Wild Geese Labs

Valentine’s Day is just 10 days away, so I’ve collected some Valentine’s ideas. Enjoy.

94.7′s Valentine’s Day Card for Kids
When I was in kindergarten, I almost missed my first Valentine’s Day card exchange because I was in the hospital undergoing a major kidney surgery at the time. But, while I was in the hospital, a huge handmade envelope was delivered to me. The contents? Valentine’s cards from all my classmates! I still remember looking through all of them. I kept that envelope of Valentine’s cards for a long time, and would sometimes take out some of the cards. It was very special to experience that first Valentine’s Day of my school career even though I was in a hospital bed.

So, my hat is off to Nikki Nite of 94.7 FM, an Austin radio station. This station, known for its snarky morning show, is doing something really sweet. They have organized a Valentine Card drive for kids who are in the hospital on Valentine’s Day. If you’re in Austin, I encourage you to consider joining them!

Emma on PBS
Don’t tell my literature professors from the University of North Alabama where I was an English major, but there are a few stories I’d rather watch than read. Not many, but a few. One of them is Jane Austen. I love Jane Austen and her witty stories, but her 1800s British English can be a little bit of a chore to read for this 21st Century American gal. There I said it.

But, I am ecstatic that PBS is currently running an Emma miniseries. Episode 3 airs this Sunday, and if you haven’t seen Episode 1 and Episode 2, you can watch them on the PBS website. In addition to the videos, PBS has a fantastically fun quiz on their site. For all you romantic gals, take the quiz to find out which Highbury bachelor is right for you. (I took the quiz, and the results were just as I expected–Mr. Knightley–so it’s definitely an accurate, scientifically sound assessment.)

I’m anxiously awaiting Episode 3 this Sunday night. Ahh, the romance! (The videos will be available on the PBS site only until March 9, so catch them before they are gone!)

Best Kids Valentine’s Ideas
For any of you with young kids who have to put together Valentine’s Cards for school exchanges, let me suggest you think outside the awful selections at Walmart, Target, and other superstores. (Most of them don’t even come with envelopes anymore!) Valentine’s Day is a perfect opportunity to get your kids using their hands and artistic skills to create something fabulous and fun.

Some ideas:
Last year, I cut single-serve cereal boxes and used them as Valentine’s Cards for my son’s preschool Valentine’s party. I printed cheesy messages, such as “You make me loopy” (for the Fruit Loops box) and let him glue them to the box. He simple wrote his name on the back, and we were done.

I love this idea from The Long Thread about using a homemade heart-shaped crayon. Just love it. And there’s a downloadable card, so it makes the work less.

For older kids with needle skills, these cute crocheted fortune cookies stitched in Valentine’s Day colors would be simply adorable filled with secret messages to girlfriends. They almost make me want to learn to crochet. (Momma, if you’re reading this, I said almost.) The instructions for crocheting the fortune cookies are here, but you have to scroll down a good bit before the instructions begin.

I also recently saw where someone made Christmas cards that their kids could color before they sent them. I did that last year for my son’s birthday invitations, and it worked so well. The same idea could work great for Valentine’s. Crayola has some fun and free downloads, and Family Fun has a wealth of colorable Valentine’s you can print. (Family Fun also has some great Valentine’s ideas. My favorite is this cute owl with a pencil attached, but I also love this pencil presentation, too. And, this one might win “Best Use of a Googly Eye on a Valentine.”

My other favorite idea is to make heart collages. My son loves to use shape punchers. He can cut hearts from magazine pages, hearts from different colors of cardstock, hearts from just about any paper product. Then, we glue them to a piece of cardstock cut to the size we want. We can either glue our message on top or write it on the back. Easy and lots of fun.

If you’re swamped and just can’t do the homemade route, consider shopping for something a little different, such as these vintage cards or some postcards.