Have lunch with them.  If you can, leave the house to join your kids for a quick lunch at school, or meet up with your hubby at a restaurant to grab a bite.  Even thirty minutes makes a huge difference.  Wherever you are, you all have to eat lunch, don’t you?

At the strike of 5pm, be more open to your family.  Although you don’t have set work hours, it will help if you ease up on the workload once family members start coming home from school or the office.

Set aside one day a week for family time.  Manage your time throughout the week, so you can manage to free up a day.  You can devote this time to movie-watching, playing board games or going out on a date with your hubby.

Try to make your home office more family-friendly.   More often than not, your kids would just want to be near you, even if you’ve got your head buried in your computer.  Throw some bean bags next to your worktable, so your kids can read a book near you as you work.  Or have some crayons or paint on hand, so your little one can doodle away beside you.

It’s not easy being a work-at-home mom, but with a little creativity, you can devise ways to balance work with family time.

Hang pictures.  They don’t necessarily have to be a pricey Rembrandt.  Choose fairly cheap pictures which reflect your personality.  A mirror is also a good thing to hang.  Try to position it so it reflects a nice view.  You can also hang some funny shirts on the wall, if you feel like it.

Bring in plants.  They never fail to refresh a room.  If you fail miserably at gardening, you can get plastic plants instead.  

Add pillows.  These can jazz up a room in an instant.  Throw in a few pillows on a plain-colored sofa and you’ve got a more lively room.  You can change the pillow cases to suit the mood you’re in.

Don’t be confined by rules.  Let your creativity loose.  Use whatever materials you have handy to decorate your living space.

Clean your house. Take a break from researching on a 5th wheel insurance for your rv, and do a little bit of house-cleaning. The Chinese consider it good luck to clean the house of any dirt which has accumulated over the past year. It’s always best to start with a clean slate to attract positive vibes. But don’t do this for the first days of the new year, as you may sweep away any good luck.

Decorate your doors. It has been customary in Chinese homes to have their doors and window panes painted in red, which is believed to be a lucky color. They also hang papercuts on doors and windows.

Give out money packets. Kids love receiving these red packets with money, decorated with gold symbols.

More importantly, it always lifts everyone’s spirits to celebrate with the entire family. All the money packets in the world can never replace the happiness from sharing love with the ones you hold most dear to your heart.

If you find yourself alone on this day, it’s hardly the time to wallow in despair. There are a million and one things you can do to have fun on this day.

Gather a few of your friends together for a night- or afternoon- of bonding at your place. Bring whatever type of food you like, throw in some drinks, and you’re good to go. Start polishing those canon cameras and capture the fun of the moment. If you’re pressed for time, you can instead have a quick lunch with your friends at a quaint restaurant.

If your hubby is away, and it’s just you and the kids together on Valentine’s Day, you can devote an entire day to them. If you’re strapped for cash, you can simply hang out at home with a few DVDs and board games. If you feel like going out, you can hit the local science museum or art gallery and introduce your kids to an “anti-mall” kind of adventure.

Let your imagination roam. You can surely come up with more ideas to spend time with your loved ones. Valentine’s Day is all about love, anyway.

Go at it alone. Nothing’s more cumbersome than having to tote along a fussy kid or a tired hubby as you navigate the aisles. You’ll be able to get your shopping done faster if you have nobody else to think about but yourself.

Be realistic. No matter how passionate you are about shopping, realize that you will not be able to shop at every store in the mall. That will only leave you tired. Focus instead on one or two stores which you know you’ll get a good deal out of, and whose products you’re already familiar with.

Set a budget- and stick to it. Remember, you’re not out to pay a king’s ransom, so be sensible.