Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and from cards to cooking, music and more, we share simple ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and the best part is your kids will be learning through all the fun.
DIY Valentine Cards with Faber Castell
Each year, couples exchange over 190 million greeting cards during Valentine’s Day and that doesn’t even include all the ones exchanged with kids and their friends. Americans typically spend $1 billion on cards, according to the Greeting Card Association. With everyone being more budget conscious this year and having a bit more time at home, making your own Valentine’s Day cards is a great way to not only make someone feel loved and save money, but also a fun thing to do together as a family. We used some sets from Faber Castell and made cards for our friends and family.
Another fun option is that they have free printables that can be paired with their Big Gem sets. Kids can decorate the cards with gems or create stickers that their friends can enjoy. Either way the kids will love adding gems to the cards and brightening someone’s day. I loved hearing who they were going to give certain cards to. If the picture was of a cat they would say let’s give it to this friend she likes cats.
Math and Science in the Kitchen: Hot Chocolate Chuao Bombs!
From measurements and ratios to the states of matter, science and math can be sweet… with hot chocolate bombs! We had to try this recipe that is all the rage. And the secret to a great hot chocolate bomb is to start with amazing hot cocoa… so of course we had to use Chuao Chocolatier‘s Deluxious Dark Drinking Chocolate.
These are so simple to make and the kids loved getting in on the action. All you have to do is melt chocolate and put it in the mold. Refrigerate the mold for some time and then remove and pop out the bomb shells; set in pairs. Next fill one side of the shell with hot cocoa, marshmallows and any other treat you desire. Here’s a solid tip: Microwave a plate until it’s piping hot. Then take the unfilled half of shell and twist it on the plate to melt the chocolate and place on top of filled half (works as a glue to keep them shut). Then drizzle, sprinkle, dust and decorate however you prefer! Once ready to indulge, you drop a bomb into your mug and pour hot milk over the top until — pop — marshmallow and cocoa yumminess explodes in your mug.
Another tip… you can melt down Chuao bars and use that as the bomb shell for delicious combinations like Cheeky Churro, Mintfully Brownie or Potato Chip! Plus you can find all other kinds of fun recipes using Chuao online at: https://chuaochocolatier.com/blogs/blog/tagged/recipes
Learn a New Skill and Serenade Loved Ones with LOOG Guitars
Musical training helps stimulate the brain, and improves functions like memory and abstract reasoning skills, so this Valentine’s Day incorporate music into your family plans… and maybe even an original serenade.
Our kids have been wanting to learn to play an instrument and we love Loog Guitars because they are designed to make playing music easy and fun. Our boys love that the guitar is their size with 3-strings to keep it simple and get them playing songs faster. Loog Guitars are really just 3-string guitars: they use regular guitar strings, they tune like a guitar, they play like a guitar, and they sound like a guitar. As our kids age and grow they can seamlessly transition to bigger guitars with six strings. Loog Guitars also host free live lessons via zoom, have flashcards to learn the chords and includes an app to get kids serenading in no time.
Family Date Night In with Appaman & Milleduex
With restrictions changing weekly and many still feeling anxious about eating out, one creative way to celebrate is to have a special family date night in for Valentine’s Day. Whether you order takeout from our favorite restaurant or make your families favorite special meal, it can be fun to have everyone dress up and come to your family restaurant. I made everyone get dressed up and I told them what time they had to be downstairs at the special restaurant and then when they came down I have their favorite burgers fries and shakes. They wore their favorite outfits from Appaman. We love Appaman because it’s a combination of stylish suits and dresses but still comfortable that kids love wearing them.
Getting kids to dress up can be challenging, but our kids love Appaman. They can express their own style and look great. From button ups and blazers to funky bowties, we let the boys pair their dressy look with corduroys and skinny jeans. The girls will shine on their night out with mom and dad.
One of my favorite memories of the Appaman red mod suit as last year at Valentine’s Day my son asked if he could dress up and go to school. He picked out the red suit and then asked if we could buy flowers for his teacher. It was so cute that he delivered his flowers all dressed up to his teacher
And don’t forget finishing the look with a bow. We adore Milledeux bows. From unique bows like ballerina sets and hearts to classic crosgrain bows and headbands we love the quality of the bows and all of the colors. You’ll never have to worry about matching an outfit. We love the idea of giving a bow with a Valentines fat card to a daughter granddaughter niece or friend. The packaging is so adorable too that they will surely feel loved. . We love that it is a family-owned company and they use nickel-free and teeth-free clips so hair is not damaged. They come in a wide range of styles and colors so that your budding fashionista will always have something to accessorize her outfit with.
We received items for review from Appaman, Chuao Chocolatier, Faber Castell, Loog Guitars, and Milledeux. All of our thoughts and opinions are our own.
