A Lovely Week of Valentine’s Day Activities for Kids

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Make this week before Valentine’s Day a lovely one with the kids!

I don’t usually go overboard with holidays (at least not too much). When it comes to blogging about our activities, its usually better if I start blogging about holiday activities 6+ weeks before the holiday. And that just is too hard for me. Even for Christmas, that’s hard! This year… you may have noticed, I didn’t share any new Valentine’s activities or crafts yet. That’s because, its one of those holidays that I just have to wait until the holiday is here.

So this week, I’m going to make it a lovely week with the kids to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

I planned a week of Valentine’s Day crafts and activities to do, and thought you might enjoy them too.

Here’s this week’s activities for Valentine’s Day:

 

Monday: Heart Garlands

Cut many hearts from red, purple, blue papers. Cut several long pieces of string to tape hearts onto. Hang in window as garlands.

Supplies needed:

• paper
• scissors
• tape
• string, yarn or ribbon

Find details: Heart Garland for Valentine’s Day

Tuesday: Texture Heart Painting

Tape a heart on paper, then use unusual objects to paint! Make textures with combs, roll on the paint with a rolling pin! Remove the tape when dry.

Supplies needed:

• painter’s tape
• paper
• paint
• comb or fork
• rolling pin

Find details: Valentine Art for Toddlers: Scratch, Roll, Resist

Wednesday: Valentine Sensory Foam

Make sensory foam with dish soap and a little bit of water and red, pink or purple food coloring in a food processor. Put on a tray to explore!

Supplies needed:

• water
• dish soap
• food coloring
• food process or blender
• tray

Find details: Soapy Sensory Foam Activity

Thursday: Stuffed Heart Valentines for Friends

Make Valentines for friends. Decorate paper to your desire. Cut a set of hearts out of the decorated paper and a another set of hearts from plain paper. On the plain paper write ‘to:’ and ‘from:’ for Valentines. Staple hearts together half way. Fill with desired ‘Valentine’ (candy, play dough, or other surprise!) and staple heart closed, include a ribbon at top for a handle.

Supplies needed:

• paper
• paint
• stapler
• Valentine gift
• ribbon

Find details: Stuffed Heart Valentines

Friday: H is for Heart

Cut an heart out of pink or red paper. Write in the middle “H is for Heart”. Write various letters around the edge of the object (with many of them being H or h). Find the letter that the object starts with and clip each with a paper clip.

Supplies needed:

• red or pink cardstock
• scissors
• marker
• paper clips or clothespins

Find details: Find the Letter on the Heart

Saturday: Healthy Heart Snack

Make a heart snack by spreading cream cheese on crackers. Dip end of celery in jam and stamp onto cream cheese to make hearts. Eat up!

Supplies needed:

• crackers
• cream cheese
• celery stick
• jam or jelly

Find details: Kid-Made Valentine Snacks for the Classroom

Sunday: ‘I Love You’ Scavenger Hunt

Go on an ‘I Love You’ scavenger hunt. Hide hearts (or just hide one a day) with words of how you love your child written on each heart.

Supplies needed:

• paper
• markers or pen

Find details: Valentine’s Scavenger Hunt to Find the Ways I Love You

More Valentine’s Day activities and crafts can be found here:

• 21 Valentine’s Day Crafts for Preschoolers
• 33 Kids Valentines for School

A Lovely Week of Valentine’s Day Activities for Kids

Hands On As We Grow http://ift.tt/1L8jvfb

Click here to read A Lovely Week of Valentine’s Day Activities for Kids on Hands On As We Grow

---

Make this week before Valentine’s Day a lovely one with the kids!

I don’t usually go overboard with holidays (at least not too much). When it comes to blogging about our activities, its usually better if I start blogging about holiday activities 6+ weeks before the holiday. And that just is too hard for me. Even for Christmas, that’s hard! This year… you may have noticed, I didn’t share any new Valentine’s activities or crafts yet. That’s because, its one of those holidays that I just have to wait until the holiday is here.

So this week, I’m going to make it a lovely week with the kids to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

I planned a week of Valentine’s Day crafts and activities to do, and thought you might enjoy them too.

Here’s this week’s activities for Valentine’s Day:

 

Monday: Heart Garlands

Cut many hearts from red, purple, blue papers. Cut several long pieces of string to tape hearts onto. Hang in window as garlands.

Supplies needed:

• paper
• scissors
• tape
• string, yarn or ribbon

Find details: Heart Garland for Valentine’s Day

Tuesday: Texture Heart Painting

Tape a heart on paper, then use unusual objects to paint! Make textures with combs, roll on the paint with a rolling pin! Remove the tape when dry.

Supplies needed:

• painter’s tape
• paper
• paint
• comb or fork
• rolling pin

Find details: Valentine Art for Toddlers: Scratch, Roll, Resist

Wednesday: Valentine Sensory Foam

Make sensory foam with dish soap and a little bit of water and red, pink or purple food coloring in a food processor. Put on a tray to explore!

Supplies needed:

• water
• dish soap
• food coloring
• food process or blender
• tray

Find details: Soapy Sensory Foam Activity

Thursday: Stuffed Heart Valentines for Friends

Make Valentines for friends. Decorate paper to your desire. Cut a set of hearts out of the decorated paper and a another set of hearts from plain paper. On the plain paper write ‘to:’ and ‘from:’ for Valentines. Staple hearts together half way. Fill with desired ‘Valentine’ (candy, play dough, or other surprise!) and staple heart closed, include a ribbon at top for a handle.

Supplies needed:

• paper
• paint
• stapler
• Valentine gift
• ribbon

Find details: Stuffed Heart Valentines

Friday: H is for Heart

Cut an heart out of pink or red paper. Write in the middle “H is for Heart”. Write various letters around the edge of the object (with many of them being H or h). Find the letter that the object starts with and clip each with a paper clip.

Supplies needed:

• red or pink cardstock
• scissors
• marker
• paper clips or clothespins

Find details: Find the Letter on the Heart

Saturday: Healthy Heart Snack

Make a heart snack by spreading cream cheese on crackers. Dip end of celery in jam and stamp onto cream cheese to make hearts. Eat up!

Supplies needed:

• crackers
• cream cheese
• celery stick
• jam or jelly

Find details: Kid-Made Valentine Snacks for the Classroom

Sunday: ‘I Love You’ Scavenger Hunt

Go on an ‘I Love You’ scavenger hunt. Hide hearts (or just hide one a day) with words of how you love your child written on each heart.

Supplies needed:

• paper
• markers or pen

Find details: Valentine’s Scavenger Hunt to Find the Ways I Love You

More Valentine’s Day activities and crafts can be found here:

• 21 Valentine’s Day Crafts for Preschoolers
• 33 Kids Valentines for School

25 Sweet Valentine’s Day Treats

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I love making Valentine’s Day treats. Every holiday is an excuse to bake and I love the bright pink and red colors we get to use in February – they are so pretty!

Here are lots of delicious  Valentine recipes to try this year full of sugar and sprinkles!

25 Sweet Valentine’s Day Treats

Valentine S’Mores  – The pink and purple version of s’mores! This is a fun treat for kids to make with you.

Valentine Oreo Truffles – These are my most favorite dessert ever. So good! via Totally The Bomb

Homemade Heart Brownies – These heart brownies look delicious and would make a fun treat for anyone. via Simplistically Living

Strawberry Rice Krispie Treats – These heart-shaped Rice Krispies are a fun take on an old favorite. via Love and Marriage

Valentine Popcorn  – Perfect to make for a movie night! via Gimme Some Oven

Mini Chocolate Covered Pretzels – These are adorable and taste so good. via Dinners Dishes and Desserts

Chocolate Kiss Cookies  – Thes double chocolate cookies are perfectly decorated for Valentine’s Day.  via The Kitchen Is My Playground

Chocolate Covered Pretzels – These are so versatile and could be made for any holiday. via Love From The Oven

Strawberry Fudge – Perfectly pink for the holiday! via A Few Short Cuts

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies – Cut them into hearts for such an adorable treat! via The Nerd’s Wife

Brownie Truffles – Tiny brownie bites dipped in chocoalte make the most amazing dessert! via Home Is Where The Boat Is

Mini Cherry Pies – Tiny pies in the shape of hearts! via The Sweetest Occasion

Peanut Butter Hearts – If you’re a Reece’s fan you are going to adore this! via Baker by Nature

Heart Marshmallows – Make your own marshmallows in the shape of hearts. via Belly Full

Strawberry Cake In A Jar – The only thing better than cake is cake you can eat on the go! via Happy Money Saver

Pink Lemonade Fudge – A pink fudge perfect for the holiday. via Back for Seconds

Valentine Sandwich Cookies – I love the little heart cut-outs in the middle! via The Nerd’s Wife

Sweetheart Muddy Buddies – My kids love puppy chow! The Recipe Critic

Cherry Hand Pies – These tiny cherry pies in the shape of hears are absolutely adorable. via The Artful Parent

Valentine’s Bark – This is one of the most simple but exciting treats you can make. We love it! Lil Luna

Chocolate Bites – Chocolate in bite-sized pieces sounds good to me! via Number 2 Pencil

Cupid Floats – Vanilla ice cream and soda make this pink drink perfect for V-day. via Somewhat Simple

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies – I never realized how easy it was to make these! via Annie’s Eats

Strawberry Truffle Kiss Cookies – Who wouldn’t love these little pink cookies with a Hershey kiss in the middle? via Inside Bru Crew Life

Chocolate Dipped Wafers – Your favorite childhood cookie dipped in chocolate and coated in sprinkles. via Give Recipe

Mini Heart Pizzas – How about something savory to go with all these sweets? Kids will love heart-shaped pizza! via The Nerd’s Wife

Chocolate Strawberry Hearts – The secret to these is Nutella. You’re gonna want to make a big batch of this one! via One Little Project

Sweetheart Punch – Strawberry Lemonade, Sprite and Sherbert make this yummy Valentine drink. via Made To Be A Momma

Valentine Snack Mix – A yummy snack mix full of Chex, pretzels, M&M’s and chocolate. via Glorious Treats

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{Simple Homemade Valentines} A Kiss from Me to You!

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Need a quick and simple homemade valentines idea? Then you’re going to LOVE our “A Kiss from Me to You” FREE Printable Valentine! It doesn’t take much time to make these cute valentines and your kids are going to enjoy handing them out to friends and classmates.

These homemade Valentine’s Day Cards are pretty and your kids will love making their own artwork for them.

These simple homemade valentines were super easy to make and my older kids got a kick out of making them all by themselves. I think these valentines are great to give out to any age group. If you’re looking for a simple homemade valentines idea, then there’s no need to look any further. We’ve included the FREE printable so you can start working on these right away! Here’s how to make our A Kiss from Me to You valentine:

{Simple Homemade Valentines} A Kiss from Me to You!

Supplies:

• Valentines Hershey’s Kisses
• “A Kiss from Me to You” FREE Valentines Printable
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
• Marker or pencil for writing

Directions:

First, print off our “A Kiss from Me to You” FREE Valentines Printable. There are six valentines on each page, so print off how ever many copies you need. I used white cardstock for mine, but regular white paper will work in a pinch.

Next, using scissors cut out each valentine and set aside.

Now using a marker or pencil, fill in the to and from fields. Older kids can do this part all by themselves!

Finally, using the hot glue gun put a small dab of hot glue onto the bottom of a Hershey’s Kiss and stick it in the center of the “A Kiss from Me to You” valentine. Repeat on all of the valentines.

Your homemade valentines are now ready to give away!

We hope you liked this simple homemade valentines idea! For more kids crafts ideas check out our Facebook page.

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Pin Recipes Straight to Your Shopping List

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When it comes time to find recipes for dinner, I usually turn to Pinterest. It is my tried and true source for family-friendly meals.

But finding the recipe is just the beginning. You’ve got to write down your shopping list of ingredients, figure out which ones we already have in the cabinets, and then go shopping. It can be tedious and time-consuming.

That’s why we are so excited to partner with Kroger to introduce Board to Table, a new iOS app that makes it easier to grocery shop for the ingredients you need to make your favorite Pinterest recipes.

With one swipe, move all or some of the ingredients from your favorite recipe Pins to your Kroger shopping list.

If you have a lot of Pinterest pins, it might take a few minutes for all of them to load.

Simply open the board where your recipe pins are located, and choose the recipe you want to make. We chose to make our Ghoulash recipe — it’s a family favorite!

Click “Add All Ingredients to List” and it will transfer all of the ingredients from the recipe to your list!

Now click “Send List Summary to Shopping List” to add these items to your shopping list in the Kroger app. This also works with the Kroger Family of Stores app!

Now you’re ready to visit the store and pick up your ingredients.

Shopping is simple — just swipe to check off the items from your list.

The Board to Table app has totally changed the way I shop. Never again will I have crumpled pieces of paper in my purse as a shopping list.

This new app is in customer trial mode — only a limited number of customers will be able to download it, so download it now!

Click here to download Board to Table from the App store.

And don’t forget to pin our famous Ghoulash recipe!

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5 Kid-Friendly Big Game Dessert Ideas!

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This weekend is for friends, football and food! We all love food during the big game. It’s also a great chance to get your kiddos involved in the cooking. Today on Family Food Live, 5 Kid-Friendly Big Game Dessert Ideas!

Join us for Family Food Live at 11 am CST/12 Noon EST every Wednesday and Friday!  Today I’ll be live on the Quirky Momma Facebook page. But make sure you like both the Burnt Macaroni Facebook page and the Quirky Momma Facebook page now so you never miss an episode!

If you missed the last Family Food Live, here’s a look

Here’s a look at today’s recipes!

Apple Nachos with Reese’s

Shopping List:

• 3-4 Apples, sliced
• 1 cup Peanut Butter, melted
• 1 cup Chocolate Chips, melted
• 1 cup Reese’s Minis, chopped
• 1 cup Reese’s Pieces

Instructions:

• On a serving platter, arrange the apple slices like nacho chips (on top of another)
• In the microwave, melt the peanut butter and chocolate chips together for 1 minute. If not all the way melted, put back in the microwave at 10-second increments
• Drizzle half the melted peanut butter/chocolate mixture on top of the apples
• Sprinkle with the chopped Reese’s Minis on to
• Drizzle the rest of the peanut butter/chocolate chip mixture on top
• Drizzle the Reese’s Pieces on top of that
• Serve

Football Cookie Cake

Shopping List:

• 1/2 cup Old-Fashioned Oats
• 1 1/4 cup Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 stick Unsalted Butter, softened
• 1 cup plus 2 teaspoons Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 cup Peanut Butter
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• White Decorating Frosting

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a liner
• In a food processor, pulse the oats until finely ground
• Mix together the oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl
• Mix the butter and 1 cup of sugar on medium-high with a hand mixer
• Add the egg and beat until mixed together completely
• Beat the peanut butter and vanilla into the mixture until nice and creamy
• Gradually add the flour mixture until the dough is well combined
• Put the dough on the parchment paper or liner and put the dough into a football shape
• Sprinkle remaining sugar on top of the cake
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown
• Allow to cool for about 15 minutes
• Using the white decorating frosting, draw the football laces on the cake
• Serve

Nutter Butter Football Pops

Shopping Lists

• Nutter Butter Cookies
• 1 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips or 1 pound Chocolate Wafers
• White Decorating Icing
• Popsicle Sticks

Instructions:

• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a liner
• In the microwave or a double boil, melt the chocolate
• Add a popsicle stick to the center of the Nutter Butter and dip all the way in the melted chocolate
• Put the football cookies into the refrigerator for the chocolate to cool and harden
• Once completely cooled take the white decorating icing and create laces on center of the football
• Serve

Fruit Kabob

Shopping List

• Assortment of fruit including strawberries, pineapples, melon, grapes
• Wooden Skewers

Instructions:

• Layer the fruit on skewer and serve

S’mores Nachos

Shopping List:

• Graham Crackers, 2 sleeves broken into small pieces
• 1 bag Large Marshmallows
• 3 cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350°
• In a cast iron skillet, layer graham crackers and half the marshmallows.
• Add 2 cups of the chocolate chips
• Top with another layer of marshmallows
• Bake for 10 minutes or until the marshmallows are golden brown (you can put it on broil to make it a toasty top)
• In a mixing cup, put the remaining 1 cup of chips in the microwave for 1 minute or until completely melted
• Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top and serve

Join Family Food Live with Holly & Chris every Wednesday and Friday at Noon CST on either the Quirky Momma Facebook page or the Burnt Macaroni Facebook page!
We are also so excited to share our first Family Food Live Apron with you.  Be the first to pick one up and start cooking with us! Just click buy now below!

Here are a few of our favorite products from Family Food Live (affiliate links)

• Fresh Baby Ice Cube Trays with lids
• Cuisinart Food Processor
• The I Heart Naptime Cookbook by Jamielyn Nye
• Giant Popcorn bowl
• Individual Popcorn bowls
• VillaWare Uno Classic Waffle Maker
• VillaWare Farmyard Waffle Maker
• Taco Holder
• Pyrex Baking Dishes
• Hand Blender
• Pizza Peel
• Pizza Wheel (cutter)
• Pizza Stone
• Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Double Burner Reversible Grill/Griddle
• Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless 5-1/2-Quart Saute Pan with Helper Handle and Cover
• BPA free lunch containers
• Egg Rite Egg Timer
• Fit and Fresh container
• One Touch Electric Bottle Opener
• Half Pint Wide Mouth Mason Jars
• Ninja Professional Blender
• Zoku Quick Pop Maker
• Williams-Sonoma Open Kitchen Half Apron in Red or Blue
• Plano Half-Size Stowaway with Adjustable Dividers - for road trip snacks
• Curious Chef 3-Piece Nylon Knife Set
• Cuisinart 2 Quart Ice Cream Maker
• Victorinox Fibrox Straight Edge Chef's Knife, 8-Inch
• Lemon Squeezer
• Mason Jars
• Crockpot
• Apple Corer
• Popcorn Bowl
• MaxiMatic double burner hot plate
• Glass Egg carton
• Black & Decker 4 slice toaster
• Hamilton Beach Hand Mixer
• Cuisinart 8-cup Food Processor
• Meat Mallet
• Ice Cream or Cookie Scooper
• Norpro Butter Keeper
• Norpro Butter Keeper
• 3-Piece Veggie Peeler
• Garlic Press

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Valentines Home Made Card {Super Cool Idea!}

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Make cards special with this super cool idea for an awesome Valentines Home Made Card! I like finding ways to involve kids in blessing others. Even if its something as simple as sending a birthday or thank you card to a friend, it’s nice to share the experience with them. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to make a pretty Valentine’s Day homemade card, but feel free to use this idea for birthday cards, as a thank you card or for any other occasion.

Here’s another great tutorial on a Homemade Valentines Day Gift that you’ll want to check out.

This Valentines Home Made Card uses a collage of different crafting materials. After I armed my kids with glue sticks, children’s scissors, and lots of different craft materials, I set them to work making a colorful collage on a small piece of paper. We stuffed our background full of as many textures and bits as we could manage. Here’s how to make an awesome Valentines Home Made Card:

Valentines Home Made Card (Super Cool Idea!)

Supplies:

• Solid colored paper (printing paper or construction paper is perfect)
• Glue
• Collage materials, such as confetti, ribbon, bits of paper, metallic paper, yarn scraps, buttons, stickers, etc
• Cardstock
• Markers
• Scissors

Directions:

First, take the piece of cardstock and fold it in half like so.

Next, on a half sheet of solid colored paper add a thin layer of glue. You don’t want the glue too thin or else it will dry too quickly and the crafting materials won’t stick very well. You also don’t want it too thick or it will get really messy and take a long time to dry.

Then, let your kids now decorate the paper all over with various crafting odds and ends, trying to cover most of the paper. The idea is to create a colorful collage.

Now take the folded cardstock and lightly create a simple design for your occasion. For example, if this card was for a birthday, then you might draw balloons, a birthday cake or balloons. For Valentine’s Day you could draw a heart and for Christmas a Christmas tree or snowman.

Next, very carefully cut the simple design you just created with a pair of scissors or parents can use a craft knife.

Once the collage is completely dry, measure it to make sure it fits on just one side of the opened card, like so.

Cover that side in glue, and then adhere the collage to the cardstock. Allow to fully dry open.

Finally, using markers write a personalized message on your kid’s home made card.

Don’t you just love it?!

Here’s a sweet idea for a homemade birthday card using this same tutorial:

 

We hope you liked this cool idea for a homemade card. We hope you’ll share your kids craft ideas with us on our Facebook page!

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