Valentine's Day for the KIDS! -Classroom treats, advent calendar, teacher gifts and so much more!

My husband and I don't really celebrate Valentine's day. Why? Mostly because it feels forced and everything is way over priced. If he wants to buy me flowers or make me feel special, he can do that any day. :) With that said, I do go a little overboard with the kids. Why? I really don't know. I guess because it's fun to go overboard and I'm known for going overboard. Just a tad. Starting to see a theme here?

To kick off February I always have an advent calendar counting down until Valentine's Day. Boys LOVE this!

Inside the hearts are these super cute mini envelopes and I would like to think they are excited solely for the notes but I also include a Hersey Hug.



They are made from a HEART!!! Each once says why they are special. Tutorial HERE.



Need Valentine's Day PHOTO IDEAS?


Special HEART SANDWICH for lunch





I made this three years ago and we are still using the same one. I put it away in the closet and pull it out each year. No last minute scrambling. GENIUS! 




The boys always love to bring something for the teachers and classmates. Here are some things we've done in the past.

The boys made these for all their classmates and teachers


Dipped Strawberries (store bought or make yourself) packaged for easy carrying.
The boys gave these for teacher appreciation week but they would be perfect for Valentine's Day.




Cake baked in a jar!!! These are always a hit. We made these for Christmas last year and teacher appreciation the year before. So easy. Could do red velvet cake or strawberry and vanilla. Ooooh. Might have to make these this year too. Tutorial HERE.



Remember THESE rubber band bracelets my son was obsessed making!? He made Vday ones last year for the teachers and girls he wanted to bring a gift to.....yes, GIRLS with a S!!!! Oh dear!



So easy, makes a bunch and super cute! Can't wait to give these out this year.


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CRAPPY CUPCAKES - DOG POO birthday treat - funny- friends/co-workers/family FAKE FUN- looks real

So much fun! Great laugh and a funny way to add to a birthday. 

YOU'RE THE SH*T CUPCAKES!

This is one of the funniest gag gifts that is really sweet too. Sweet as in "awwwwe" and sweet as in "yummm" LOL. Keep reading, you'll see. :)


So I originally made these crappy cupcakes for our ANNUAL HALLOWEEN PARTY and they were a huge hit. Also would be great for APRIL FOOLS DAY prank!



All night I kept saying, "Try my crappy cupcakes" "They look like crap." Oh the fun once people looked at what I was talking about. 


Back to my gag cupcakes....

Since the party I've tweaked the doo doo recipe to make it look a little more real.

If you are not making your own chocolate icing I recommend this store bought icing. It's a little more thick.

I bought 2 king size recess peanut butter cups packages (8 cups) and took the edges off (hard part) and kept the peanut butter and soft, thin chocolate. This gives the dookie a lumpy/chunky look and the peanut butter drags through it making the different shades of poop. Ha! 

See? Eeeewww. 

I used a large freezer/storage ziplock bag with one corner cut off to apply the dog dung. 


For the flies I melted some chocolate candy melts and made little ovals. Before they were dry I used sprinkles for the eyes. For the birthday cupcakes I used pink "eyes" and for Halloween I used yellow.


The wings are made from cutting mini marshmallows in half. They stick pretty well so I add them after the chocolate is dry. 

NOW FOR THE SWEET PART..somewhat sweet :)


The tag on the top of the cupcakes says, "You're the sh*t" but inside....


Under each cupcake has qualities that make them awesome. Kind, loving, thoughtful, funny, caring, amazing...etc. 

So at first it's "WHAT!?" then, "GROSS!" ((but laughing)) and finally, "AWWWW!" 

I had other presents and this made a nice addition and a good laugh to the birthday surprise. 


DOWNLOADABLE TAGS

Click HERE to download 4x6 You're the sh*t tag for FREE
(right click and save)
Click HERE to download 4x6 sweet you're the sh*t tag for FREE
(right click and save)



After thinking about it, this could be a mean gag gift too. Maybe....

You're a sh*tty boyfriend
Sh*thead
You're full of crap
You're a crappy boss

Oh the possibilities are endless.

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How well do you know your parents? FUN quiz for KIDS - DIY activity idea /easy FREE app

We did this for our New Year's Eve party as one of the balloon pop activities.

 I loved this idea so much and so did the boys! Here are the questions we asked (you can make up your own or use ours) and the application or program we used. COMPLETELY FREE! 

This was a blast! Our quiz - "How well do you know your parents?"

I came up with 11 questions and added "retro" pics of my husband and I. Winner is based off correct answer and speed of answering. My younger son won on the very last question. They were surprised on some of the questions with lots of  WHATS and NO WAYS but I was surprised on how many they knew. They have been listening. :)

So what did we ask?

1. Name of Mom's first pet?
2. Not saying Dad is scared of anything but what makes him uncomfortable? (lol)
3. Where was Mom born?
4. Where did Mom and Dad meet?
5. Mom's last name before marrying Dad?
6. Dad's favorite food as a kid?
7. Where did Mom and Dad take their honeymoon?
8. Dad's phone number? (this was a joke) *
9. What was Mom's first vehicle?
10. What breed of dog did Mom and Dad NOT own together?
11. Dad's first job?

*So my oldest is obsessed with Pi. He's been memorizing it and knows 250+ digits. If you are like me I thought it was just 3.14. There's more? Oh boy, my son went into a lengthy explanation about it being infinite and used to measure blah blah blah. 
I have heard him say this too many time to count now. "Pi is a common mathematical equation used to find the volume and area of circles and spheres"  The Pi expert BUT the child can not remember my husbands phone number. LOL. See....question 8 was a joke. :)

And now for the program. My kids actually use this in school and I've created quizzes to help study for tests. Completely free.

To create a quiz - www.kahoot.com
To play on your device - www.kahoot.it

Once you create the quiz you are given a code.  Use any device - ipad, phone, computer and enter the code and it logs you in.
We had the boys use their phone so they could compete. Your score is based on how fast you answer the question and if you get it right.

Such a fun idea!

To see more ideas check out my New Year's Eve countdown activities for kids.


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New Year's Eve FUN for the kids! - Balloon Pop Countdown - family activities & games

Before I share what we did for our third annual NYE party with the kids, I wanted to thank everyone for all the love. So many features, mentions, links, posts, etc! Amazing! Thank you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Okay, now for the fun!

This all started with our first 2012 AMAZINGLY fun New Year's Eve that it's now a tradition! 


2013 New Year's Eve was just as fun with different ideas and activities. Such a huge hit!

Set up the same

I purchased black balloons and print activities and clocks. Roll paper and place in the balloon. Easy.....then a little problem. 


Okay, time to blow them up......WTH? I was tired and couldn't comprehend what was happening. I just kept saying....why are they turning purple? Hello, you purchased purple balloons. Duh! Amethyst/ PURPLE written clearly on the back of the package. 
{{note: when telling my hubby he was all smug quickly saying they were purple weren't they? What? When do you buy balloons and how did you know this?}}

Well, then my tiredness and OCD/perfectionist battled but tiredness lost. I scramble for a plan B. 

I had a few gold, very few black, and a new package of glow in the dark star balloons. YES! I made a pattern and cut each PURPLE friggin' balloon open and put the rolled paper in the new balloons. I think at this point I was in zombie auto pilot. Finally done! 

I put up all the balloons the night before so it's always a surprise when they wake up.

15 BALLOONS! Yes, I'm crazy. 

Each year it gets bigger and better! I didn't think I could top 2013 but the kids said it happened!
I normally work until 5:00 NYE so activities don't start until 6:30pm but this year I was OFF!!!! YAY!

Activities ALL day long!!!

They were expecting balloons to start at 6:30pm....NOPE! 
Woke them up to pop the first balloon at 8:30am and it was total excitement!

"What? What? It's time for the first balloon???!!! No way!" 
Totally worth the lack of sleep...I think or maybe just dreaming.

I let them decide what to play. Don't laugh but I used the kids cards and my older son used the adult cards in Trivial Pursuit family edition. LOL. Hey, I was barely awake and didn't want to embarrass myself.

This collage makes me laugh....the balloon looks like his head.

Lunch activity for them :) They made mini pizzas with mini pepperonis on mini bagels. 

It was late when I printed this and I meant to put frozen yogurt so they were a little confused at first. A delayed "Yaaaay yogurt" Lol! Their response was much different when I explained. 
Fun little treat plus to get out of the house for a bit. I squeezed in a few errands too. 

We've done the cookie thing in the past but only chocolate covered oreos. This time I rolled the dough and they could do anything they wanted. I thought it was funny one went with sports. (Cowboys #finishthefight) Yes, he hash tagged his cookies. 
The other made them about the dogs. We just got two puppies. So sweet.  


And mine......SUPER holographic edible glitter NYE cookies! Oooooh I love how they turned out. The picture doesn't do them justice. They were so glittery!

Need an awesome royal icing recipe that's super easy? Check out this post HERE.


I came up with 11 questions and added "retro" pics of my husband and I. 

Winner was based off correct answer and speed of answering. My youngest son won the game on the very last question. They were surprised on some with lots of  WHAT??? and NO WAY!! but I was surprised on how many they knew. They HAVE been listening. :)

Since we just got two new puppies I picked up some DIY dog tags. Remember shrinky dinks? It's plastic that shrinks in the oven. 

They wrote puppies name and our info with a sharpie. Then 10 mins in the oven and they were super small. Came with a little sticker to protect the writing and metal ring to attach to the collar. I couldn't find two the same so I told them to flip a coin to choose. 

Blokus! They love this game. I didn't think much about the colorful little blocks but you definitely need strategy. Got my butt kicked the first time. Now it's game on. I felt bad because I had my hubby play {his fist time playing} and didn't give him any warning that they would probably destroy him. 

I went for a run and came back in and asked, "which boy won?" Not even thinking he had a chance of winning. Lol!


We had leftover confetti eggs from Easter and Halloween that we never used. I figured this would be a fun activity to get some energy out. BEWARE - they hurt! I learned this the hard way several years back. Colorful eggs, excitement, and then instant tears. 

My rule - you MUST crush the egg in your hand before hitting someone with it.
It was a great activity since the time between the next balloon pop was short and this was over within minutes. 

Now something to keep them busy for a bit. Last year we did mini masterpieces but this year I found even small canvases. Mini mini masterpieces. SO CUTE!

Ahhhh....this is their all time favorite. My boys love shrimp. This balloon pop is a request and definite must every New Year's Eve! Plus they are pricey so it's our fancy treat.

Every year they get to add something to the activities. First year they taught a craft, last year they put on a magic show for us and this year.......commercials. It's fun to see them come up with a skit/commercials. They each did one by themselves and one together. Turned out really cute. No pics because I videoed. 

I put sparklers because I didn't know if my hubby wanted to do all the fireworks so early or wait until after the new year. We ended doing everything. It was FREEEEEEEZING! I say freezing but it's Texas so not really literally freezing. I just keep saying it. 

Getting ready for a toast....almost Midnight!!!! We didn't need two bottle between the two of us, promise. {{hiccup}} A friend suggested one and the other was purchased a while back. Boys drank apple cider. You would think they never get juice. I couldn't even get a picture before they needed a refill.

Time to eat cookies and the big toast. 

We popped this one after the countdown on TV. It also had a Happy New Year note to each boy. What we expect for the New Year and how proud we are of them. Then lots of hugs and kisses.

I didn't add any other pics but we did a photobooth again this year. SO.MUCH.FUN!

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