This is an idea from my Art Journal that I recreated onto 8x8 piece of MDF.[/caption]Hi! Thanks so much for stopping by! Guess what?! Valentines Day is around the corner! I love it! I have so many fun projects I'm doing this month and I will post them all so you can do them too! I love Valentines Day! It's my children's favorite holiday too! I guess it's because from the time they were itty bitty, I made Valentines Day super special at our house!
Valentines Day hasn't always been my favorite. I think when I was younger I felt like Valentines day was all about couples, or dates, or crushes. When I was in school, clubs would sell cards and flowers the week before Valentines day and then deliver them on Valentines during homeroom. Even though I didn't have a boyfriend or expect a thing that day, every time the classroom door opened I felt the anxiety of hoping one of the deliveries would have my name on it. Conversations swirling around the lunch table were all about who sent what to who and who had a date and where they were going and what they were doing. You get the idea. Anyway, to make a long story short, I never wanted my children to dread Valentines day. I wanted them to love it and look forward to celebrating a day filled with love. So I decided to make February 14 the most wonderful day of the year at our house. Oh my goodness it is! We love it. To this day, everyone reserves February 14 for our Valentines party.
I decorate my kitchen from top to bottom in everything pink and red and hearts. It's tacky fabulous. When my children were little, I decorated an empty cereal box and put it the center of the table. The days prior to Valentines, we all made valentines for each other and put them in the box. When they were really young their valentines were paper with red crayon scribbles. I would have tears in my eyes as they would reach into the box and get their little scribbles out and pass them around with such joy. For thirteen days that box would be overflowing with little love notes. For breakfast I usually fix heart shaped biscuits. I use to fill the lunch boxes with notes and treats and of course, a heart shaped sandwich. Dinner is more of the same. Then Party Time. I plan five valentine games with five prizes so each child wins a little prize. Games like valentine bingo, a balloon popping game, even a hula hoop contest. Soooo much fun. The games are really hilarious and we still love to play them if we can. However, the highlight of the night, hands down, is sharing valentines. They are amazing. They no longer fit in the cereal box. They really are more like works of art. They are all still hand made and very creative. It always amazes me how the valentines perfectly reflect the personality of the creator. It is a special treat! It really is our most favorite day of the year!
If you don't have a Valentines Day tradition. Please borrow mine!!! You will be so glad you did! It's a good one!! My kitchen is already beginning to transform into pink hearts. Some of my children have already started working on their cards. A couple work better under pressure and wait till the last minute. Either way, each card will be cut and glued with lots of love. Thanks for stopping by! I will post some fun projects and Ideas all month, so be sure to stop back by! And please leave me a comment on how you make Valentines day special! I would love to add more fun to my day! love love love Ruthie
We love Valentine's Day, too! Every year I have a Sweethearts Dinner for my family...it's the only night (other than Christmas) that we eat in the dining room! But we've never played games...I think I'll add that this year!!! Thanks for the idea!! Love you!!!
ReplyDeleteWe LOVE Valentines Day...how could we not with the last name of Love! When my husband and I first married, we decided that he would handle plans for our anniversary and I would handle Valentines Day. Since going out to eat on Vday can be a pain, I came up with a special dinner that I make every year. We turn down the lights, light candles and have a romantic dinner for 6. Well it was romantic before the kids! But they love the candle part! I make cornish hens, wild rice and some kind of chocolate dessert. Our kitchen is decorated with various hearts and verses that remind us about Love. I love the idea of the homemade Valentines...I think we will try that this year!
ReplyDeleteCheri! What a special night! I love that y'all do that! I am going to plan a special dinner and definitely add candles! Thank you! love R
ReplyDeleteI love that y'all do family dinner too! I love that! And just because your baby is going off to school don't skip the dinner! One year I drove to auburn and we had the party there! Believe it or not I think they would have really been disappointed if I hadnt made the effort to keep it going! so road trip if you have too! love R
ReplyDeleteOh Ruthie how I love your sweet traditions and how special that this will carry down through generations. When I was a young girl my Daddy always gave me roses on Valentines. I can remember how excited I was when the box arrived with fancy ribbon from my Daddy. He wanted me to know that whether or not I was a couple or had a boyfriend I was always always his number 1 love. Jeff does that for our girls and makes a big deal out of his Valentines aka his girls. I'm so thankful for that. I will miss my delivery from my Daddy this year. It seems like its always a first something without him. I am just so thankful to have a sweet husband that carries the same tradition. Love you Ruthie.
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