My husband and I have a special memory that goes back to our college days when on February 13 he gave me three red roses and told me he loved me for the first time. It has become OUR special day and we usually celebrate with a romantic dinner, just the two of us, on the 13th, which has left Valentines Day for the family! We started a tradition of a family candlelight dinner many years ago, and have continued that tradition ever since. February 14 is a day we celebrate the love we have in our family!
Our dinners have changed over the years. We started out with fancy goblets and a nice tablecloth as well as some candles. It was the perfect night to bring out the good stuff and be a little more formal. But..... I don't spend hours on end making us a huge feast....
Instead, I read an idea about ordering take-out Chinese food for your fancy family dinner, and that's what we've done! After setting a nice table, you just set up all the Chinese take-out in the kitchen and let the family dish up buffet style. It keeps the table from being cluttered and allows everyone the chance to get exactly what they'd like on their plate. The best part is the genius of how easy it is! That way even mom can have a relaxing night and enjoy the kiddos.
One year I decided I actually wanted to make a nice dinner, and it was delicious and lovely, but it only took once to realize how much I love the take-out on Valentine's day!
Our fancy dinner of Chicken Cordon Bleu, roasted red potatoes, and a spinach salad. Nice try, but it was not the same.
The next year we were back to take-out Chinese!! It's so much fun to look back at our pictures and see who was joining us each year, as well as which kids are off on missions, in college, etc. This year my oldest son was in Brazil on a church mission, but we had his best friend visiting us from Arizona who is like a son to me!
This year I went even more lazy and we used red plastic disposable plates! We still used our fancy goblets. We love the combination of orange juice and Chinese food. Anyone else? My two oldest were out this year, but our area church missionaries came by for dinner.
An orange juice toast from one of my gluten free kids to a bright future and continued love in our family!
Last year we were down to just four of us. The two oldest were off at college, so just as our family is shrinking, so are our red candles!! They've been the same ones since we started in 2015!
Who needs to slave in the kitchen all day when you can just order in your favorite take-out food and truly enjoy your family! I'm so glad we've had this tradition through the years. It has made some sweet memories that will forever live in my heart.