Bunch Family

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

Everyone in the class will get a card, but only the A-team in your kids life will get a gift to go along with it. These crafts make excellent tokens of appreciation.

Stylin’ and profilin’ in a festive way only requires a doily, roller brush, and fabric paint. These heart doily t-shirts are pretty adorable. We recently applied this technique to tote bags and were super pleased with the results!

Remember those old school cut out cards with hilarious characters with even better sayings? Catherine Romano revisits 6th grade when she would fill handmade mailboxes with them. Here, she makes her own updated version of valentine mailboxes, meant to sit on desks and collect good tidings of the day.

Catherine Romano’s snowflake-style paper hearts take the fun of paper snowflakes into February. Hang them up in your windows to show the world some love.

These felt heart pins are for those who wear their hearts on their sleeves.

Turn your stash of old crayon stubs into brand new, heart-shaped art supplies! All you need to do is melt and mold. Also great for decorating your own valentines. Guys, recycled crayon crafts, done festively. Get on it.

THE CARDS

Perhaps the most integral part of Valentine’s day, the valentine is a token of love. DIY cards are much more heartfelt than the prepackaged ones. Fill them with your own personalized proclamations of love, sweet nothings, or lame jokes.

Our 7-year-old resident artist wholeheartedly approved of these Monster valentines. A surefire class-room handout pleaser.

For an unconventional, interactive spin, check out these paper fortune tellers! (Interpreted by some as cootie catchers).

Bunch reader and photographer Stephani Buchman shared this fun idea. She snapped some pics of her kids playing with cookie cutters, photoshopped them and added text to make some awesome DIY valentines.

Shadow box style valentines harken back to the golden age of artistic, sentimental valentines in the Victorian era. Lacey, floral and handmade, these 3D valentines come with a bit of history and a ton of fun.

Easy and sweet, these see through candy valentines can be made using some wax paper, a needle and thread, and a stuffing of cinnamon hearts!

And while we love the classic potato stamp to make our own cards, for Valentine’s Day we switched things up a little with a celery stamp. Spoiler alert: A base of celery totally looks like a rose!

THE EATS

V-day just isn’t V-day without a suitable dose of sugar. These are some seriously fun recipes for the day o’ love, starting at breakfast and ending at dessert.

We never claimed to be Gwyneth or Martha, but we do appreciate impressive, seasonal treats. We’ll let you in on a little secret: these heart shaped cupcakes can be made in 5 easy steps using a regular muffin tin and a marble!

For those who happen to get loopy off red food dye, here are some artificial dye-free recipes with no sweetness sacrificed. We even snuck in some fruit and veggies. (With applesauce brownies this good, you won’t even tell they’re chock full of vitamins.)

If you have time for a leisurely breakfast on the 14th, why not make some heart shaped french toast? They make an excellent pair with hide and seek.

While its not strictly Valentine’s day dessert, (it would be an everyday dessert if it were up to us), red velvet cupcakes make an extra special appearance because of their appropriate hue. Droooool.

THE DECOR

Decking the halls ain’t just for Christmas.

This super easy paper heart garland looks charming spread across any wall! Christy Nelson, you are one crafty lady.

If its cold enough where you are, set up this ice candle holder on your porch for some romantic ambiance. Transient? Yes. Awesome? Even more so.

Turn old coffee cups into a fancy styrofoam vase using a slow cooker and some rubber bands. Catherine Romano’s tissue flowers make a great filler!

THE SOUNDTRACK

Because no cookie decorating or craft session is complete without beats.

Our go-to music blogger Beth Blenz-Clucas has some lovely jams that you and your kids will dig. Her top picks for Valentine’s day covers include Valentine by the Hipwaders and My Funny Valentine by Elvis Costello.

As for the one song parents should sing to kids today, Milkshake provides the ballad and a sweet home movie. Since Valentine’s day needs a bit of soul, Al Green makes a due appearance in this post.

THE HEARTWARMERS

The most card and candy laden day of the year requires some appropriate reading. Our picks are all about the stuff that matters the most.

Pick up any one of these 6 classic books on love in our Valentine’s Day Bunchbrary. Robert Munsch’s Love You Forever couldn’t get old if it tried.

Sharing, listening, and saving the last cookie: Culturatti dads like Moe Berg write valentines to their families. Awww.

Geek dad contributor Jonathan Liu shares what makes his wife special. We love the fact that he used Tetris an excuse to hang out with his wife when they first met.

National Post editor and author of Jew and Improved, (a book about how he converted to Judaisim so he could marry his wife), Ben Errett shows some love for his wife Sarah and his kid, “the little shouty one” in his love letter.

Entertainment veteran Tod Abrams (also known as “The Reluctant Daddy”) shares some love for his husband and sheds some light on how they’re both turning the married-with-children Hollywood nightmare into the American dream.

Degrassi and Little Mosque on the Prairie’s Jonas Chernick muses on Valentine’s day romance when you’re knee deep in bite sized watermelon chunks and diapers.

PARTY TIME

Need a couple activities to keep the kids entertained? Done. How about a big mystery game and some sneaky art that will brighten a loved one’s day?

Whew! Boy do we love hearts and love and treats-themed crafts/games/food/sentiments. Now, about those cupcakes…

Photos by boodoo, cafemama, cproppe, phxflurry, christynelson.net, artbrom, xadrian via Flickr