Creating a Family Love Jar: A Heartfelt Valentine’s Day Tradition 💗

Creating a Family Love Jar: Start A New Heartfelt Valentine’s Day Tradition

Valentine’s Day feels like my holiday. I mean, it is filled with my favorite bright colors, features yummy treats, and a general upbeat sentiment. In the midst of this fun-filled pink & red landscape, I’m reminded that we can actually use this time of the year to teach little ones about spreading sweetness and kindness towards one another and it can start with our families. In our busy lives, it is easy to get caught up in hectic-ness of work, school, and everyday responsibilities. I believe we can use this holiday to help us express appreciation and love for one another and strengthen family bonds.

One beautiful way to nurture these connections is by creating a “Love Jar” with your kids. This simple and heartwarming activity is a great way to practice gratitude, show kindness, and encourage open emotional communication—no matter how young your children are. Plus, it’s a fun and meaningful activity for Valentine’s Day!

What You’ll Need to make your own family Love Jar:

• A jar or container

• Colored paper (you can cut into small squares or strips for writing)

• Markers or pens

• Optional: Stickers or decorative elements to personalize the jar and make it festive for Valentine’s Day

• Optional: Fragrance rollerballs or scented stickers for an extra sensory touch (using the rollerball scents from your Za Za Scents™ set!)
  
  Now…Write Notes of Kindness

  Each family writes little notes of love and kindness. These can be simple messages like:

  • “I love when we play read together.”

  • “I appreciate your snuggles.”

  • “Thank you for baking with me.”

  • “Hearing your laugh brightens my day.”

  If your kids are still learning to write, they can draw pictures, or you can help them come up with sweet notes to add to the jar. The key is to make the notes personal, meaningful, and focused on appreciation for one another.

  
  For a fun sensory twist, you can add a little scent to the activity by applying a few dabs of your favorite child-friendly rollerball fragrance from your Za Za Scents™ set to the paper notes. When you open the jar later, the family will be reminded not only of the love and appreciation but also of the scent associated with each thoughtful note.
  
  

  Once you’ve filled the jar with enough notes, you can seal it and display it in a central place where the whole family will see it. Every time you pass the jar, it’ll be a reminder of all the good things you appreciate about each other.
  
  A few ideas to consider…

• Set aside a time each week (or once a month) to add new notes to the jar.

• When the jar is full, take time as a family to sit together and read the notes together. You can even make a little ceremony out of it. This is a wonderful way to reinforce feelings of gratitude, connection, and appreciation. The simple act of hearing what others love about you can boost everyone’s self-esteem and emotional well-being.

• Encourage everyone to take a note out of the jar when they need a little pick-me-up.

• Make the activity a teachable moment. Talk about what empathy is and how the notes in the jar reflect the thoughtful actions of your family.