v 1 issue 14: Love is in the air

Love is in the air and we have found gifts and more that will help you celebrate the holiday of love. Inspire smiles with these lovely products.




Cover by Amanda Elkins




Love is in the air



1 Nifty Tees has come up with a cool way for your little heartthrob to show his love. The Amor Tee, with its tattoo style, will have the girls going gaa-gaa and the boys thinkin' he's the baddest dude on the block. Available in sizes 3-6 months all the way up to 12 years!
2 Giftventure will help you create a unique gift that will surprise and delight the receiver with weekly mailings and a mystery to solve. The child will help solve the mystery in order to find their present (you supply the gift, they supply the adventure). Giftventure is a scavenger hunt by mail which you can customize using fanciful characters and they solve using problem-solving and reading skills. The perfect gift for all occasions including Valentine's Day. An editor's pick for a special gift and only $14.95.
3 Add a little love to her wardrobe with a graphic valentine tee from Gap. $16.50.
4 Remember when Valentine's Day was all about candy hearts and wishing for valentine's from your friends? These adorable valentine's from Tiny Prints bring back fond memories of our childhood. Send your little one off with heart-felt greetings in their charming new line of Valentine's Day cards for kids to spread love and happiness this Valentine's Day. Save 10% by entering TTDEC at checkout.
5 This heart rug by Fun Rugs is a beautiful addition to her bedroom or playroom. The 100% nylon pile rug has a non-skid backing and is 35" x 39". Available at Maddiescloset.com.
6 These beautifully created painted hearts are painted on heavy canvas and slightly stuffed to give it a three-dimensional effect. Each is backed with felt and hung from a beautiful satin ribbon. Find order details and view other creations at LisaFrostStudio.com.
7 For just $5 the Decorate-your-own Heart Box gift from Melissa & Doug is a great gift or rainy day activity. This craft set comes with stick-ons, decorations, and glitter glue so they can proudly call the finished product their own design.
8 These cute rainboots by Chooka are just too cute for words. Not just a necessity for rain but for fashion in all seasons. Their 100% natural rubber boots have a moisture absorbing cotton lining and adjustable buckle closures on the sides and non-slip sole.


Spread the Love

Valentine's Day is the perfect opportunity to keep spreading the love with candy, balloons, and anything heart-shaped! For a dazzling Valentine's Day celebration, Lisa Kothari, author of every parent's indispensable guide "Dear Peppers and Pollywogs...What Parents Want to Know About Planning Their Kids' Parties", has put together some amazing tips and ideas that any parents' little love bugs - and wallet - are sure to enjoy!!

FOR THE INVITATION:

Use red construction paper, doilies, red pipe cleaners, and pink and red glitter to make large homemade hearts that can be delivered to your guests. Other ideas for decorating your heart-shaped invitations include using red hots, conversation hearts ("Be Mine"), and red licorice! If you are hand delivering, you can tie your invitations to red balloons to kick off the festive party!!


FOR HEART-FILLED PARTY DECORATIONS:

* Fill your room with red, pink, and pearly white balloons - include a few thematic Mylar balloons for added fun! Amongst the balloons, hang pink and red streamers and a banner that says "Happy Valentine's Day" for even more festivity!
* On your party tables, use a red table cover and sprinkle conversation hearts and Hershey Kisses as festive confetti. Don't forget to use pink, red, and white plates, napkins, and cups!
* For that extra special touch, draw hearts on your cups, or create a pre-dining activity for kids by placing white markers on the table for cup-decorating!
* Also, for more pizazz, have a big stuffed teddy bear in the center of your table with balloons tied to one of his plush arms, and heart-shaped sunglasses at each place setting for the kids to wear!

FOR THE CRAFTS:

* Have the kids make their very own Love Bugs! Have red and black construction paper out - you can either have the red and black circles pre-cut for easy assembly, or have the children cut out the bug bodies and spots on their own. In addition, have markers, crayons, and glitter glue available for unique decorating!
* Another craft idea includes purchasing small clay pots and having the kids decorate them by painting on small love bugs. What's best is that these small pots can then be taken home as the goody from the party!

MORE LOVEABLE ACTIVITY IDEAS FOR A SWEET VALENTINE'S DAY!

GUESSING GAME: Make some large tags with words on them that relate to Valentine's Day, such as "heart," "flower," "chocolate," etc. Place these name tags on the backs of the guests when they arrive to the party. Do not let the guest see the word on his or her back - the kids must guess the word by the clues that fellow guests give to them
CRAFTS: Have the kids make their own Valentines! Provide all of the materials for them to design and decorate: paper, confetti, glitter glue, markers, crayons, etc.
Bake a batch of heart-shaped cookies and have the kids decorate with pink frosting and candy toppings!

MORE GAMES...

* Play "Pin the Bow on Cupid"
* Have a Heart Ring Toss - make a large heart (about 25-30 inches) and decorate it with a face using craft items or candies. Fasten arrows around the perimeter of the heart to make it "stand out" for easy tossing. Make toss rings out of pipe cleaners, and have guests toss them on the giant heart. Those who get it around the target win a chocolate!
* Place Conversation Hearts into a jar, and have the kids guess the number!
* Hide Hershey's Kisses around the party area, and give the kids two minutes to find as many as they can!
* Play Musical Hearts - either make a red paper heart or use a stuffed animal "heart." Have the kids stand in a circle and when the music plays, pass the heart. When it stops, the person directly to the left of the person holding the heart is "out!!" The game continues until there is only one person holding the heart. Give the winner a small box of chocolates!
* Play Can You Please be My Valentine, Please Smile. Have the kids sit in a circle, and ask one guest to be "It." He or she must go up to a person in the circle and say this statement. The kid being asked must respond with: No, I cannot be your Valentine, I cannot smile. He or she must not smile in the least!! If he does, then he becomes "It" and the game continues!


SWEET TREATS FOR A TASTY VALENTINE'S MENU:

* Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make small sandwiches, cut up fruits, and make red Jell-O Jigglers!
* Make Valentine's Roll Ups: wrap up lunch meat, lettuce, mustard and/or mayo, and a slice of cheese in a red-colored roasted red-pepper tortilla.
* Cook heart-shaped pizza with lots of yummy toppings - pepperoni and red pepper are two good Valentine's Day choices!
* Make Valentine's Rice Krispie Pops: prepare a batch of Rice Krispie treats, roll each treat into a heart and place a popsicle stick inside. Press on candy hearts or dip the treats in milk chocolate for an even sweeter touch!
* For a frothy Valentine's Day drink, make one package of cherry Kool-Aid and one package of strawberry Kool-Aid with sugar and water. Add one frozen can of orange juice and lemonade. Mix until the juices are thawed and add one quart of ginger ale.


FOR THE GOODY BAGS!!

Make a VALENTINE'S DAY PAPER CUP. Use pink or red cups, or plain white cups that you have painted with pink or red paint. Cut out medium-sized hearts - enough for each goody cup. Line the hearts up against your cup and hole punch two sets of holes through both the heart and cup. Next, use pink, white or red ribbon to attach the heart to the cup. For a finishing touch, fill your festive cups with all types of sweet or sparkly Valentine's Day goodies: candy, a blinking heart necklace, heart stickers, lip gloss, etc!!
Alternatively, if the kids decorated the above-mentioned clay pots with love bugs, finish the pots off by filling them with chocolates that are wrapped in red and black foil!

For even more holiday party tips and ideas, check out Lisa Kothari's recently-released "Dear Peppers and Pollywogs...What Parents Want to Know About Planning Their Kids' Parties", available at www.Amazon.com for only $9.95.

And before planning any sort of celebration be sure to visit Lisa's website at www.PeppersPollywogs.com for all essential components of creating a fabulous fiesta!!

Lisa Kothari is the founder and president of Peppers and Pollywogs, a kids’ party planning company that provides parents with ideas, entertainers, and interesting web-based tools (customized rhymes and cards for your invitations!) to make kids’ party planning easy. She has recently written and published Dear Peppers and Pollywogs…What Parents Want To Know About Planning Their Kids’ Parties which is available at Amazon.com and Peppers and Pollywogs.

This week's mom tips

Cleaning Tip: Clean those dirty and dander filled stuffed animals by placing them in a pillowcase, tie the top and wash them in the washing machine.

Financial Tip: Save hundreds of dollars by cooking meals at home and packing lunches. Not only the cheapest but also the healthiest way to satisfy your hunger.

Green Tip: Purchase reusable bags for grocery shopping. It takes 20 to 1,000 years for a plastic bag to break down in the environment and paper is bulkier than plastic, taking up more landfill space. Like plastic, it does not breakdown rapidly. Grocery Stores like Hannaford offers attractive reusable bags for only $2 and also credits you for each recyclable bag you use. They also recycle your used plastic bags. Check with your grocer to see what programs they offer. Check out Get hip get green for stylish reusable bags.

Time Saving Tip: Pay Your Bills Electronically. Save time (and stamp money) by not writing out and mailing checks.