Valentine's Day 2012 (part 1)

Let me just start this by saying, I like doing crafty things.  I don't consider myself extremely talented in this area, but I enjoy tasks where I get to use the left side of my brain.  The school that Cara goes to gives me the perfect opportunity to get those creative juices flowing every Valentine's Day.

At Cara's school, there are only a few guidelines for Valentine's Day.  First of all, no candy. Easy enough (and kind of a "no duh" rule in my mind).  As for the cards that Cara distributes to her classmates, no store bought cards. If your child is going to pass out cards, they have to be home/hand made.

Cara and I usually start talking about what she wants to make for her classmates right after the Christmas decorations are put away.  Last year, we iced and personalized sugar cookies and made card stock cards to go with them.  (Picture of the cookies before they were personalized found here.)  This year, we took on an even bigger project, which I will include in my follow-up post.

In addition to the valentines for classmates, the parents are encouraged to use this opportunity to make a valentine for their children. Here are our Valentines to Cara from 2011 & 2010.  I think this year's Valentine turned out pretty well.