As I’ve said before, I’ve never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day as I don’t believe people should be forced into being romantic on one specific day. Plus everything that is considered “romantic” is ridiculously expensive…flowers and chocolates cost ten times more than usual and don’t even think about going out for dinner without spending an entire pay cheque.

But this year, being a first time Mom, I’ve realized there are plenty of things that my husband could do for me on Valentine’s Day that would blow chocolates and roses out of the water! I’m sure most of you moms out there will agree that there are certain things that you took for granted prior to motherhood that you wish you’d cherished more. And so, here’s my  list the top 5 Valentine gifts for moms:

1. Sleep! If you have children under two, you probably can’t remember the last time you had a full night’s sleep (unless you are one of those really lucky moms whose baby has slept through the night since 3 months old…now I know how the devil gets all those souls!)  The gift of sleep on Valentine’s Day would be better than any 5 star restaurant and it doesn’t cost a thing.

2. A homemade dinner cooked by your man. Now that I’m on maternity leave, I’ve claimed the role of dinner maker which seems fair as I’m able to prepare it throughout the day plus I really do like cooking. But there are days where I spend ALL DAY thinking about what we should have for dinner and it becomes daunting and stressful and by the time five o’clock rolls around, I’ve ended up pulling out the KD box with shame. Wouldn’t it be nice for your partner to surprise you in the morning by letting you know that he will be cooking dinner on Valentine’s Day so you can rest your brain? And it doesn’t even have to be fancy… just not KD!

3. Alone time. Hubbies and boyfriends, go out to your local book shop, pick up the latest book by your sweetheart’s favourite author as well as a Starbucks gift card.  Wrap them up and when she opens them, send her straight to the coffee shop and tell her she can’t come home until that book is at least half read.  Trust me fellas, she will be melt over this one!

They usually started out with “Roses are red, Violets are blue…”

4. Help the kids make mom a homemade Valentine’s card.  I remember when we were kids; my sister and I would spend hours perfecting cards for our mom and even write her a poem. She always said these were the best gifts she could ever receive and now that I’m a mom, I see why. Because as your kids get older and go through those fabulous hormonal teenage years where they don’t even want to talk to you, you can still pull out those homemade cards to remind yourself that your kids really do love you and were very sweet at some point!

5. Do all of the above for the mother in your life. But why not surprise her with everything on Feb.11th or Feb.12th instead of Valentine’s Day? She’ll be shocked beyond belief which will only make the sentiment that much sweeter.  And maybe think about doing this again at some point during the year (but not on Mother’s Day!) to show her how much you care and appreciate everything about her.  See, I’m a romantic…but only for 364 days of the year!

Good luck and Happy UnValentine’s Day!
Coupon tip of the week: Not finding the coupons you want to use? Try online coupon trading.  smartcanuck.com has a coupon trading forum where you can post what coupons you have to trade and also a wishlist of coupons you need. Also if you search on facebook, you are sure to find a local coupon trading group to join which will help trade your coupons more quickly.  So the guy with pets can trade his diaper coupons to a mom for pet food coupons!  Everybody wins!

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