3 Great Ways To Celebrate Valentine’s Day As A Long Distance Aunt

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Dana Gutkowski

I am the mother of none, but the very proud Aunt to four beautiful children. I did absolutely no work to create them, but I will do everything in my power to help raise them.

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Being a long distance Aunt is hard on our hearts sometimes.  We don’t get to see our niblings as often as we’d like, the kids seem to grow up overnight from one visit to the next, and our hearts ache feeling like we’re missing out on so much.  To be honest, none of that will ever go away without moving closer.  But in the meantime, there’s plenty of things that you can do between visits that’ll ease the pain.  As I mentioned in my previous post “5 Smart Phone Apps Every Cool Aunt Needs”, there are plenty of ways to “play” from far away.  But what about those times when you just want them to know you love them?  You want to do a little something extra, but the distance holds you back from even trying.  Well, there’s a way to get around that too.

A lot of people are surprised at how close I am to my niece and nephews that live out of state.  I live in New York on Long Island and they’ve been living in Maryland with their Mommy and Daddy ever since they were born.  Like most long-distance relationships, we see each other a few times per year, for holidays, special events, and maybe a random weekend here and there.  Sounds pretty dull, right?  Well, I must say, it’s not!  Though our houses are located hundreds of miles away, our hearts live as close as next door neighbors.  I don’t use the excuse, “I wish we were closer, but we live so far away.”  Nope, I’ve made it my mission to be involved in their lives ever since my niece Layla was born in 2009.  And it’s no different now that it’s 2018 and Layla has two brothers, Jayden and Julian.

So how is it that I’ve managed to maintain these close relationships with them even though we live so far apart?  Well I can’t say that there’s a silver bullet: do this one thing and you’ll magically get that.  That doesn’t work for anything in life, right?  But I do keep a continuous theme throughout our relationship.  I give them the one gift that every child desires, whether it’s their Birthday, Christmas, or any innocuous date.  I give them my time.

Now you might be thinking, “Yeah, you give them your time when you see them.  Sure, so does everyone else.”  No my fellow Aunts, I dedicate time to them, whether we’re in person or apart.  Sometimes they don’t even know I’m giving it to them.  For example, Valentine’s Day falls on a Wednesday this year.  I can’t recreate the same excitement as I did when I magically popped out of the trunk of a car (press play above), but I can take the time to let them know I’m thinking about them.  I will be making a surprise appearance in their mailbox this year.

In my book, Valentine’s Day is a day of love, not romance.  I’ve combined my love of art and drawing with my love of being an Aunt.  Each one of them will get a personal, hand-drawn valentine from me.  I know what characters they’re into at the moment and I know how much they love pugs, so I used my time to draw up their own unique pictures.  They have no idea they’re getting a valentine from me, but I know how much they’ll appreciate it when it arrives.

Tips For Sending Love: The best advice I can give is make it your own.  Trust me, it’s these little acts that’ll allow you to steal their hearts one gesture at a time.

Ideas for sending Valentines:

1.) Draw them a picture:

If art seems too intimidating for you, a great resource is Art For Kids Hub on YouTube.  The host teaches viewers a step by step technique to easily create pictures of the most popular characters.  It’s a show made for kids, so the steps are SO easy and the results are FANTASTIC!

2.) Send a care package:

But if you still feel like art’s not your thing, a care package is always a great option.

Do you bake?  Whip up a batch of your favorites cookies or rice crispy treats molded into hearts.

Are you a crafter?  You might find some fun ideas on my Pinterest Board on Crafts for Kids.

If you’re none of those things, head over to Cheryl’s Cookies and order some delicious treats!

3.) Write a Letter

I understand if money is tight too.  You can still let them know how much you care by getting out a piece of paper and writing “I just want you to know I love you.” Pop it in an envelope and drop it in the mail.

Need help?  I have written 3 letter templates available for FREE!  Click here and follow the prompts to be emailed your letter templates!  

The way you choose to send your love doesn’t matter.  What matters most is making sure the message is received in the first place.

If you have a great idea on how to celebrate Valentine’s Day with children near or far let me know in the comments below.

P.S. I will also be sending my niece and nephews a Valentine’s Day card.  However, this one won’t have my name signed at the bottom.  It’ll be signed by Santa.  See how you can send letters from Santa at North Pole Notes.

Letters From Santa
by Dana Gutkowski

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