Love your community.

Open your child’s eyes to different ways of expressing love. Give your neighborhood a big warm hug by fixing broken signs, painting over graffiti or organizing a community cleanup. Show compassion by donating homemade cookies to a food bank or shelter, or fostering abandoned animals from a shelter.

Talk Cupid.

After you read The Night Before Valentine's Day or Counting Kisses with your child, brainstorm different love-focused endings or beginnings. Compose a poem for grandma or dad and write it on biodegradable seed paper. Discuss the best non-material ways to express love, such as sincerely asking about someone's day or verbally appreciating their strengths.

Create eco-friendly crafts.

Say “Be My Valentine” with cards or notes made from materials around the house, such as colouring books or scrap paper. Weave a Valentine's Day wreath from dried flowers, twigs, and berries. Make heart-shaped necklaces with homemade organic modelling clay.

Savour edible love.

These kid-tested snacks won't end up in the landfill! Make heart-shaped marshmallow treats with organic, natural crisped rice cereal and a honey/coconut mixture (a substitute for sugary marshmallows). Create heart-shaped pizzas, or use cookie cutters to cut hearts out of grilled cheese sandwiches or pancakes. Make extra, and deliver them to neighbours, a nursing home or a hospice.

Throw a green party.

Forget about grab bags, processed food and supermarket cakes. Instead, share the love with ethically sourced party bags, biodegradable balloons along with eco-friendly paints and recycled paper for party crafts. Avoid red dye; instead go red with healthy apples, cranberries, strawberries, tomatoes, and cherries. Plan an indoor treasure hunt with a “love the planet” theme: hide acorns, cool rocks and leaves – and return them to their natural setting afterwards.