Valentines Day Treats

I love Valentines Day – simply because its a great time to have a valentines day treat.
There is something so magical about a holiday that is devoted entirely to love. A time when you can freely tell all the people in your life how much you love them. It is so easy to let an entire year go by without telling your parents, siblings, or close family friends how special they are and how much you care about them.

Growing up my mom always made us homemade valentines. She would write us a note telling us how much she loved us and how proud she was of the choices we were making in our lives. She always included a treat. I still receive valentines from her, although now she includes some for my kids as well. I’ve continued her tradition and each year my kids look forward to receiving their valentines.

I also help my children make valentines for their grandparents and their teachers. They
also get to pick out valentines to send their cousins along with their choice of candy.

Last year we made paper flower bouquets. I cut out a simple flower shape and then let
them color them. Then I added a Hershey kiss to the center and taped on a green pipe stem cleaner for the flower’s stem. Then I took 3 or four and tied them together with a ribbon. I attached a note that said “I love you bunches and bunches!”

For a fast and simple valentines day treat, Laura Torres a Family Fun writer, suggests taking a six inch square piece of tulle or netting placing some candy in the center and then tying it with a ribbon. You can attach a tag that tells whom the treat is for and from.

A tootsie roll pop can take center stage in this valentine. Cut out a heart out of construction paper and decorate it with markers or glitter. Try the glitter glue or paint if you don’t like the mess of regular glitter. Then cut two small slits, one on each side of the heart, diagonally. Then slip the tootsie pop in as the arrow. Write who the valentine is to and from on the back.

You can always just let your kids cut out and decorate different sized hearts using pink, red, and white paper. Then layer the hearts on top of each other. For younger children you can trace the heart and let them cut them out, or cut out the hearts yourself. The easiest way to make a heart it to fold a paper in half and then draw half of a heart, making sure that the rounded edge is opposite the fold. Then cut on the line and unfold the paper. The two sides of the heart will match perfectly.

Whatever you do try taking the time to send some valentines day treat to people in your life that you really care about and let them know how much they mean to you.

With Love