So, now that I write about throwing kids' parties for a living (or part of a living), I constantly have holidays on the brain. I've been busy writing about Valentine's Day lately, and I'm having some fun with it.
I've always thought Valentine's Day was a bit of a scam. Chocolates, cards, mass-produced teddy bears holding chocolates and cards. Just another money maker.
(I just wrote and deleted a little speech about over consumption. See the archives if you want to know my thoughts on that. See the giant bouncy castle in my basement if you want to know how we've been doing with that lately.)
Celebrating Valentine's Day is different with young kids, though. They understand love. They get that more than the reasons behind the other holidays. Hugs? Kisses? We're all over that in our house (hence the constant battle with colds).
And, oh, the crafts. Mmm ... I love it all. Here are a few tutorials I've posted so far ...
Easy heart garland made from kids' artwork and junk mail:
Hanging in our foyer right now:
A Valentines spinner craft:
And I'm just wrapping up the tutorial for this party invitation:
You'll be able to find the link here tomorrow.
Here's the link for the hugging heart.
Normally I loathe googly eyes, but that little guy kind of had to have them, don't you think?
The idea there is that he's giving you a hug, and it's the invitation to a "Valentine's Day party with a cause," where kids do some sort of community service, like collecting food for shelter dogs or singing old-fashioned love songs at a nursing home.
Bo decided to make him a friend with legs and a buzz cut:
You can see the other Valentines party themes I've written up here.
In other news, my husband is a genius. For 8 years now, I have resisted every technological advance J has proposed for our house, insisting that things like wireless Internet access were ridiculous (!!!) and unnecessary. I have been wrong every time, including the latest addition. Somehow he made it possible for me to play iTunes through our living room stereo just by clicking a button on my computer.
I don't know how this happened, but it means two things:
Journey's Greatest Hits anytime, anywhere.
And podcasts where people read children's books aloud, like over at The Story Home. It's a great way to calm the kids down before bedtime, especially if they've just gone a few rounds in the bouncy castle or had to endure their mother singing "Don't Stop Believing" while the vegetables roasted.
I'm not sure life could get any better.