How To Have Fun on Valentine's Day With Your Family and Friends

How To Have Fun on Valentine's Day With Your Family and Friends

By []Fratena Dawson 

Valentine's Day is considered one of my favorite occasions to share with my family and particular friends especially to share with my children. Its baking up those cakes, desserts and cookies and making lovely Valentine Day cards too. I have plenty of ideas to share with you. Valentine's Day is traditionally a day for loved ones to celebrate their love for each other.

However, not everyone is in a relationship each year when Valentine's Day rolls around. This does not mean these people have to spend the day alone at home. Just because you don't have a significant other on Valentine's Day does not mean you can't have a great Valentine's Day. Spending Valentine's Day with a friend can be a wonderful way to spend the day. You and your friend can do all sorts of things to celebrate Valentine's Day and keep both of you from feeling left out on this holiday. Here are some ideas to focus on for spending Valentine's Day with a friend.



Going out to the movies can be a great way for friends to spend Valentine's Day. Going to movies is not one of the most popular activities on Valentine's Day so you will likely not have to worry about long lines or shows being sold out. If couples do choose to go to the movies, they are likely to flock to romantic movies so you and your friend can avoid the crowds by choosing a comedy or a science fiction movie you have been wanting to see.

Another fun way to spend Valentine's Day with a friend is to get dressed up and go bowling. Bowling can be a lot of fun and it is not normally an activity couples tend to favor for Valentine's Day. Try getting dressed up in your old prom attire and head to the local bowling alley. You will not only be having a lot of fun but you will also be making the activity seem more special. You can also try dressing for a specific theme such as the 50s or the 70s for your bowling outing. Go play a game of pool at pool hall or throw darts. Go get your nails done, there are lots of manicure and pedicure shops open in the evening. Go window shopping for a new dress or eat a nice restaurant and enjoy your friendship.

There are a few fun Concepts and Ideas for Children:

Celebrating with children and their friends is so special. They simply love it. We begin cutting out card sized hearts for the cards I usually try to find heart patterns at my local craft store. I purchase glitter and ribbon to make homemade Valentine cards. There are just so much more personal and fun to do. I actually do not care |for purchasing the store, not much creativity. The children actually enjoy pleasure in writing a personal note on the Valentine's Day card.

To ensure the homemade Valentine cards do not get crush or dropped on the ground and in addition to allow them to carry back their Valentine's Day they received from school. We will make a simple tote bag with cut out hearts from construction paper, and you will need some permanent markers, too.

I remind my children to consider others in their class or friends in the neighborhood. When we go to our local dollar store or craft store and we buy pink, white and tulle, wide ribbons and plastic goodies bags with hearts. We place a small amount of candy in the middle of the table. Chocolate candies or heart-shaped candies are good. We place the tulle or plastic bags on the table. We place a few pieces of sweets in the plastic goodie bags and if you have a stapler, fold the top of the goodie bag and you can staple the goodie bag with a piece of ribbon attached and tie the ribbon into a bow. Then, the cut tulle that are in squares place the candy in the center and get the ribbon and assist your children to tie the sides up with ribbon.

Candy molds are at all times enjoyable to melt and make chocolate spoons. Be cautious some schools may not allow you to bring treats as a result they're homemade however you'll be able to possibly share together with your neighbors or take to local church gatherings and if you go to your friend's house. I also enjoy making chocolate cupcakes and whipping up some chocolate fudge icing and heart sprinkles.

My children love to present Valentine's Day treats to their teachers. For his or her teachers we make their very own special candy bags or place the candies in a pickle or mayonnaise jar that has been cleaned out. Remember to remove the labels from the jar. Fill the jars with candy or nuts that was specially chosen for his or her teacher. Cover the lid with a square piece of Valentine tulle or wide pretty pink or red ribbons. We like to print up labels with special Valentine message for the teacher.

The second gift that you can help your children make is cookie on a stick or bouquets. Start by helping your children to bake heart-shaped sugar cookies or chocolate chip cookies. There are a number of different size cookie cutters you can purchase. Before you bake the cookies it would be best to place a wooden dowel into them, place the dowel in the center. Pinch some of the cookie dough to cover the dowel. You can bake these at 350 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. After the cookies cool you can spread the cookies with red or pink icing and permit the icing to set. Buy a piece of floral foam (you can purchase at a craft store and they usually come in to colors white and green) and place the cookies in the bottom of a box or in a plastic container to set your flower cookies in. Arrange your heart cookie flowers to complete this gift together with your children.

Another idea for children teachers is purchase a 4- inch terracotta pot and enhance the container with acrylic paints, glitter glue or self-adhesive foam hearts. The adhesive foam hearts come in all kinds of colors. Fill the pot with valentine day school pencils printed with hearts shapes, chocolate foiled hearts with red and pink paper clips, heart pads and valentine stickers and wrap it up in clear or pink cellophane.

Valentine for the Family

With my family I love to give Valentine presents all day and into the evening. It's so to see their faces with such vibrant smiles. I like to put small boxes of little notes from my heart to each,family member. Quotes: I love you more every single day or you are the best, and you have a good-looking face. I adore you. No candy could ever be sweet as you. You get the idea. Always finish with Happy Valentine's Day affection. It can be a little mushy for some people. So just be mushy and have fun!

On the morning of Valentine's Day morning, I like to place Valentine's homemade cards or little stuff animals like bears or rabbits or even a baby doll for the little girl in your life at the table or my husbands desk before he leaves for work or before the children get up in the morning. You possibly can have every child place their Valentine's Day for their brother or sister on their chair the evening before and so they can't open it till morning.

OK. OK. OK! for breakfast Heart-Shaped pancakes. Yeah! You can go to the cooking store and get stencils or attempt to do this by hand. I have some metallic cookie cutters which are heart-shaped and you'll pour the batter inside. May sure you use a little cooking spray. They are medium cookie size however making plenty these ahead of time for your loved ones continues to be enjoyable for them to eat I like to add fresh fruit like strawberries or fresh raspberries and blueberries, don't forget whip cream too. In the event you don't want to do that you can make toast and use your heart-shaped cookie cutter and cutout your toast. Make some scrambled eggs with some cheese, sausage or bacon, a spoonful of apple sauce and any other favorite breakfast food for your family.

Lunch time Ideas: How about decorated Valentine's Day brown paper lunch bag or deliver them lunch at school. Of, course this relies what number of children you have. However, it is always a lovely thing to leave a small present for them at the attendance office. Inform the office attendant to have them come to the attendant or main office and make sure put your child's name on it. I like to leave their special sandwich or put their favorite fast food meals in the bag and naturally a valentine note that says I LOVE YOU!

Valentine's Day at the park is at all times is fun, if the weather is good. Packing up a picnic basket for the day is nice time for bonding and play board games. Where I live there is a river and you'll be able to explore nature and have a long walk. For the smaller children they'll play on the playground, and after that they can spend time opening up your picnic basket and revel in!

All of the things above can be exhausting for some mothers. So I suggest a family night to watch movies. A bonding time. Wear your pajamas early and wrap up in a nice big blanket. Build a tent and make up funny stories. Do something that will bring a closeness to your family. Make some popcorn, or kettle corn. Play a card game or board game. You can always go out to see a family movie together. Whatever, it takes to show Valentine Day love. Appreciate one another.

Candle lights for the family I say YES! Just have an elegant dinner at a nice restaurant with candle lights is fun for the children. Just keep an eye on children that can reach the candle. My daughter just loves to talk about it. Where does fire come from? How come fire is hot? But, it great to have our family together on a day of love. But, each and everyday should be love whether its Valentine Day or not. I also suggest having a nice dinner at home. Have the children set the table and order pizza. Ha! If you have time make a beef roast with rosemary/garlic potatoes and with cooked carrots sauteed in butter with fresh squeezed lemon and tablespoon of brown sugar.

Just the two of us (Couples)

Couples with or without children its your time to spend with each other. One thing to remember when searching for a romantic gift is that a truly romantic gift does not have to be complicated. A simple candlelight dinner can be one of the most romantic gifts you can give someone on Valentine's Day. You can either plan on making dinner yourself or ordering dinner in from a favorite restaurant. This is because what you are eating is not nearly as important as the mood you set. Whether you have pizza or filet mignon your dinner can be romantic if you set the table with elegant place settings, light a few candles and play some soft music in the background. Ah! the music, I enjoy Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, Etta James for some deep loving with Barry White. All of these small touches will help the evening truly be romantic and you and your partner are bound to have a great Valentine's Day.

An over the top gift such as a hot air balloon ride can be a very romantic Valentine's Day gift. This type of gift is not only very original but it is also very romantic. You and your partner will not likely be alone in the hot air balloon because you will need a staff member present to help guide the balloon and help ensure a smooth flight but once you are up in the air you and your partner will be in awe of the breathtaking sights. A hot air balloon ride is something most people will never do in their lifetime but setting up a ride for you and your partner on Valentine's Day will be a very memorable and romantic gift. Focus your attention on what the one you love's favorite desert is. Chocolate is always special, chocolate bon bons, chocolate ice cream with marshmallows, a slice of chocolate silk pie. Try a fresh strawberry cheesecake with whip cream topping.

.We have a lovely fireplace and my husband lays the blanket down on the floor so we can gaze into each others eyes. We talk about our children and about how we met and how if we would meet each other again, we would do this all over again; and how we love each other very much. One year my husband placed lite candles all over the living room and it was so beautiful. He set the mood with soft romantic music like a light instrumental music or smooth jazz. It was so lovely. Later we watch a romantic movie and opened up a bottle of wine. When the movie was over we had a nice romantic dance, then he turned on some rock music and we danced our heart out. If you do this remember not too loud if the children are sleeping. Just because you are married doesn't mean that you have to be all stiff. Just let your hair down and have fun with your spouse. Then when that is over, what better to end with a sensual oil massage.

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day

Fratena Dawson

These were my mom's favorite cookie recipe.

Enjoy this recipe:

Be-My-Valentine Cookies

Total Time: 2 hr 20 min

Prep Time: 2 hr

Cook Time: 20 min

For cookies:

1 cup(s) (unsalted ) butter, softened

3 ounce(s) cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup(s) sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon(s) peppermint or vanilla extract

3 cup(s) flour

For Glaze

12 ounce(s) package, 2 cups, semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoon(s) shortening

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, sugar, egg and peppermint or vanilla extract. Using electric mixer, beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour. Continue beating until well mixed. Divide dough in half; wrap each half in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll out half of the dough (keep the remaining dough refrigerated) to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies using a 2-1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until edges are very lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets; cool completely on wire rack.

3. Line cookie sheets with waxed paper. Melt chocolate chips and shortening in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until just melted and smooth (4 to 6 minutes). Dip half of each heart into the chocolate. Place cookies on lined cookie sheets and refrigerate until chocolate is firm. Store refrigerated in airtight containers, with waxed paper separating layers of cookies.

Have a great Valentine's Day

Author Bio: Fratena Dawson is a blogger that loves fun exciting things do with cooking and baking especially on Valentines Day and through the whole month of February. Love is in the air! and so is the chocolate.

Article Source: [] How To Have Fun on Valentine's Day With Your Family and Friends