Feeling the Love

Jules here-

Of course, we haven't had a PARTY since the Cinderella one in November, so Grace was itching to party plan and pinterest.  Starting in early January, we planned a fantastic Valentine's day bash for a group of friends, and to make it extra special- I insisted parents drop off their children so they could have a "couple" date.  Luckily, two of my guests were a 16 year old and an 11 year old girl- who were more helpful than the average under 5 year set we normally host...

As we started planning this early, I had plenty of time to check out a few thrift shops for Valentine's items-- I hit the jack pot!! Several local St. Vincent de Paul Stores and Salvation Armies had little Valentine's displays- that I pretty much destroyed. I got a vinyl tablecloth with hearts (brand new!) for $1, 20 sheets of Valentine's Day stickers for $1, a glass heart shaped platter for $0.50, 2 clear plastic bowls for chips for $0.10 each, pink streamers for $0.50, Valentine's paper napkin packs for $0.25 each (I bought 3), and even brand new doily packs for $0.25 each, 3 colors!  Whew!  It was a better savings than the Dollar Store- though I did get full sized plates and a disposable table cloth. 

After decor, we planned a heart and love themed menu. Well, sort of. Grace really wanted to have names like, "Meatballs from the heart", etc.... but we mostly just made things heart-shaped. Earlier in the day, I prepped 10 pizza dough hearts- I cooked them for about 10 minutes after shaping them so the kids could make-their-own pizzas that night.

We had fruit, veggies & dip, and cheese and crackers as appetizers.  Plus of course, we had cupcakes and candy too...

As for activities, we set up a Valentine's card making station (I used the disposable table cloth for glue-protection on the table).  We had stickers, doilies, construction paper, cut-outs, foamtastic, etc. 

We made the mini-pizzas, then we cleared off the craft-table to make room for cookie decorating. The cookies were the "favors" and I had little Valentine's bags to take them home in.  I made plenty so kids could make several to give to family at home. 

I made a mix list of "Love" songs from the 50s to the 80s and it was fun to sing along to some of the classics!  Finally, the older girls lead the kids in a hilarious game of Head Banz (highly recommended for children!) until the parents came for pick up! It was a fantastic night of food, celebration, and friends!

Easy Rule #34234- Sometimes helping out friends with babysitting isn't really work- Just fun for the kids! Plus you SUGAR them up, and SEND them home :)

Easy Rule #41324- A holiday about chocolate, love, and crafting- hmm... not much I don't like!

Side note:

Grace overheard me singing the song, "All you need is love" by the Beatles and she asked, "What does that mean?"

I answered, "Well, they are just saying that all you need in life is to love someone."

Grace replied with a snort, "Well, Love isn't going to buy you a car...."

That's my little practical capitalist- guess we missed some of the message of Valentine's Day!! :)