Brighton Blade 02-11-2009

The Sweeter Side of Valentines
By Krista Clinton


Saturday is Valentine’s Day. In our house that means it is time to pull out all of the pink and red whatevers, put on our cute little heart shirts and make some crafts, and more important, make some memories.


My husband believes Valentine’s Day is just another day made up by the chocolate companies to make more money. I happen to think that Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to teach our kids what love is and show them how just a small token can brighten up someone’s day and that lesson can be utilized any day of the year.


I really enjoy making Valentine’s cards with the children to give to their classmates. I know there are a million picks at any store but it’s just too easy to buy them, write your name on them and then forget what you even gave two weeks later. How much more fun to sit around with a bunch of craft supplies and make an afternoon of memories with your children.


This year my youngest has picked play dough for his friends. It’s so simple and inexpensive to make. You can find a recipe on the Internet. We will tint it red or pink, roll it into a fist-sized ball and put it into some heart covered plastic bags. What fun for his friends and even more fun for mommy and son to be working together, cooking, cutting and playing all afternoon.


My middle child loves word puns and is learning all about reading and writing in kindergarten this year. We decided we would buy a Valentine’s pencil for all of his friends at school. We will also cut up some red and pink construction paper and write “You’re All Write” on them and attach them to the pencils. Of course, there will be plenty of stickers and glitter to “spice” up the construction paper. So much fun getting to use our scissors and practice our writing!


My 9-year old has chosen a fun captured heart project. We will get some heart shaped chocolates and then we will cut a heart the same size out of pink and red construction paper. We will write a note such as “You’ve captured my heart” on each heart. Then we will take some wire and shape it into a heart, put the paper note with the chocolate on top inside of the wire heart and then use the wire to wrap around and capture the heart inside. We will then attach pink or red ribbon and make necklaces and bracelets out of them and use the captured heart as the pendant. This project is a bit more complex but I can’t wait to see the joy on my daughter’s face when she sees that she can accomplish something so difficult and make it look so pretty.



I’m looking forward to all of the fun that will be had while making our “lovely” creations. And I’m quite certain, beautiful or not, the kids will enjoy making their creations, feel proud of their accomplishments and enjoy lots of laughs...I’ll post the pictures on the blog to prove it!