Love Letters

While talking to my anti-blogging sister today, she told me that she was writing Valentine's Day letters to both of her kids. This idea is originally from my cousin, who has been writing letters to each of her kids since they were born.

The basic idea is that you write them a letter containing all the things that you love most about them right now. This is not a letter about all the things you hope for them for the future, it is meant to focus on their personality traits, habits and behavior today. If you do this every year, wouldn't that be a great gift for them to look back on as they get older? It would also be an awesome gift to give when your kids start having kids of their own. Oh gosh, I'm getting carried away.

My boys are obviously still too young to understand the contents of a letter that I'll write to each of them, but they will understand it someday and I want to make sure I document what makes each of them unique and loveable before I forget.

Valentine's Day, Part 2: Special Activities

Get creative this weekend with some fun activities for the kids!

1. Make a wreath for the front door out of construction paper shaped like over sized conversation hearts. Write cute messages on them just like the candy.
2. Go to Joann and buy foam to make magnets, refrigerator picture frames or bookmarks. Some of their 'foam paper' is even sticky on the back, which would save all the glue troubles.
3. Make a paper chain using white, pink and red paper listing all the people you love and things you love to do together.
4. Throw a Valentine's Day party. Choose a meal and have the kids help decorate the kitchen with streamers and balloons. Cover the table with white paper and put out markers, stickers and crayons. If the kids are old enough, have them draw hearts or write messages to each other on the paper. Cook a special Valentine's Day meal using heart shaped cookie cutters (on their pancakes, sandwiches, french toast, etc). Eat strawberries and whipped cream, strawberry ice cream with pink sprinkles - anything you think would be festive! Give each child a small gift to let them know you think they are special and love them. They'll talk about this for a long time!
5. Play 'Cupid Says' instead of Simon Says
6. Buy a Terra Cotta pot to paint together with a valentine's day theme. Fill it with your kids' favorite candy and use it as a candy dish (or plant a flower and tell your kids that your love for them 'grows' like the flower grows. Cheesy, but cute!)

Do you have any ideas to share? Happy Valentine's Day (on Sunday)!!

Valentines Day, Part 1: Fun with Food

Valentine's Day is this weekend!! Sure, Valentine's Day was fun as a dating or young married couple, but when you throw kids into the mix, sometimes an expensive dinner out just doesn't make sense anymore, especially when you factor in hiring a babysitter. As kids get older, they will love getting into this lovey dovey holiday and you'll love seeing them transform into little romantics for the day. Try some of these this weekend!

1. Bake a heart shaped cake and decorate it together
2. Make Valentine's Day sugar cookies together and decorate - different sized hearts, letters to spell love, add red food coloring to the batter to make it red or pink
3. Buy your child his/her favorite candy it give it with a note that says 'You're my Valentine'
4. Bake something together and deliver it to a neighbor who is lonely this year
5. Add a few drops of red food coloring to milk to make it pink, or buy strawberry milk
6. Make 'Love Muffins' - any flavor you want, just call them Love Muffins
7. Dip oreos in white chocolate (or pink or red - available at craft stores in the baking section) and decorate with sprinkles or icing
8. Make Cranberry Sweetheart Scones for breakfast (recipe from http://www.familyfun.com/)
9. Make Raspberry Heart Tarts for dessert (recipe from http://www.familyfun.com/)
10. Put Hershey's Hugs and Kisses in your child's lunchbox

I have a few ideas for Valentine's Day activities too (not food related)... but was wondering: Do you do anything special for your family/husband/kids on Valentine's Day? Do you have any traditions that you already do with your family or that you'd like to start this year?

(If it's not too much trouble, please post comments here instead of on Facebook so all the readers can see your ideas, not just the ones who are my FB friends. THANKS!!)