Creative Valentine’s Day Gifts

By Beth Engelman and Jenna Riggs of Mommy on a Shoestring

Show the love this Valentine’s Day with these easy to make gifts, cards and crafts that will delight your kids and have your friends saying, “Are you sure you didn’t buy this?” Read more

Valentine’s Day Fun

Here are some quick ideas for adding some fun to your family’s Valentine’s Day this year.

• Using heart shaped containers, take your kids on a treasure hunt throughout the house with the final reward being a special Valentine’s Day treat. You can buy the candy heart containers at your local dollar store or on-line at Oriental Trading.
• If your kids are too small for a treasure hunt, try just filling the hearts with small prizes or candy and hiding them throughout the house.
• Send your kids a secret message with this magical message trick:

Using the juice from a fresh lemon and a small fine tip paint brush, write a secret message of love on plain white paper to your child. Once completely dried, fold the letter and seal it in an envelope for your Valentine telling them to “bake” their letter at 325 degrees for 3-5 minutes to read the message! Be sure to watch the paper the entire time and use a pot holder or metal tongs to handle

How does this work? The heat of the oven burns the lemon juice making it reappear on the paper.