Need a new family tradition for Valentine’s Day? On each of the thirteen days leading up to the special day, mom of four Alexis Sanchez posts a heart-shaped note on her kids’ doors each night after they go to bed. By February 14, their doors are covered. 

“Usually it’s just characteristics I see in them or ways that they’re kind to others. They really love this, and I even found my eight-year-old kept all his hearts from last year in a special drawer, so that’s pretty awesome,” Sanchez says, whose other children are 10, six, and one.

This article was originally published in December 2024.
Christa Melnyk Hines

Freelance journalist, Christa Melnyk Hines, and her husband are the parents of two boys. She is the author of Happy, Healthy & Hyperconnected: Raise a Thoughtful Communicator in a Digital World.