At such moments I really enjoy our small but nice family.
- Mom Laurie (Amsterdam)
