A Hallmark Holiday? I Think Not.

This is definitely my favorite Valentine's Day book.

It taught me to appreciate Valentine's Day just in time for me to teach my kids what that special day in mid-February is all about.


Honestly...I'd never been a fan.  For some reason I associated Valentine's Day with couples and romance only, and I really did think some genius at Hallmark must have made the whole thing up.  I worked at Hallmark at one point, and believe me that day was CRAZY!  I'd never have believed it, if I hadn't seen it myself.  I think I saw more guys in the store on that one day than the three previous months combined.  And, they all had this kind of sheepish/desperate look in their eyes.  It screamed, "Help me!  I have no idea what I'm doing here, but I know I'll be in trouble if I don't figure it out."  I felt bad because there was no time to really help them at that point, the store was literally packed, and we were running the registers as fast as we could trying to get them out the door in time for their big date.  Romantic?...No.


For those of you that may have never seen a Little Bill cartoon, he is a preschooler.  In this book, his awesome preschool teacher tells her class that Valentine's Day is your chance to tell all those people you love how you feel.  Little Bill has a lot of homemade Valentine's to give out.  His friends, cousin, parents, siblings, and Elephant, his hamster, all get one with a big smile to go along with it.


When I read this book to Kimball for the first time, I couldn't believe that I'd had such a narrow view of Valentine's Day. It definitely doesn't belonged to Hallmark or the romantics.  It is a sweet reminder to tell all those that bless our lives how we feel about them.

A sticky note on the mirror.  A wall post on fb.  A call.  A hug.  A heartfelt letter.  It doesn't matter.  It's a fun chance to think outside the box of chocolates and spread the love.