2.14.2012

Valentines has arrived...

Are we all breathing now that Valentines is here?  
Well, if you are like me, you sent your kids out the door and now have a few hours to catch up after having a busy night of last minute valentine prep last night.  

So now is the time I prep for after school.  I have always been a big holiday fan.  It stems from my childhood and my parents traditional valentines meals and homemade valentines.  And picture this.  There were 10 kids in my family and we each made homemade valentines for each other.  But on top of that, we each wanted to ring the doorbell and run for EACH of those valentines we made.  100 doorbell rings was super fun as a child, but I can't imagine it as a parent!!

So here are some of the fun Valentine's Day activities we have done in addition to fun crafts and games I mentioned in previous posts:

1. Valentine's Meal.  Sometimes I do an all red meal with strawberries, spaghetti, red jello, etc.  But last year, I let my kids make homemade heart pizzas. I learned a great secret of homemade pizzas.  Use Rhodes Rolls frozen dough!  Set them out for an hour or so before or even thaw in the microwave.  Kids can put 1 or 2 dough balls down and roll them out with a rolling pin.  Then use a cookie cutter heart shape and you have a perfect heart.  So fun, so easy!
 And they were yummy!

 This year, I think for dessert we will do the Valentine Floats I mentioned before since I'm not doing it in any classroom.  You can make these with cherry 7-up, vanilla ice cream and red vine licorice for the straw.


Another dessert we love to do is making sugar cookies.  And we usually pick a neighbor who could use a plate as well.  I have a VERY FUN idea to use with your leftover heart sugar cookies coming up.  So if you have leftovers, freeze them!

 I love to give my kids "heart attacks" on their doors.  If you didn't do it this morning, surprise them after school!  Another fun thing is to go and surprise a neighbor or relative with one of these.  Write cute notes on the hearts.
 A tradition I have carried on from my childhood is making homemade valentines.  My kids use glue, construction paper, and doilies.  Sometimes they even glue conversation heats on them.  I chose a little simpler valentine, but my kids seem to enjoy personal notes from mom...

Happy Valentine's Day!  I'd love to hear your traditions in a comment or on our facebook fan page!

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