A Toddler Valentine Party

There isn't much that's sweeter than a group of toddlers on Valentine's Day.  They did crafts, exchanged Valentines, made and decorated cookies, and made a mess befitting of five kids.

Decorations:
I came across this great idea on Pinterest: sewing streamers together using long stitches and tight tension.  The result is a really cute ruffled streamer.  I hung the balloons from the top, which gave the illusion they were floating.  To do this, I taped a piece of thread on top of the balloon, tied it in a knot around the tape, and taped it to the roof.

Snacks:
The party was post-lunch and post-nap for the toddlers, so I didn't do too much for food.  And I tried to avoid sugary foods.  Here is what we served:

• Toddler Party Mix
• shreddies, yogurt covered raisins, cheerios, mini chocolate chips, dried cranberries
• Homemade Heart-Shaped Goldfish Crackers
• Fruit Kebabs
• punched small heart shapes out of watermelon, pineapple, and cantaloupe; put on popsicle sticks.
• Strawberry-Banana smoothies
• cups and straws were on the table.  I poured some for the kids when they asked.

Activities:

Young toddlers are unpredictable and aren't usually interested in extremely structured activities.  For this reason, I kept it simple.  I set up little centres around the kitchen for them to explore as they wanted.

• Valentine Mailbox Decorating: Stickers, felt pieces, and other embellishments they could easily stick or glue on a paper bag.
• Votive Candle Holder: smear glue/water mix over a baby food jar.  Stick tissue paper hears to the jar and cover with glue/water mix again.  Let dry.  Use as a candle holder.

• Cookie station: roll out cookie dough, cut out cookies, bake, ice, and decorate with sprinkles.

• Sensory bin: Pink rice (dyed by me), pom poms, heart jewels and some scoops and spoons.

I didn't want any messy clothes and I wanted a nice party favour for the kids to take home.  I decided to make aprons for each of the kids.  The girls' aprons had hearts and the lone boy's had a mustache.  The kids looked incredibly cute wearing them and they provided excellent photo opportunities.

* I made the banner above the aprons.  It should be up as a free printable soon.

Valentines:

We asked everyone to bring Valentines for each other.  Our Valentine for the kids was a tub of homemade playdough.  We got the containers and bags from the dollar store.  I designed the labels, which we printed and stapled on.  They read: "You make me feel squishy inside."  I'll be posting them as a free printable soon.

The girls also got some hair bows.

I also wanted to give each of the kids a nicely iced cookie.  I thought this was a great opportunity to try out royal icing.  It wasn't as hard as I'd thought, and I learned a lot.  Consistency is everything and I didn't get it quite right.  Next time!

And that's it!  It took a lot of planning, but it was worth every second.  Toddlers are adorable.  I love mine. ♥