When you ask people with young children what they’re doing for Valentine’s Day, they may chuckle or roll their eyes at you. And then they’ll tell you that kids change everything, even the way you celebrate Valentine’s Day. This is what the holiday is like before and after having kids.
·Gifts - Pre-kids it was chocolate, flowers, and maybe some expensive jewelry. But now, your box of chocolates looks like someone “tested” a couple pieces first and your card is made with lots of glitter and macaroni.
·Personal grooming - Before being a parent, you spent hours doing your hair and shaving your legs for a Valentine’s date, but after kids, you squeeze in a five-minute shower while your toddler yells through the door about “Paw Patrol” and you get out to discover you only shaved your left leg.
·Dressing up - Back then, a night out meant a killer dress and heels, and a layer of Spanx to hold everything in, but now? Who needs to get dressed up for a night of Netflix on the couch when your maternity leggings are the comfiest thing around.
·Dinner - Before kids, you made reservations at a hot restaurant months before Valentine’s Day and enjoy the meal staring into each other’s eyes. But after becoming parents, it’s take-out from the place around the corner, but your kid won’t eat anything that’s not beige this week anyway.
·After dinner - In your pre-parent days, it was drinks and dessert at a swanky spot before calling it a night. Now, you’re too tired to care what happens after dinner and fall asleep on the sofa.
·Love - You used to spend hours fantasizing about your love story before you had kids, but after becoming parents, things have changed and those little people are the literal embodiment of your love for your partner. It may not be romantic in the traditional sense, but you wouldn’t want your life any other way.
Photo Credit: Getty Images