Valentine's Treats

I've gone a bit nuts this year. It's so nice to have time to do some crafting for Valentine's Day. Usually, I get so busy at school that I just don't have the time to do the fun little things at home. This year, it feels like such a treat. It also helps that Baby Bean has reasonably good naps and that Pk goes to daycare two days a week (we needed to do that to keep her spot). I am trying to take advantage of that mummy time to do some things that give me pleasure and making the holiday fun for Pk really gives me that pleasure.

These jars are for Pk's teachers. We are giving one to her music class teacher and the other to our librarian who leads the storytime group that Pk attends. Both teachers are wonderfully patient and run great programmes. It's a nice way to say thank you. I got the idea from yet another blog I read, "Montrealaise en Californie". She often features great teacher gifts that she makes for her childrens' teachers.

These little felt envelopes are an idea that I stumbled across the other day. On reader, I follow One Pretty Thing, a marvelous source that offers daily summaries of craft/recipe ideas from all over the web related to various themes. If you are someone who crafts or who does programmes with children, it is fantastic. I saw these and knew that they would be perfect for our week two challenge in the February Love Challenge. There will be more about how I use these on Friday.

And finally, our Valentine treats. Normally, we just give cards and this year, I blew Pk's mind because I found Veggietales Valentine Cards. She is the world's biggest VT fan and to be able to give Veggietales to her friends just rocks her world. I saw the recipe for these Valentine lollipop cookies and had to give them a try. They weren't as finicky as I thought they would be and packaged up in a Valentine gift bag (20 for $1 at Walmart) and tied with curling ribbon, they look mighty cute. I took a few to some of her friends at music class today and based on their reactions, they are a hit! I was also really impressed because Pk wrote her name on all of the cards (she is writing her name but it takes a while and some coaching... I kept asking if she wanted me to do the rest but she was proud to do them herself). It may seem like I was going crazy doing so many Valentines but we made a list together of which friends she wanted to give cards to and the list was pretty long - music friends, daycare friends, church friends and a few library friends. When she starts school, we will have to rein this in a bit or we will be spending the entire month of January getting ready. At least, as she gets older, she will be able to do more of the work!

I was pleased with how they turned out and so was Pk. Luckily, we had enough that she could have one.