Need a Valentine’s Day tradition that is almost free, thoughtful, and can work for anyone in the family, or for your friends? Look no further, you have come to the right place!
This is a little tradition, adapted from my days in my church youth group, called a “heart attack”. It’s so easy, even children can do it, and young children can help.
- Materials needed:
- Colored Paper
- Scissors
- Something to Write With (Markers, Colored Pencils, Crayons, anything)
- Tape
First, choose a person to “give a heart attack to”. Within a family, you could draw names. Parents could do it for each child. You could choose a spouse, grandparents, a friend, etc. once you have a person or people in mind, you are ready to start.
Using your colored paper and scissors, cut out 14 hearts for each person you are going to “heart attack”. Different sizes or shapes of hearts are totally fine. Young children may need help with this step.
Once the hearts are cut out, take each one and write a message on it. If it’s for a child, spouse, or other family member, you could write a different reason why you love them on each of the 14 hearts. If it’s for a neighbor, or a friend, you could do the same or write things you appreciate about them. Just make sure it’s positive!
After the messages are written, take the hearts and hang them on the door of the recipient. This could be a bedroom door, a front door of a house, or even a car window. Just hang them somewhere where the person will find them. It’s best of they don’t see you doing it so they’re surprised when they find them! My personal favorite is to hang them on the children’s bedroom doors while they are asleep, so they wake up to the positive notes.
A couple words of caution… it seems like common sense, but it has to be said. Please be mindful of the surface you hang them on and use the correct kind of tape so as to not damage a painted surface (i.e. painter’s tape, etc.). You could even hang them on the fridge with magnets. And, most importantly, if you are “heart attacking” someone outside your own home please be careful and safe. Don’t go onto property where it will become a dangerous situation for you. If it’s even a question, find a safe way to deliver the hearts (like by sending them in the mail).
That’s it! So easy, impactful, and quick. You can do it anonymously, or not. It’s up to you!
Why I love "heart attacks":
Honestly, I feel like there’s not enough positivity in the world. So many people are stressed, struggling, just getting by and depressed. Everyone needs kind words. Sometimes it can mean the world to someone just to know that another person cares, you know? I think we all have moments in our lives that we need to be on the receiving end of something like one of these “heart attacks” and other times it does us a world a good to think of other people for a few minutes and be on the giving end. Sometimes we never find out how we impact others lives, and that’s ok, it’s good to do it anyway. Hopefully, if you try this, it can be impactful to both you and the recipient.