4 Tips to Celebrate Valentine's Day the Military Spouse Way

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and if your loved one is deployed you may ask yourself, should you even bother to celebrate this day. If you think you're going to spend it alone, resist the temptation to crawl into bed and pull the covers over your head. Try to embrace this holiday as an opportunity to show your love and appreciation to not only your spouse, but also your friends and family. If you're unsure of how to celebrate "V-Day," try these four ideas to get you started: 

1.) Make bake goods with the kids. Treat your kids to some quality time by helping them bake cookies or cupcakes for Valentine's Day. The cookies can be treats for school mates, friends or sent in a care package to a deployed parent. 

2.) Make cards to send to dad or have the family pick out a funny e-card to send. Get some construction paper, sweet-tarts, pictures of your family and glue and create a cutesy Valentine's Day card for your spouse. If you don't want to deal with the mess, or postage, send a funny e-card to your service member's e-mail address. Hallmark.com and someecards.com are just a couple of websites that feature free e-cards. 

3.) Have a Girls Night Out (or in). If you feel like getting out that night, call up other military spouses and go out for happy hour, dinner or show. Or, you can have a Valentine's Day potluck, and invite spouses and their children over. The adults can enjoy V-Day themed drinks, while the kids eat the baked goods they've made for the holidays.

4.) Get Out and Move. If you think you'll have a day to yourself, don't waste it by sitting on the couch. If you're in a warm climate go hiking, running, or ride your bike around base or your town. If you're in a colder climate, try skiing, snowboarding, or snowmobiling. Or, treat yourself to a day spa for pampering and some R&R.

It's easy to get down in the dumps, during this holiday - especially if you see nothing but happy couples everywhere - but remember that your friends and family are ready to support you, when you're feeling low.

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