How to Make Valentine's Day Special For Kids

Children love Valentine's Day. They exchange Valentine's at school. They get candy, and who doesn't love candy?
There can be more to Valentine's day than the commercialized cards and candy. You can start your own tradition and instill in your children a real meaning behind Valentine's Day.
Don't let money become an issue as you can do many things without money if get creative.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper
• Pens, Pencils, Crayons
• Glue
• Stickers
• Cooking Utensils
• Food (depends on what you are making)
• Camera

1. Talk with your children. Ask them what do they think Valentine's Day means. Write these things down. Ask them what they think could give more meaning to Valentine's Day. write these things down.

2. With your children come up with some ideas of things to do and ways to celebrate Valentine's day using the information you gathered from the previous step.
   These may include:
   * Making Valentine's to give to family and friends.
   * Making Valentine's Day decorations for your home.
   * Making cookies, cupcakes, etc. to give to family and friends.
   * Throwing a Green Valentine's Day Party.
   * Volunteering your time to an organization that helps those in need.
   * Making a special Valentine's Day breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
   * Making a memory page for your scrapbook of all the Valentine's Day events.

3. Making Valentine's:
   * To save money try using things you already have at home.
   * Think about recycling things that you already have to make your Valentine's, such as painting paper grocery bags instead of using other paper.
   * Remember to take pictures.

4. Making Valentine's Day decorations for your home:
   * Use things around your home to make decorations. Maybe you have left over crate paper form previous party's. Hang it up or make a chain by cutting 8 inch strip of crate paper, taping it into a circle, and connecting the next piece to the pervious on and so on until you reach the desired length.
   * Make heart's or a cupid out of paper and decorate with glitter, stickers, and crayons.
   * Remember to take pictures.

5. Making Cookie, cupcakes, etc.:
   * Instead of buying candy consider making your own goodies to give to family and friends. You can make cookies, cupcakes, even your own candy.
   * Remember to take pictures.

6. Throwing a Green Valentine's Day Party:
   * Send out invitations online to save paper.
   * Ask those you invite to bring things to make craft projects with. This can include junk mail, old news paper, etc. try making collage hearts by tearing up the paper and gluing it to a larger piece of a brown grocery store paper bag. Then cut out a heart.
   * Ask guests to look through there pantry to see if they have cake mix, frosting, sprinkles. Use these to make cupcakes, or a cake.
   * Plant a new tree and decorate it with the homemade Valentine's, or plant some flowers.
   * Remember to take pictures.

7. Volunteering your time:
   * Nothing is more meaningful than serving others especially those in need. Ask your children who they would like help. There are many choices, from elderly homes to homeless shelters.
   * Contact a place you are interested in volunteering at and let them know you and your children are interested in volunteering.
   * You could also ask if you and your children could do some sort of Valentine's Day craft project with the people that they provide there services to. This sort of project would work well at places where children are such as family, or women and children shelters.
   * Remember to take pictures (ask if it is okay to take pictures first).

8. Making a special Valentine's Day breakfast, lunch or Dinner:
   * Decide which you would like to do breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You could also do something special at each meal. Maybe heart shaped toast at breakfast, heart shaped sandwiches at lunch, and heart shaped pasta and garlic bread at dinner (the pasta can be found at some stores or online. To make the toast, sandwiches, and garlic bread you can use regular white bread and a heart shaped cookie cutter that you can find at some dollar stores).
   * Remember to take pictures.

9. Make a page for your scrapbook:
   * Print the pictures you have taken doing all these different things with your children and make a page for your scrapbook to remember how special your Valentine's Day (and the days leading up to it) were.
   
   Make a memory photo CD for guest's of your Green Valentine's Day Party:
   * Make a photo CD of the pictures from your Green Valentine's Day Party, or you can organize them online and email them with an e-card.

Tips & Warnings

• If you choose to do several of these activities pick one to do on Valentine's day such as the breakfast, lunch, or dinner and the others before. That way you are not stressed and can enjoy the day.

[luv2laugh]

on 2/13/2009 These are amazing tips, thank you for ALL the information.