Valentines Day Party

 

By now I think it is no secret that I love, Love, LOVE Valentine’s Day!  I am sure you’re not surprised. ;) We actually have quite a few traditions that make Valentine’s Day even more special for everyone.  Admittedly, I might go a little overboard with some of the traditions, but I just love to get in the holiday spirit.  Anyone else obsessed?

Of course what party is complete without plenty of dessert options? I enlisted Peace, Love & Eat Cake to make all of the desserts. I love working with Ashley because she is so creative and everything she bakes is incredible. For our party she made plenty of heart-shaped cookies, the tastiest cupcakes I have ever had, and a beautiful ballerina-pink ombre cake. The kids could not get enough of all of her amazing creations. There were definitely some sugar highs and lows throughout the day-but worth it!

As soon as I flipped the calendar to February, Charlie was already asking about our plans for this Valentine’s day.  He knows I’m brewing ideas! ;)  I have to tell you, I am especially excited about Valentine’s this year because Charlie and Claire are hooked on the holiday too! They know I always have a surprise or two or three up my sleeve. Charlie already bought his bug themed Valentine’s cards weeks ago.  Makes me a little sad because last year we went to the craft store and made these really fun Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Valentines Day cards. Time is just flying!

Even with all of our family Valentine’s Day traditions, I was still on my toes to do something new this year… I finally had the idea to throw a Valentine’s Day party just for the kids! Secretly, I think I may have been motivated by my deep desire to buy ALL of the Valentine’s Day themed party decorations and do a photoshoot for the blog too… but hey, the kids had a blast either way! So really my confetti obsession paid off in the end, right? ;)

I was so excited about this Valentine’s Day party idea because Charlie and Claire are still so young and I know just how fast these innocent years are going to fly by.  I feel like age needs a speeding limit, right?! ;)  It feels like yesterday that I was in first grade and had strep throat and was unable to celebrate with my class. I was SOOOOO sad.  Now that Charlie is in first grade, it boggles my mind where all the time went. ;)

 

Hosting your own Valentine’s party?  Tulle skirts are such a fun way to tie in the Valentine’s party theme.  When I decided to throw together this party, I immediately started looking for inspiration online and came across the absolute cutest tulle skirts on Amazon. Tulle and Valentine’s Day are just a match made in heaven, so they immediately caught my eye. Once I realized Claire and I could have matching skirts, it was a done deal.   These skirts were priceless! My pink tulle skirt was actually super comfortable, so I could focus on hosting and enjoying the party, while Claire looked completely adorable in hers. We paired the tulle with matching denim button-downs shirts, for the perfect party ensemble. The best part about our matching mother & daughter tulle skirts is they were only $13.99 for hers and $16 for mine. I’ve seen similar tulle skirts retail for $100+ so I felt like we got a steal of a deal.

 

With brand new outfits for Claire and I, I had to go searching for a festive new outfit for Charlie too! I lucked out at Target (#TargetDoesItAgain).  Thank you so much Target for never letting me down. ;)  I found this new plaid shirt and light blue bow tie. I love any occasion to dress Charlie up in bow ties and I loved all the colors of this shirt.  I think it will double nicely as an Easter shirt too.  I thought the blue accents would be especially great to play off of alllll of the pink I was already planning for the party ;)

 

 

For the decorations, I wanted to keep things relatively simple. Since our house is full of white and mainly light colors, I chose items in soft, pink shades to compliment. I already had these heart-shaped balloons too and they ended up being a great addition.  If you host with balloons, don’t forget to send kids home with a few at the end of the night as an easy built in party favor!

 

With plenty of sweet snacks, the kids were more than fueled to enjoy the party! We set up games, crafts, and plenty of activities to keep them entertained throughout. Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s Day from my house to yours!

 

PS: Looking for more Valentine’s inspiration? Check out this fun Q&A I just did on Draper James blog sharing all our other family traditions for Valentine’s day.