Bunchland

A complete round-up of  our best Valentine’s ideas ever

While the Valentine’s Day industrial complex is likely trying to convince you to shell out for a very serious, pricey dinner ($55, 000 cupcakes??) and buy unnecessary presents, let’s remember a time when Valentine’s Day was all about heart-shaped crafts and sugary treats. We’ve got some great lovey and sweet tunes to provide the soundtrack to your party (whether that party is large or small), great crafts and activities that will put a smile on  your face (not to mention, the face of the recipient of said crafts) and yes, recipes for various pink desserts. And if that’s not enough to melt your heart, take a read through some of our love letters from greats dads to their partners. They’ll make you laugh and cry and want to hug someone.
THE CRAFTS  Read more...

Originally published on Today’s Parent

We came up with some great Valentine’s Day-themed activities for our pals at Today’s Parent

For kids, Valentine’s Day usually means decorating a mailbox and handing out cards to classmates. If they’re lucky, there’s some sort of party involved. And, since heart-shaped candies and pun-laden valentines can only amuse them for so long, any decent Valentine’s Day get-together needs a couple solid games and activities. We suggest a Valentine-y spin on a classic classroom/party game and one of our favourite things: sneaky, public art.

First up: Cupid’s Arrow
Ages: 5 and up
Materials: Nothing. Just kids. This is a great group game, so it works best with at least six participants but can be played with as many as 30. (If you happen to be planning something for more than 30 kids — bless you! — you can just double up on the Cupids).  Read more...

Melt them, shave them, or mold them; crayons make a great Valentines

Crayon Stained Glass Cards

You’ll need: waxed paper, a pencil sharpener, crayons, a bone folder, and a warm iron.

Remove the paper from crayons and shave them using a pencil sharpener. Sprinkle the waxed paper with the shavings. (The more wax you sprinkle, the more opaque the colours will be). Fold the paper in half, then fold along the edges to prevent the melted crayon wax from leaking. Iron the folded wax paper on a medium setting until the shavings melt. To prevent leaks, place a few sheets of scrap paper on the top and bottom. Cut the “stained glass” wax paper slightly smaller than the card and tape it closed using double sided tape.  Read more...

Victorian style Valentines offer an alternative to the prepackaged ones. Bad jokes not included.

It was 1847 when the first mass produced Valentine’s Day cards were made. The era quickly became the golden age of Valentines.

Esther Howland, now known as the mother of the American Valentine, commissioned her friends and family to form an assembly line in her kitchen and churn out hundreds of lacy, flower-y, embossed cards that she sold all over the country. Her creations ranged from small, inexpensive notes to be slipped under doors, to elaborate multi-layered creations that cost up to $50 (about as much as the cost of a horse and buggy, at the time).  Read more...

Did you and your kids make cards at home? We want to see them!

Photographer and Bunchland reader Stephani Buchman wanted an alternative to the Valentine’s Day cards she saw in the stores, so she snapped a picture of one of her kids playing with some cookie cutters, ran it through the PhotoShop to add some text and printed it out. Simple and sweet.

Bunchland Creative Director Rebecca Brown loves potato prints. Her kids each created a design on a potato, then she helped cut out the design in relief. When the stamped designs dried, Rebecca ran the prints through the scanner and added text.

What’s your family’s favourite super-easy DIY valentine?

Seriously, what’s sweeter than a dad expressing love for his family? Because we were so thrilled with the love letters we got last Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, we’ve once again asked some culturatti dads to chime in on what makes their partners great.

You can catch actor Jonas Chernick on Degrassi, Little Mosque on the Prairie and Living in Your Car.

Dearest Nicki:

Yup, it’s Valentine’s Day again. That evil, Hallmark-created cash-grab that tries to sneak up every year and squeeze us with guilt. But not us, right? Nope. We’re non-traditionalists. We’re creative  types. We snicker at the weak, pathetic, easily-manipulated masses. We’re better than all that. Who needs a designated day to celebrate our love? We celebrate our love every day.  Read more...

Seriously, what’s sweeter than a dad expressing love for his family? Because we were so thrilled with the love letters we got last Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, we’ve once again asked some culturatti dads to chime in on what makes their partners great.

We’re in the process of making Tod Abrams our new best friend. He’s just so great. You really need to be reading/watching The Reluctant Daddy. Of course we needed a letter from him.

Dear George,

Below, please find some liner notes to the ‘Do You Love Me?’ number from the all-male version of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF that we’re staging in four weeks time at the Manhole in Long Beach.  I’m thrilled to tell you that I have an entirely new ‘take’ on this Broadway standard when instead of setting our production of FIDDLER in early 20th century Tsarist Russia (which I think is just too damn depressing) we find Tevya (Thomas), Golda (Gerald) and their three smokin’ hot triplets Hayden, Tristan and Bruce are now modern-day WASPs asked to leave their family compound in West Palm Beach because their ‘marriage’ isn’t recognized by the fascistic government of Florida!  Read more...