I heart Valentine’s Day. I would heart it even more if I knew it was going to yield a diamond tennis bracelet.
Actually, I’d prefer a Dyson instead of diamonds, but I digress.
The truth is you don’t have to spend a bundle to show your sweetheart how much you love him or her. In fact, in our house, Valentine’s Day is strictly for the kids. Each year my daughter and a few of her friends celebrate the holiday with a little party in our living room.
And by little I mean less than five munchkins cranked up on chocolate contained in one area. I skip the eating games, like find the hidden meatball under a tower of spaghetti noodles and red sauce, using just your mouth. And I just say “no” to musical chairs and other games that incite pushing and shoving on a day reserved for hugs and kisses.
Rather, I keep the activities sweet and simple, albeit a bit messy. (Still, I’d rather vacuum up a bunch of spilled glitter than be forced to scrub spaghetti sauce stains off ecru-colored carpet.) Some of my family’s favorite Love Day party projects include:
CHOCOLATE CATERPILLAR
Forget about making traditional love bugs, and go wild with these chocolate caterpillars. All you need are a few Hershey Kisses, some pipe cleaners, a pencil, googly eyes, small pompoms and craft glue. To make the little cuties, twist a pipe cleaner into a spiral shape by wrapping it around the pencil. Next, glue one Hershey Kiss to the front of the spiral and one to the back to create the caterpillar’s head and tail. Then, glue four pompoms to the bottom of the spiral pipe cleaner to create feet. Finish off the caterpillar by gluing on two eyes and a pompom for his nose.
LOVE NOTE HOLDER
Instead of handing out ugly plastic bags to each child for him to haul his goodies home, have your young guests make their own Valentine’s Day card holder. You’ll need a stack of paper plates, a stapler, scissors, glue, colored markers and a bunch of embellishments, such as stickers, glitter, sequins, buttons, stamps, feathers, tissue paper, etc. Start by cutting one of the plates in half. Next, line up the edges of the two plates and staple around the edge, so you create a pocket to put the goodies in. Finally, let the kids decorate the holder with the embellishments before filling it up with cards and treats.
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