party on!

I can't believe how fast February is going by! Next Monday we will be having our annual Valentine's party for the kids. They get so excited about it every year, and panicked when they thought it might not happen because they are in school now. However, thankfully, they're off the 15th for Presidents' Day anyway, so party we will!

Here's some of what we do (or have done in the past) in case you're looking for any ideas yourself...

Our menu always consists of pink/red/white food:

Pink pancakes, usually with their names or some little message written on them (these food markers work great!)
Strawberries and raspberries for topping the pancakes (with whipped cream as well!)
Pink yogurt
Yogurt covered raisins
Red juice of some sort (usually cran-apple or cran-raspberry)
Cookies, cake or candy (c'mon...it's Valentines Day...it's all about being 'sweet'!!)
We play some 'love' related games/activities. Last year I made a spinner with all the love traits listed in I Corinthians 13. Each child would spin, and whatever characteristic they landed on they had to come up with a scenario for it (like how they could demonstrate 'love is patient' or 'love keeps no record of wrongs'). This was really great...they loved the game and it really helped them get a scriptural understanding of what love really is. We also took turns going around saying a positive thing about each person. This can be silly fun, but it's also can get really neat after the first few rounds, getting past the obvious "you're pretty" or "you're nice" type stuff...you can tell the kids really like being encouraged and hearing that their friends and siblings (siblings especially!) actually notice the things they are good at.

We usually do some sort of craft. Not sure yet what this year's is going to be. In the past we made heart mobiles and did some painting...but wow, I sure can't remember what else! That's sad. Oh, well. There's TONS of Valentine craft ideas online...I'll be checking them out later today or tomorrow. Let me know if you'd like some recommendations from what I find!

We also let the kids have some rip-roarin' fun and dance their hearts out. And yeah, we moms sorta get into the act as well. (Thankfully there are no pictures of this.) We put together some really fun dance tunes, and let's just say, we learned some really cool dances for my mom's wedding last spring, so I can say with some confidence that I'm pretty sure the Cupid Shuffle will probably take center stage this year! I think karaoke would be fun too...but we don't have a machine. Bummer. I seriously think we need to invest in one of those babies!!

Well, I think that mostly covers it. Just writing this gets me all excited for the party. Can't wait for next Monday!! In the meantime, I better also start planning something fun for my Main Squeeze!! And I've got a date with one of my little men too...Bryce asked me to attend his 'Someone Special' dance with him this Friday night. :o) What to wear, what to wear... Looks like it might be a busy week. Oh, and the coming of an additional 8-16 inches of snow on Wednesday should keep things interesting too!