My oldest daughter received a Melissa and Doug Mailbox for Christmas. It is one of her favorite toys because she enjoys writing letters. I love to encourage her to write to people especially in a time that letters are rarely received and communication is done by text or e-mail.
Lately, she has talked nonstop about Valentine’s day. She has picked out gifts for my husband and her sister. When I asked her about cards for family, friends, and classmates she said she wanted to create her own to make them “special”. I thought that was very impressive since store shelves are packed with Valentines of her favorite princess and tv show characters. Naturally, my youngest said she wanted to do the same thing as her big sister. When I was at Target the other week, I found blank pink cards and a lot of Valentine stickers in the $1.00 section when you first walk in. My girls have used various supplies and are working hard to get cards ready for next week. Once they are finished they will add her favorite Yummy Earth Lollipops and stuff them in her mailbox to “send” out.
Making your own Valentine’s is a great way to keep busy when you are stuck inside and adds a little extra love to each one. If you don’t have time to shop, I found these pre-packaged kits you can order online:
- HearthSong Valentine’s Day Valentine and Lots-of-Love Sticker Kit
- Creativity For Kids Shrinky Dinks I Love You cards
- DIY Valentine Kit from Etsy
Sending lot’s of LOVE this Valentine’s Day!
In December I attended a celebration for the launch of the 
My girls love art time. In fact, because they dropped naps a long time ago, our “down” time is usually spent coloring or doing some type of craft. The other day we were stuck inside for most of the day. I tried putting on a Christmas movie but in five minutes the girls were fighting. The more activities we do, the happier they are and the less fighting. I was running out of ideas until I saw a used water bottle laying on its side. I thought to myself for a bit while the girls were screaming and decided that water bottle would make a great Rudolph. All I needed was pipe cleaners, google eyes and brown paint. I went to look for the brown paint and realized we didn’t have any. A perfect opportunity to explore colors by mixing primary colors. We started painting but my girls were having trouble mixing the paint to make brown so we started over with a new plan. I got two more plastic water bottles, filled them with tap water and pulled out the food coloring. My youngest mixed red and blue first making purple, then added green making the water look black. My older daughter started with red and then added green making her water a better shade of brown for “Rudolph”. Next we decorated our bottle cap with a red glitter glue pen for Rudolph’s nose. I then used tacky glue and the girls placed the eyes and antlers on the bottle. The tacky glue wouldn’t hold so I reinforced with a glue gun. Rudolph is a fun activity, especially on a cold day like today. The girls had a great time seeing who could get the closest to brown. Save it and use it for a place card holder for your holiday gathering.
