Valentine's Day, Part 1

Lauren absolutely loves holidays, and her joy is infectious. She makes it so much fun to decorate and prepare for any "special" event, and Valentine's Day has been no exception. In fact, I think I've enjoyed getting ready for Valentine's Day with her even more, because it's a holiday that's not based on gifts and a long wish-list of toys. She knows that it's about making special cards and things for people you love, and it's been wonderful to emphasize that over the past few weeks. So with that in mind, we've been getting crafty with decorations, cards, and surprises. Here are a few things we've made...

It started back in January, when I saw a Christmas garland on clearance at Michael's (my current favorite store). I thought about how easy it would be to shape it into a heart and voila: a Valentine's wreath was done for our front door.Next up, I saw a cute heart garland from Pottery Barn, but pretty much everything from that store is out of the budget. Fortunately, most things from Pottery Barn are also easy to replicate for a much cheaper price. :) And once again, the Michael's clearance aisle came through. I found some simple hearts that Lauren and I decorated with glitter and then hung from ribbons I already had.Another Pottery Barn inspiration came in the form of these Valentine "Chair Backers" that they sold a few years ago. You hang them on the back of a chair and they can hold special Valentine cards or small gifts. I found this tutorial online to create your own, in a much more budget-friendly fashion. So I made a couple of them for Lauren and Jonathan, and they will be surprised with them on Valentine's morning, hanging from their chairs and holding their Valentines. :)Of course, Valentine's Day is mostly about creating Valentines, and we've been doing plenty of that, too. I gave Lauren some blank white cards and foam Valentine stickers, and she came up with these cards all on her own, to send to family. I was pretty impressed with both her design and execution. We'll be scrapbooking together in no time! :)
Lauren was extremely excited about her "Valentine party" at preschool. I asked her if she wanted to make cards for her classmates, or get a box set. I fully expected her to choose the box of princess cards, but to my surprise, she said she definitely wanted to make them. (A girl after my own heart!) I found a cute idea online, and we made "lollipop flowers" for all her classmates. I cut out the flowers, she cut out the leaves, and we put the lollipop in the center. Very cute, and she did a great job!Here she is on Friday morning, ready to take her bag of Valentines to school.And here she is after I picked her up, looking through all of her cards and goodies. Such joy over such simple delights. I have a lot to learn from my little girl. :) I'll be back soon with part 2, ready to tell you all about our actual Valentine's Day together. Have a wonderful day with your loved ones!