Is it common for fathers to give a valentine to their daughters, perhaps a box of chocolates and/or some flowers?
I know it didn’t used to be unusual for a father to take all ‘his ladies’ out for a nice meal on Valentines. Do many of you still do this?
My dad always did…one big box of chocolates and some flowers for Mom, a small box and maybe a teddy bear or some other small gift for me and my sister. This tradition continued until we got married.
My dad used to do this. I honestly don’t remember if he still does or not (I suck!) I didn’t get married but I became a bitter old lady so he may have just stopped, possibly assuming I had a sweetie of my own.
But there’s nothing weird about it, nah.
My dad would usually come home with a box of chocolates for Mom and a little bag of candy for me.
My husband does not do the same for our young girls, but today he is in charge of ice cream sundaes for our oldest’s preschool class.
Tomorrow the girls and I will bake Valentine’s Day cupcakes and do a little craft together.
I give both of my kids, girl and boy, a small box of chocolates for Valentine’s. Maybe even a card. When my daughter is older and not living at home I may send her flowers. She is thirteen now and I still get a kiss and a hug every morning when she leaves the house. If I don’t remember then she will.
My dad always remembered his daughters on Vday.
Mom too.
Funny, I just got back from the store with a $10 teddy bear that came with a small heart shaped box of chocolates for my Room mate’s, GF’s daughter.
She refers to me as uncle Shakes and loves to be spoiled. I felt it was the right thing to do.
That’s really sweet unca Shakes! I’m glad you did it!
I give my daughters candy a card and sometimes a small gift each year.
It was standard practice in my house when I was growing up for dad to get all the kids a little something.
Huh…I was about to post and say “Yeah that’s really weird.” and then read all the other replies. I’ve never ever gotten anything for valentines, be it from my family or a SO. Even as a kid, I don’t remember my dad doing much on Valentines outside of a card for my mom or rarely some flowers. Although I made sure to get my daughter something this year. Nice little stuffed animal and candy. Oh what’s that sweetie? You’re only ten months old and can’t have candy? Aww…well I’ll just have to take care of that for you.
My dad always got me at least a card for Valentine’s, and usually candy as well when I was younger. I generally get a card from my mom and grandmother as well.
Okay, maybe I’ll in the minority here, but I’m thinking, ‘wierd and creepy.’
Valentines is about, well, partner-love, not familial love. To me, anyway.
I’m kinda the same. Although I think as children, it’s ok for the parents to get them a little something. I wanted something so bad as a kid but never got anything. But once the daughter hits adulthood, getting anything more than a card seems kinda creepy to me too.
I occasionally got a card/sweets from my parents, but I suspect it’s my mom, not my dad who remembered such things.
These days I use the long weekend to go visit them, and I usually take along a small edible gift. My mother in law sometimes sends us a valentines’ day treat, but sometimes she sends things on Halloween too.
I don’t think it’s weird to express affection to non-SO people in your life.
Well, look at it this way. You know how some of us adults like to celebrate things like St. Patrick’s day, Labor day and evedn cinco de mayo FCOL?! Most of us adults don’t really give a shit about the true meaning of these holidays, it’s just an excuse to party or take off of work.
Well, St. V-day is just an excuse for children to get a special treat. No real meaning to it.
My dad sends flowers to my office every Valentine’s day. My mom usually gives me a card and some chocolate.
Where is this written as law? I have received Valentine’s gifts from both my parents. My sisters and I still sometimes give Valentine’s gifts to each other. And when I was giving valentines to all the kids in my grade school classes, it most certainly was not about “partner-love.”
Or maybe I was wrong. Maybe Mom, Dad, and every kid in Miss Morgan’s Grade 1 class were just trying to get into my pants? My sister just sent me a text message to be on the lookout for my Valentine’s Day gift. Now that I know it’s just a pretext to incest, I suppose I should refuse delivery. Wow. I would never have eaten those candy bouquets Mom sent me at college if I had known.
Valentine’s Day is about love, period. It’s an excuse to express affection. There is nothing creepy about it. Unless your relative tries to feel you up after dinner.
No weirder than a daddy-daughter dance, to my mind, which is to say, creepy if overthought but almost always just something cute and sweet that offers kids a way to safely model an adult social ritual.
When I was in elementary school, Valentine’s Day meant those little fold-over valentines printed with cartoon characters dropped into paper bag mailboxes, and sometimes a class party with those little chalky hearts and pink cupcakes. We all had pretty vague ideas about what romance actually was, but being included in the holiday that obviously meant SOMETHING to grown-ups was important.
I don’t give Valentines, and I don’t take my “ladies” to a nice dinner. What I do is summed up in another thread, here:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10789682&postcount=12
If you don’t feel like clicking the link, it basically says I go get (or cook, if need be) anything they each want for dinner.
I try to get my daughter something each year. The chocolate is usually communal after my wife opens it so that does not count. But when I get roses for my wife my daughter gets one too. Some years it was small stuffed animal instead. I don’t usually get a card for her though. Sometimes I don’t even get a card for my wife.