Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be just about your significant other. You can celebrate it with all the people you love, including your friends and family. However, given the pandemic and various levels of lockdown across the country, many of us will need to celebrate Valentine’s Day at home this year.
That doesn’t mean you can’t have just as much fun. With a little creativity and a bit of out-of-the-box thinking, you and your loved ones could have the best Valentine’s Day ever. Most at-home Valentine’s Day activities can be done in-person with anyone who lives with you, or with friends or family members via a video call.
10 Valentine’s Day Ideas for Retirees at Home
1. Make personalized Valentine’s Day cards
This is a perfect Valentine’s Day at home activity because it lets you kill two birds with one stone. You get to create something fun together and you make your Valentine’s Day cards, which you can then drop off at friends’ and family’s homes. There are some great ideas for making candy-filled cards and other unique designs, many using supplies you can find easily at home.
2. Have a stay-at-home date night
One of the best stay-at-home date ideas for this Valentine’s Day is to decorate your living room or basement and turn it into a romantic “restaurant”. Put up strings of lights, lay the table with a nice (preferably red) table cloth, your best cutlery and dishes, and, of course, candles. Other good stay-at-home date ideas are to dress up as if you were going out and have your favourite meal delivered. This way, you can focus more on spending time together and less on the prep and clean-up.
3. Explore your inner artist
Having a painting party is one of the most popular Valentine’s Day at home ideas. You can do this either just with your significant other or host a video conference call and get your friends in on the fun. There are several websites, such as paintnight.com, that take you through every step of recreating a painting and make it easy to follow, even for non-painters. Of all the things to do on Valentine’s Day at home, this can be one of the most fun.
4. Spend the day in the kitchen
If you love to cook, one of the most fun stay-at-home Valentine’s Day ideas is to plan and prepare a three-course meal together. You could do this either with your spouse or via a video call with a friend or family member. Find new recipes you’ve never cooked before (you can get inspiration from The Food Network) and spend the afternoon together, prepping your meal. Get the starter and dessert ready in advance, then choose a main course you can put in the oven. This way, you can eat each of your three courses with little interruption. This is one of the most delicious in-house Valentine’s Day ideas.
5. Write some poetry
One of the more creative things to do on Valentine’s Day at home is to challenge your loved one or a friend to write a poem. You can either write it together, or separately and then read them out to each other. It doesn’t have to be a love poem, you can come up with your own themes to make it more fun. If you’ve never written poetry before, Creative Writing Now can help get you started. You could turn this unique at-home Valentine’s Day idea into an annual event.
6. Make a Valentine’s Day scrapbook
This is one of the most fun in-house Valentine’s Day ideas for older couples or to enjoy with someone you’ve known a long time. It’s a great way to reminisce about your relationship or friendship. Dig into your photo collection and find some images from when you first met and any other milestones, such as a birthday, a wedding, a baby or a graduation, then add your own captions. 10 Tips for Creating Valentine’s Day Scrapbook Pages has some great ideas for this fun stay-at-home Valentine’s Day.
7. Spread the Valentine’s joy
When you’re thinking of how to celebrate Valentine’s Day at home, you can reach out to friends or neighbours who live alone. Make some Valentine’s Day themed snacks, drop them off at their home, then have a video call with them as you both enjoy the treats. You can make Valentine’s Day inspired desserts, such as a heart-shaped cake, or even pizza and sushi.
8. Take a virtual dance class
This is one of our more energetic stay-home Valentine ideas, as well as one of the best stay-at-home date ideas. Online dance classes are designed to get you dancing like a pro in just a few hours — even if you think you have two left feet. It can make for a romantic Valentine’s Day celebration at home and classes start at only $19 per month.
9. Host a virtual Valentine’s Day knitting party
If you and your friends are keen knitters, this will be one of the most fun ideas for Valentine’s Day at home. Host a video conference call and share ideas and free knitting patterns. You could collectively knit heart-themed hats, scarves, baby blankets or cushions. You could then give your creations to a loved one or donate them to a local homeless shelter, making it the most generous of these at-home Valentine’s Day ideas.
10. Get crafty
One of the most enjoyable things to do at home on Valentine’s Day is to make Valentine’s Day themed crafts. You could try to make beautiful paper heart windchimes or these very cool Valentine’s light decorations. There are plenty of more Valentine’s Day craft ideas. Crafting can be very relaxing, making this one of the most creative Valentine’s Day ideas for older couples.
Now you have some fun ideas for celebrating Valentine’s Day at home, all you need to do is a little preparation. Decide on your Valentine’s Day at home idea (or combine a few of them together), invite your loved one/s and make this Valentine’s Day at home one of the best ever.
