Valentine's Day 2018

For the last couple of years, the kids have chosen to forego the typical store-bought valentines for their classmates and instead assemble them with something a little different.  I always provide options/ideas for them, purchase the necessary items and then oversee the process.  As the girls have gotten older, it seems to take less time -- they are able to write names faster and they love and appreciate a nice assembly line (just like their momma).

Jack only had about 12 valentines to do for his classroom, but he took his job very seriously and carefully wrote his name on each and every one.

And then he stuffed a growing cactus (you put it in water) and a box of candy in each bag, while I stapled the card on top.

The girls came inside after playing hard in the snow and warmed up while working on their personal valentines. 

Sophia chose a squishy cat (they are very popular right now) for her friends and also included a package of candy.

Samantha chose the same concept as Jack, which made this pretty easy for me.

I always put the valentines inside a bag with handles, which makes it easy for the kids to transport them to school.  All packaged and ready to go ...

Samantha was the only one of the three kids that needed to bring in a decorated box for her friends to put their valentines in this year.  Both Jack and Sophia designed bags inside their classroom.  We weren't given a lot of notice on this, and Samantha insisted on turning hers into an elephant (???), so we did the best that we could with supplies from my craft closet.  In the end, I am so pleased with how it turned out.  And Samantha was too!

• Large, floppy ears (check)
• A truck that lifts up to insert valentines inside (check)
• Rosy cheeks (check)
• A happy 4th grader (check)

When the kids woke up that morning, I wanted to have a little something special waiting for them at their seats. 

Each of them ended up with some candy, a shirt (for the boys) or socks (for the girls) and a little Beanie Boo stuffed animal (which each of them adored).  Sophia carries hers with her wherever she goes and sleeps with it each night.  Later, the boys put their shirts on for the day and the girls wore their socks to school.

And, of course, cinnamon rolls for breakfast -- a crowd favorite.  I even added some red sprinkles for the day of love!