"You're One In A Minion" Twinkie Valentine's Day Card

Ever since the movie Despicable Me 2 was released,  the Minions seem to be the craze. I know here, we had a Christmas full of Minions! I had so much fun making these little guys for my children and their friends!  I used black and blue felt along with grey card stock for the goggles and foam hearts that I had on hand, but these can just as easily be made using all construction paper.  I have seen another version of this with a card that said "I've been Minion to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day!" You could also write,  "I've been Minion to ask you, will you be my valentine? " The possibilities are endless!  Make one for your favorite minion! Even better, make some with your little minion for his best minions, I mean friends!

 

White Chocolate Valentine's Popcorn

My son and I had so much fun making this colorful and delicious White Chocolate Valentine's Day Popcorn for a Valentine's Day party that we are attending tomorrow. We also made some for him to give out to his friends. It was quick and easy to make and he had a blast doing it (although, I think he enjoyed sampling it over and over again more!)!

 

 

 After our popcorn cooled, I broke the popcorn up and put it into cupcake wrappers.

 

 

The cupcake wrappers added a festive glare and they served up individual servings, which limits little fingers from touching it all. With 20 kids under the age of 5 running around, every little bit helps!!

 

 

 We also put some in decorative Valentine's goodie bags to give out to friends for Valentine's Day.

 

 

 

White Chocolate Valentine's Popcorn

Ingredients

• 16 ounces white chocolate
• 4 bags popped microwave popcorn (feel free to pop your own)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• sprinkles and/or non perils
•  conversation hearts (optional but  cute add for Valentine's Day)

Directions:

Heat white chocolate in the microwave or a double boiler until melted. I melted my chocolate in the microwave in less than 2 minutes.

Place the popcorn in a large bowl, and pour the melted chocolate over it. Use a spoon to toss the popcorn gently until it is evenly coated with the white chocolate. Spread the popcorn out evenly on a baking sheet covered with wax paper. Sprinkle evenly with the salt, then sprinkle with sprinkles, non perils, and conversation hearts.

Let cool for 15 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened. Break up into small pieces then serve or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.


 

 

Quick Treats for My Sweet Valentine's

With Valentine's Day a few days away, I decided to put some of these simple treats together for my boys and my husband. Each of them just took minutes to put together. I used large foam hearts that I had left over from last year as the base, but you can just as easily cut a heart out of cardboard for the base. I used a hole puncher to make a hole at the top of the heart and tied a piece of ribbon through it. I then glued their favorite small candies to the heart with my low temp hot glue gun.

 

 

My husband's is mad of Snickers-- his favorite sweet treat!

I really wanted to use the Valentine's Day Snickers, but I was unable to find them.

The red and pink wrappers would have added a festive touch, but these will work just fine for him.

For my boys, I used Hershey Kisses. What better way to say "I Love You?"

14 Days of Why I Love You!

I figured I would try something a little different with my boys for Valentine's day. Instead of telling them all of the things I love about them just on Valentine's day, I thought I would tell them one a day for the 13 days leading up to Valentine's day. 

I took 14 foam heart stickers that I had from my Valentine's Day Sensory Tub and wrote 1 thing that I love about them on each heart. Starting tomorrow, February 1st, they will wake up with a heart on their bedroom door. Each morning, a new heart with a new reason will be added. The final heart will be placed on their door on Valentine's Day. 

What child wouldn't love to hear all of the things you love about them?

Valentine's Day Sensory Tub/Tote

 

Today, we put together our Valentine's Sensory Tub.

 

For those of you that do not know what a sensory tub is,

it is tub or a bin that you fill up with various items to let your child be hands-on. Sensory activities provide children with another meaningful avenue of learning. The tub can have a theme or include random miscellaneous items. I tend to stick with a theme, because I just find it to be more fun that way.

 

It is filled with all things Valentine's!

 

There are a ton of different hearts, including stuffed felt hearts, cookie cutters, erasers, and ornaments. There are little arrows I made from pipe cleaners and felt scraps. I also put some of my simple Felt Roses in.

 

 

I used this container of conversation heart foam stickers as the filler. I picked it up last year when it was on clearance for 75% off, I knew I'd put them to good use one way or another!

 

I also made a heart button snake to put in our tub. Button Snakes are quick and simple to make and they help preschoolers with their hand and eye coordination.

 

 

Be sure to check out all of other Sensory Tubs!