A Valentine's Day Dinner Menu for the Whole Family

Parents, remember when Valentine's Day was a good excuse to dress up and take ourselves out to a restaurant for a fancy dinner? If you have kids, chances are you'll find yourself at home this year. But we still have a some options! We could just skip the holiday altogether. But somehow, this year more than ever feels like a good time to celebrate the Day of Love.

One option is to feed the kids an easy dinner (boxed mac & cheese, anyone?) and send them off to bed early, so you can order takeout from your favorite local restaurant, open a nice bottle of wine and enjoy a romantic date night for two at home.

But if you're on a limited budget and trying to save money or want to cook up a fun meal with the kids, here's an easy dinner menu the whole family will love and can help make.

Valentine's Day is on a Sunday this year, so spend some time early in the day prepping ingredients and making the chocolates ahead of time with (or without!) the kids.

Starter

Heart Fruit Skewers

Kids will ❤️ these adorable fruit skewers. Cut strawberries and watermelon (or other seasonal fruits) into thick slices, then have the kids cut out heart shapes using a mini heart cookie cutter. (You can get a 20-piece set with different shapes for $12.99 on amazon.com.) Save the leftover fruit scraps for smoothies or a yogurt parfait the next morning.

Main Dish

Heart-Shaped Pizza with Bell Peppers

Whenever I ask my kids what they want for dinner, the answer is invariably "pizza" and Valentine's Day is no different. But this heart-shaped pizza is a little more special than your everyday pie. Bonus: It's an easy recipe that the kids can help assemble. Let them help roll out the dough, make the heart shape and add the toppings. We love using bell peppers to create red hearts, but you can also use your mini heart cookie cutter on pepperoni slices to add some love.

Salad

Spinach Salad

This fresh-tasting, 10-minute salad is a simple mixture of fresh baby spinach and dried cranberries. To save time, you can use bottled Italian dressing, but with a few extra minutes you can easily switch up the flavor by making your own dressing—try this All-Purpose Vinaigrette

Dessert

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

This is a really fun cooking project to do with kids. They can help with prep, mixing and dipping. Make them ahead of time, so they're ready to eat when it's time for dessert. These truffles can be made up to 4 days ahead and stored at room temp.