Valentine's Day brings lots of talk about love—from candy hearts to taking Valentine's to school. It's a great time to talk to your kids about treating others with kindness, respect, and love. Welcome to our new subscribers!
This newsletter is one of my FAVES! There are so many options. It's one of my Pinterest boards that can get way overwhelming, but I wanted to tackle the best from beginner to creative-genius for you. Every year, it seems my son's V-Day party catches me by surprise, so I wanted to go ahead and publish this one early for you. So yes, I want to challenge you this Valentine's day to forego the cookie-cutter, paper Valentine's and try something new! I even added pictures to show what we made in our home!
Valentine Boxes
What's the point in having a cool Valentine without an AmaZinG Valentine box?!
1. Taco Box- This will be the Valentine box we will tackle this year for my son Jackson! I will (hopefully) post some pictures next week on our progress (and hopefully finished project)! Good news, I already have all the supplies!
2. Remote Control- We made this box last year. Do NOT laugh at the size of his box. It was the only thing I could find on yes, short notice. I printed everything off of the web, painted the box and then just glued the "icons" on.
3. Paw Patrol- Marshall and Chase are trending still. My nephew, Brody wanted a Marshall box. I found a red box at Michael's that already had a hole cut out for his treats. I printed different Paw Patrol clip art to glue on the box. I also cut up yellow paper to give it that fire truck look. The fun part was making the fire truck ladder. We used two skewers and toothpicks and painted them white. We used this for inspiration.
4. Unicorn- Still one of my favorites! I think every girl in America is crushing on unicorns; I know my niece, Bailee is! We had so much fun making her box! I upcycled a cardboard box by wrapping it with white tissue paper. I made the unicorn horn out of white cardstock. The final, amazing touch was the find of GLITTER Mod Podge! I found silver curling ribbon at The Dollar Tree, pink glitter hearts for the nostrils and we made her eyes out of construction paper. I LOVE Bailee's unicorn box!
5. Jackson's Feed Me Candy Big Mouth-We wanted to make Jackson a box that fit his wild man personality. I found this on Pinterest and knew we had to make it for him. The site called for 11x17 which I made at Office Depot and it turned out HUGE. I would recommend an 8 1/2 x 11 to make it easier to fit a deep shoe box. Just take a picture of your kiddo with his or her mouth wide open so you can cut out the mouth for kids to put their candy through. Here's the website to get some inspiration.
Valentine Cards/Treat Bag Toppers
1. Gnomies, PB&J and Tacos! I created three different Treat Bag Toppers for Valentines for a FREE printable for Macaroni Kid subscribers! I'm on the Gnomes bandwagon right now, the PB&J was so cute, and the taco is going to go well with Jackson's Taco Box we are making! You can download the printable HERE. I made them so you can put whatever treat you would like in a zipper lock bag. All you need to do is cut and stable each printable to the top of a zipper lock bag.
2. Gummy Bears - I found snack-size Haribo gummy bear packs for only $2.99 at my local Ross' and there was enough in one back for a whole class. Life With Fingerprints has a great resource library for printables.
2. Crush Drink Mix- I found Crush singles mixes at The Dollar Tree (6 pack) and found "I Have a Crush on You" printable. I attached it all to a paint sample at my local hardware store. I also liked the "Kool"-aid printable but couldn't find Kool-aid powder packages.
4. Blowing You Kisses- The great combination of candy and non-candy. I found the individual bubbles at The Dollar Tree and at Michaels.
5. Love Bugs- My kids love everything gummy, so I was excited to also find Love Bugs which uses gummy worms.
6. Glow Stick Light Up My Life- A great non-candy option and super easy to make.
7. Goldfish School- Looking for a non-chocolate snack that also serves as a Valentine? What a great idea!
8. Tell them they're Cute with a Cutie- Here's your fruit Valentine option...and it's a cutie.
9. Kiss Me Valentine- By far my favorite! I took a close-up picture and used Canva to add text and then printed it as wallets at Wal-Mart. You get two wallets for around 60 cents! I found chocolate lips at TJMaxx and lip suckers at The Dollar Tree.
10. Sucker Photo Card- We did this with Grace a few years ago and still is one of my favorites. You take a photo of your kid holding their arm out. Print in wallet size as your photo lab of choice. Cut a small slit on top and underneath their hand and slide a sucker through. You can also load the picture in Canva to add a cute V-Day saying. This site also has a cute idea with their mouth.
11. Monster Truck Donuts- This one is for our monster truck lovin' boys. The template even has an editable option where you can personalize it with your kid's name! Will need to buy more than 1 bag of donuts depending on the size of your class. Your son will "wheelie" love this one.
12. Teacher, You Are One In A "Melon"- Valentine's Day is a great way to show your teacher appreciation in a small to even big way. One small way is a yummy gummy treat or you can make it healthy with a mixed melon cup of fresh fruit.
Crafts
1. Cereal Bird Feeder- A great craft for your preschoolers and doubles as a great sensory exercise.
2. Piggy Valentine- Great craft that can double as a valentine or teacher gift. My daughter Grace has made one for her homeroom teacher.
3. Love Bugs- You know how much I love to upcycle, especially our toilet paper tubes. I found another idea to glue your kiddo's face as the love bug's face! So many variations you can do with this but can use googly eyes (spend a little more and get the self-adhesive ones), pipe cleaners, washi tape, and oh, yeah my now favorite Mod Podge glitter!
Snacks
1. Hearts with Leftover Candy Canes- Snacks, valentine cards and so many more ideas. I love this so much I featured it on my segment with DayTime TriCities in January!
2. Cupid Kabobs- A great healthy, fruit option. You could mix it up and use brownie and marshmallows too. I did this last year and it was a big hit.
2. Funfetti Bugles- Excited about making these. We had them at a friend's birthday party and was surprised to see Funfetti Cake Mix as the main ingredient. Nice twist on the popular Muddy Buddies.
3. Cookies and Milk- #11 and #23. I have bought my heart mold at Michael's and can't wait to try out the frozen milk hearts and combine them with our sugar wafer cookies dipped in chocolate! You know I had to throw something in that was covered in chocolate!
4. Cupid Trail Mix- I am a true believer in snacks that are fun, but Easy! I love this idea and you can customize it with your faves.
5. Cupid Punch- Definitely will be my go-to beverage this year! I will use Cherry 7-Up, Vanilla Ice Cream, Whip Cream, and Twizzlers for straws!
Come on Super Moms, Dads, Grandparents and Caregivers....I promise you won't need super powers to do any of the above Valentine's Day fun ideas. I would love for you to share your Valentine's Day creations on our MK Facebook page or tag us on Facebook @MacaroniKidTriCities and on Instagram at @MacKidTriCities.
