Valentine's Day is Dumb But Fun

Husband and I don't really "get into" Valentine's Day, mostly because it feels sort of dirty. It's just such a sleazy, 100% commercial holiday that playing along makes me feel gross.

That said, we have kids, and kids love Special Days. So while we might do a little something small and slightly romantic for each other, we prefer to focus any Valentine energy on our itty bitties. We always have some kind of gift and activity or fun meal for them on Valentine's Day.

In lieu of something store-bought, I made them these adorable owl softies following this excellent, simple tutorial from Organize and Decorate Everything. This is a wonderful project for a beginner, so if you're looking for some simple handmade gift ideas but aren't great on your machine, these are perfect.

The kids with the stuffed owls that I made them FOR REAL BY MYSELF LIKE A GROWN-UP!

Bug with his owl. *swoon*

Husband had to work during the day, so we had our good friend Cincy Sarah and her totally awesome boys come over to make and decorate marshmallow lollipops and sugar cookies with us. We set the kids up with melted chocolate, sprinkles, colored frosting, and a few spoons and let them go to town.

So...many...sprinkles...

Cincy Sarah brought these cute heart-shaped marshmallows.

Then we loaded up most of the goodies and took them a half mile up the road to the local fire house. And it was SO COOL. The fire fighters could not have been kinder or more welcoming. I called a few weeks ago just to see what the protocol was, and there really isn't one. You just show up, ring the bell, and you can come in and check the place out. After the kids handed over the treats, the fire fighters took them to the garage and let them climb up in the truck and the ambulance. They were very accommodating in helping our kids in and out and were totally relaxed about having them there.

Goodies!

The kiddos, checking out the fire truck. Bear may have been wearing that same outfit for two days. Oops.

After our little tour, Cincy Sarah and I took the kids to lunch before heading home. Bear and I decided that Husband should have a piece of cheesecake since he had to work while we were having fun, so that was our little V-Day gift to him. And when he came home he had a dark chocolate candy bar and a bottle of wine for me. So I guess we gave in a tiny bit, but I'm not going to feel guilty when I'm killing that wine this weekend.

I think I'm going to make going out into the community and spreading a little goodness a new Valentine's Day tradition for our family. I like the idea of turning this incredibly cheesy, tacky, commercially-driven day into something lovely. Not that indulging in the romantic side of it has to be cheesy, of course. But you all know what I mean. If not, ask me and I'll try to find my words a bit better. Maybe don't ask while I'm drinking the wine.