I’m a big fan of the blog, although this is my first comment. I appreciate all the work you’ve put forth on this blog to help each of us be more frugal and a more faithful steward of the money that God gives us while on this earth!

I am the author of eJabs.com and have also recently started a new blog called DebtFreeAdventure. I thought you may like to read the post I wrote regarding A Frugal Find – Valentine’s Day on the Cheap. Also, I would like to join the blogroll, and will probably do so when I get back from church service today.

I hope your are blessed by the article. Thanks again for your great blog & congrats on your 9 children!

DebtFREEk!

I do see where you are coming from and understand it totally! The only thing that we really do with our children is make our Valentines together. I look forward to it every year and trying to make that part special for them. I also love to do things that relate to the season with crafts. We don’t buy gifts, but I do make a heart-shaped pizza and heart-shaped brownies for them. The evening is for my husband & I though

I personally disagree with the tradition that several of my friends have of giving their kids gifts and treats on valentines day. Why should we buy into another holiday being jumped up into extra consumerism? When we were kids you never heard of kids getting presents or gifts-even small ones-for valentines. Not only is it uncalled for in my opinion, but it isn’t very frugal

Plus, I think that having the holiday basically dedicated to the grownups and their relationship reinforces to the children that their parent’s love for each other is present and important (ie the kids are not the center of the relationship).

oops, sorry to write a book.

Fondue pots can often be found very inexpensively at thrift shops, but a heavy saucepan works well, too. The *real* fondue forks are really handy to have, though, with their long stems. Those also often show up at Goodwill.

For some reason it feels like such a BIG treat to the kids to dip those goodies into cheese or chocolate. We try to make the meal part mostly veggies, so it’s not *too* unhealthy. We also dip nice whole grain bread cubes. For the chocolate, of course, fruit is best. We’ve also dipped pound cake cubes or marshmallows, too (but here again, we *try to keep it healthy).

If you want to keep them from piling on too much chocolate (or cheese for that matter), it helps to make your fondue a little thinner.

DH often will pick up a bottle of sparkling cider from ALDI and we get out the cheap but fancy stemware, too. All my kids, from teens to the 5yo enjoy this a lot.