Quick & Easy Ways to Celebrate Valentine's Day with Kids

Everyone in our family is sick.  The second grader is home again, the two year old is on antibiotics for an ear infection.  I have laryngitis and one of the worst colds I can remember, and Brad, well he's sick too but since he's the more healthy of the two parents he is on parental duties!

With Valentine's Day this Friday I am glad we've already had a thematic celebration with friends of ours and that I try to do little Valentine related things all month long.  Here are some easy ways to celebrate that don't require a lot of preparation that we've done.

Simple Food:

I shared a picture in my last post, but to keep things all together I'll include it here again.  Inspired by this pin I used what I had on hand to make a quick version for my Nutella loving daughter.  Mine uses frozen waffles toasted, spread with Nutella, and then topped with cut up strawberries & Reddi Wip.

The 14th is a school day, so this is just the type of meal easy to put on the table during hectic mornings!  Nothing from scratch here, but it sure looks fancy and is not the kind of thing normally served before heading out to the bus!

My daughter wants to have something pink for Valentine's Day.  This dip is one of the very easiest recipes I've ever seen.  So simple, my seven year old can make it and be the person who actually made the pink contribution to our meal.

2 Ingredient Fruit Dip:

• 1 8 ounce container of strawberry flavored cream cheese
• 1 7 ounce jar of marshmallow creme

Mix both ingredients until well blended.  Refrigerate for at least one hour.  Serve with fruit.  Really, that's it!

Many of you will remember this one from your own childhood.  It's a classic and it's pretty color makes it perfect for Valentine's Day.

I made this punch with our Brownie troop last month, so please pardon the blue Tupperware punch bowl!  When I made it again earlier this month I put it in a clear glass trifle dish and it was very pretty!

3 Ingredient Party Punch:

1 2 Liter Lemon Lime flavored Soda
1 bottle of Hawaiian Punch or other fruit flavored drink
1 container of orange flavored sherbet

Mix equal parts of soda and fruit juice together in a bowl.  Add scoops of sherbet and watch it foam.  Pour into glasses and enjoy!

Do It Yourself Dinner:

We rounded out our meal with make your own croissant sandwiches.  An assortment of pretty rolled deli meats, sliced cheeses, and sandwich fixings laid out attractively on platters is a fun take on a do it yourself food bar.  Kids always like helping make their own meal and it's yet another way to make your night stand out from the regular routine of dinner.  Livin' the Mommy Life shared a wonderfully styled example of a Sandwich Bar she did for a birthday party, that shows how the meats & cheese look laid out.

Another kid friendly meal ideas we've done that was a hit was making your own pizzas using either slit English muffins you toast after toppings have been added or biscuit dough from a tube.  The dough is perfectly portioned for an individual pizza and you can form it into a heart shape before baking.  Extra credit if you try something like this.

Easy Treats:

With so many free and cute printables available, there is no reason to reinvent the wheel.  Just take a look at Pinterest and you'll find so many choices the hardest part will be actually picking one to use.  Then just print and use.  Toss them in a $1 bucket from Target and we're good to go!

I picked this printable from Just Another Day in Paradise because it's not just a cute saying but it also is perfect for a little gift that's not yet more candy.  Not that we didn't give candy also, but I liked how the Burt's Bees lip balm tied in with the printable and is useful, especially during this time of year!  No more chapped lips and you've shown a special friend how much they mean to you.

Kids Crafts:

When we had our Valentine themed get together, which is when we tried out most of these ideas, my friend brought over a cute pre-made craft kit.  All the supplies came with it, except for craft glue, but most of the pieces were sticky backed.  The girls got their craft on, each made three of these little pom pom critters, and were very happy.  The moms were happy too.  No one had to run around cutting out shapes or buying little baggies of supplies that always come with too much, leftovers that often don't get used.

But if you are in a DIY mood, here are some cute Valentine Pom Monsters that are similar you could try.

How are you making Valentine's memorable this year?



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