How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? I usually like to surprise my kids with a few little surprises — pajamas (the ones above are from Lake Pajamas and selling fast!; kids puppy pajamas here and my striped pajamas here; Old Navy always has great inexpensive holiday themed jammies, like these), heart-shaped pancakes*, Valentines on their breakfast plates, bagels with cream cheese where I’ve mixed red food coloring into the cream cheese, etc. — and then Landon and I like to have a special dinner (something like lobster or burgers, always at home) with a good bottle of champagne. I also always wear pink or red for the occasion, because why not? (Protect the whimsical!)
*Pro tip: pour batter into a squeeze bottle and then outline the shape of a heart in the hot pan. Let it “set” for a few seconds, and then fill in the center!
I found a couple of fun gift, decor, and outfit ideas, whether you are planning to do something small or something more involved for your loved ones —
FAIR ISLE SWEATER // LAKE PAJAMAS // FLEECE BOOTS // CANDY MAILBOX // CUYANA HEART CASE // BLUSH TINT // WEEZIE TOWELS // PENDANT NECKLACE // DORSEY EARRINGS // MINI NOTECARDS // COIN PURSE
Valentine’s Day 2026: Beauty + Fashion Finds.
01. A big pink statement sweater, like this, this, this, this, this, this, with a pair of great everyday jeans.
02. Pajamas for them and for you.
03. Best loungewear in whisper pink. (I might treat myself to this set.). Vibe for less with this Gap set!
04. Heart fleece boots (and a coin purse to match). I got my daughter the coin purse for Christmas and she carried it around with her everywhere. So sweet.
05. Pink and red scalloped robe that could be worn all year long. I own this in blue and love it. The perfect light weight with a nice, long belt that actually stay put.
06. A robe for the littles too!
08. I own and treasure this Cuyana heart-shaped toiletry case. I actually use it to hold chunky necklaces on my dresser right now — it sparks joy every time I look at it. I got one for my mom, too!
08. I recently tried Victoria Beckham’s brand for the first time – the blush water tint is worth the hype and perfect for a Valentine’s flush!
Valentine’s Day 2026: Jewelry Finds.
01. The earrings I wear almost daily.
02. Personalized charm necklace.
03. This engraved pendant or this one — jewelry that tells a story!
04. In love with this silhouettes bracelet.
Valentine’s Day 2026: Home Finds.
01. Weezie heart towels + heart linens (other option here).
02. Herend Keepsake box – would make a great gift for a daughter, mother, MIL, etc!
03. For passing out holiday baked goods.
04. Kitchen tea towels here and here.
05. Le Creuset essentials set + this baking dish.
06. Dip bowl and matching dinner plates.
Valentine’s Day 2026: Desktop + Stationery Finds.
01. Chic personalized stationery.
02. Assorted set from Emily Lex Studio.
03. Rifle Paper Co.’s essentials card box – Valentine’s edition.
Valentine’s Day 2026: Ways to Style.
FAIR ISLE SWEATER // CUYANA HEART CASE // ROTHY’S CLOGS // BOMBAS // MINI NOTECARDS // EVERYDAY JEANS // BLUSH TINT // EARRINGS
SCALLOPED ROBE // HEART TOWELS // LAKE PAJAMAS // FLEECE BOOTS // STICKY NOTES // SILHOUETTES BRACELET // CHARM NECKLACE
Valentine’s Day 2026: Kids’ Classroom Valentines Ideas.
If you’re shopping for kids’ Valentines to send into school this year, a few that caught my attention:
01. Popcorn stickers with these valentine popcorn bags.
02. Set of 12 pink and red cards with these cupid sour punch straws.
03. Magnetic book mark valentines — other option here + here.
04. Bubble gum valentines — with these bubble gum rolls!
05. Tic tac valentines — with this bulk pack of tic tacs.
06. The cutest V-Day mailbox with Sugarfina candy inside.
POPCORN STICKERS // SWEETHEART POPCORN BAGS // SUGARFINA MAILBOX // PINK AND RED CARDS // TIC TAC TOE VALENTINES
Other fun snacks to bundle with make-at-home Valentines:
VALENTINE’S DAY PRETZELS, VEGGIE STRAWS, PIRATE’S BOOTY, OR GOLDFISH
P.S. Kitchen favorites you might not have.
P.P.S. Sweaters for the deep of winter.
P.P.P.S. What are your favorite specialty pantry and snack items?
Magpie promo codes here + my recommended products here. You can preorder my book, Small Wonders, here!
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Hot take here. Can we normalize simplifying holiday treats for our kids and their classes? I appreciate that your idea here is an actually useful, reusable thing (the bookmarks). I remember as a kid we just cut out hearts and did handwritten Valentines for classmates. In my daughter’s kinder year 2 years ago, she got multiple goodie bags from classmates and while well-intentioned, it’s just way too much plastic. I cringed thinking about 800+ students exchanging goodie bags in her large K-5 elementary school (!!!). In her first grade I polled all the parents in her class about simplifying Valentines and I was relieved that everyone was on board and gave (recyclable) cards, heart cut-outs, or notes. I am have been bringing this up with the class parent reps as well. I feel like the Grinch that stole Valentine’s but hope to make more significant change!
Thanks for sharing this, Mia! Good food for thought for me. I’ve adopted a similar mentality in goody bags from birthday parties; I think we’ve exchanged notes on this front in the past, but I try to give a book, a gift card, a t-shirt, etc.
xx
Ah yes, we might have talked about this and I’m sorry for sounding like a broken record or borderline evangelical 🙂
In general I am also wrestling with the fact that my love for shopping is in opposition with my aspiration for more sustainability. Yes, I do love clothes/shoes/accessories/home items/etc as much as the next Magpie. Yes, there are material things that simply spark joy, and there’s something about dressing in an artful way that helps us feel our best and meet the day. I have been trying my best to shop on Etsy or smaller businesses, look for pre-owned when possible, and only buying what I truly truly love and can foresee myself using for at least the next five years, looking for quality and durability, etc. I understand shopping recommendations are also largely how you make a living (and I absolutely love and have benefited from your style recommendations in addition to your lovely writing), but I struggle with reconciling the influencer industry (and its ethos of all new all the time), and sustainability. I have been more intentionally *trying* to adopt the mindset of “I have enough” and thinking about how I can recreate inspiring outfits that I see online with things I already have.
One of my graduate students is from Accra, Ghana, and meeting her reminded me of that devastating fire that was in the news around winter 2025 in the second hand clothes market, for which they have a term in their language — a place where they re-sell “dead white person’s clothes” or donated/discarded clothes from the global north. While I have been wrestling with these ideas and my part in it for a while now, I am struck by the fact that it took a personal (well, professional) connection to someone from that place to re-think my consumption. Not to mention the collapse of the clothing factory in Bangladesh in 2013, the worsening wildfires in CA and other climate disasters elsewhere, etc.
I understand there is no easy answer to this, and this is not meant as an attack on you by any means. I have been a reader of your site for years now and will continue to come back for your thoughtful reflections, poetry, book reviews, and style inspiration. As you have written, “women contain multitudes”, and I feel that this topic (efforts toward sustainability) is one of those. I’m hoping it begins a meaningful conversation.
Relate to these thoughts and thanks for sharing them — especially like the provocation to shop/style my own closet. I’ve talked about this previously as “hero dressing” — take all your favorite pieces and wear together and you’re bound to feel a) like yourself and b) comfortable / happy because you’re with your favorites, not to mention that sustainability angle. Anyway, lots of thoughts here, and thanks for reading and commenting, as always —
xx