Valentine's Day cometh

This year the girls got their lists of classmates for their inevitable Valentine's day parties the week of Valentine's. Which is a little strange to me. The teachers know they are having a party, so why don't they hand out the lists earlier?

Now I have to scramble last minute to get Valentine's at the store, which will look something like this:

1. Go to Target, dragging kids who will ultimately get the case of the gimmies.
2. Walk to the back of the store, putting a few things in my cart that I "really" need in too.
3. Stop at Women's clearance, just to see if there's anything there for me.
4. Stop in baby clearance, you know, just to check.
5. Make it back to Valentine's area, spend too much time trying to decide which Valentine's to get...do I get them both the same ones? Why are they sold in packs of 16? Classes are generally bigger than 16. Tattoos or pencils? Stickers? $5?!?! These are pieces of paper for goodness sake.
6. Finally decide on something.
7. Wonder if I need to get the girls something for Valentine's day. Target seems to think so.
8. Get the girls something they ultimately don't need and will not be interested in a few days later.
9. Stop by the food clearance and that one clearance shelf by dog food.
10. Stop by girl's clearance, marvel at how I need to buy the next size up for G, she's getting so tall!
11. Stand in line for checkout, "No kids, we're not buying the little barbies, or mints or candy. Did you not see the Valentine's I just bought you? You will have plenty of candy on Friday. Relax."
12. Contemplate getting pizza from the in-store Pizza Hut.
13. Get it. Regret it, it's not that good. (Once they sold me breadsticks without the sauce.....I mean really? No sauce? Why even put them out if there's no sauce?)
14. Get everyone loaded up in the car, finally and head home. Whew!

And that is usually what it looks like!

But, this year, I held off going to Target until the last possible day. G, my oldest, couldn't wait to do Valentine's, so she made her own, all by herself, out of construction paper and some (probably old) candy she found in our cupboard.

I couldn't bring myself to buy Valentine's for M's class, so I ended up making those too. I figure, I have all these craft supplies, I should start to use them!

I think they turned out pretty cute!! And thank goodness for Pinterest, I would never have come up with that on my own.

And then when I picked her up from school that day, I realized she hadn't handed them all out.  She said she forgot to give them to the other class (there's only 2 classes), so I just left them there and maybe someone would help her hand them out on Monday. I know my kids; bringing home a bunch of little bubbles is just asking for a big mess and bubbles on the floor!

Here's a pic of Marie's Valentine's. Once I figured out how to make a nice looking heart, the rest was easy. Thank you Sharpie and random bag of little bubbles. I don't know why I have you, but thanks!

Valentine's Day Craft for Kids (Door Hangers)

Any  frugal moms out there?

Will the frugal moms in the audience please raise their hands?

Glad I'm not alone! :)

Today the kids and I did some fun Valentine's crafts, but the best, best part of this door hanger craft is that the whole project came from a kit I bought last Valentine's Day at Target, when it was 75% off.  Score!!  That's right, I've been holding on to this bad boy for a whole year, and I'm not ashamed. You know why?

My kids loved it!  Specifically, my 6 year old loved it.  She spent over an hour making all these door hangers for herself, her sisters, me, my husband, her Grandma and Grandpa, everyone she knows!  It was super cute!

Check out some photos:

Cute, huh?  I also had some stickers and glitter foam paper that she used too. I think I bought a pack of foam stickers like 5 years ago, and we still have them. Use 'em up kids!  

Now are your ready for the tearjerker part?  My 6 year old did this whole project herself. By herself.  She didn't need me to glue anything. She didn't need me to cut anything. She didn't ask me to peel stickers or how to use the paper hole puncher or twist the pipe cleaners.  She did it all herself. (Picture sobbing mommy here--my little baby girl is growing up!)  And really, she was so proud of herself.  She wanted to mail them off to Grandma and Grandpa right away, and she hung everyone's up on their door too. What a sweetheart!  And because she did such a great job by herself, I was able to help my 3 year old as well as keep the 1 year old out of everyone's projects! 

So if you are at Target after Valentine's Day this year....you'd better beat me to the 75% or more off aisle! Because I scoop things up!  I seriously find the best things after Valentine's Day. One year I bought all of the favors for my daughter's birthday on Valentine's clearance. I got some cute necklaces, rings, pencils, tattoos and clear favor bags....all 75% or more off!  This girl loves a deal, can you tell?  Another tip: look for things that aren't specific to Valentine's Day.  Those tattoos I found were jungle animals, so you can use them for birthday favors or in Easter eggs or in July when the kids are bored and looking for something to do. Think of the possibilities!  You just need some space to store the crafts, maybe under a bed or in a closet, they don't require that much room and the cost savings is totally worth it! 

The best part is that you'll spend a super fun time with your kids, creating with them--guaranteed to put everyone in a good mood! What are you waiting for?

~Patricia

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Felt flower heart

After making a cool wreath for Christmas, I found this awesome tutorial for one for Valentine's Day.

It took a few nights to make; there was a lot of felt to cut! Thankfully, I had some left over from a poodle skirt I made for Halloween a few years back, so the overall cost was minimal.  In addition to the big heart wreath, I made a smaller one using straight strips to make the flowers instead of cutting circles.

They both turned out great and are fun additions to our decor!