I am always surprised by how quickly Valentine’s Day materializes. I love making “minor” holidays like this special for the children — I usually make them heart-shaped pancakes or waffles (use this) topped with themed sprinkles and then mix a little red food coloring into cream cheese for a pink/red bagel sandwich (served with berries!) at lunchtime. I’ll serve them their meals using these melamine bowls and plates that I bought last year or the year before — so glad they’ve brought them back! It’s the little things. This year, I picked up these matching mommy and me heart pajamas for my daughter and I. (I would take your true size in Lake, but I’ve learned to size up for children — they run snug.) I love that they’re ideal for V-Day but can clearly be worn year-round, too. They also come in blue for boys, but I think I’m either going to get micro these or these instead, as I feel they’re more his speed. For some reason, themed pajamas have become a major source of holiday excitement in our house (my children especially love the Halloween ones) — they are great at reinforcing seasonality, and also adorable for pictures.
For daytime wear, I worked with Saddle Stitches (a wonderful embroidery shop — I’ve purchased several items from there and the quality is absolutely incredible) to embroider this polo for micro and this sweet sweatshirt for mini (which she’ll pair with leggings like these). I also have this dress (reminds me of D. Porthault) in my cart, but I find that her new school tends to have more restrictive “free dress days,” e.g., “wear red/wear pajamas/etc” and I know she’ll prefer the leggings and sweatshirt anyway. This solid pink dress with a red hair bow would be a good pick, too, because it can be worn well beyond the holiday without seeming too holiday-specific.
I also picked up a few crafty things for the children to work on as we approach the holiday, like this color-in banner, some pink and red play-doh, and this frame craft kit. Little projects like that go a long way in our household on the weekends / in the evenings and I love how they build excitement for the holiday.
05. HEART DRESS
06. COLOR-IN BANNER
07. GINGHAM SNEAKERS
08. STRIPED PERSONALIZED LONG-SLEEVED POLO
11. OLD NAVY TINY HEART PAJAMAS
12. POLO
16. VANS
17. HEART FOOTIE
20. WHITE JEANS
21. HEART CREW SOCKS
22. PATACHOU DRESS
24. FRAME CRAFT KIT
25. HEART LEGGINGS
As far as giving out Valentine’s…
01. ERIN WALLACE “I DIG YOU” VALENTINES WITH MINI CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES TIED OFF WITH YELLOW GINGHAM RIBBON
02. ERIN WALLACE “BEE MINE” VALENTINES WITH YELLOW PLAY-DOH AND BEE-THEMED CUTTERS TIED OFF WITH YELLOW GINGHAM RIBBON
03. RED GINGHAM RIBBON
04. MERI MERI HEART VALENTINES
05. MERI MERI ROBOT VALENTINES
06. MONDO LLAMA CREATE-YOUR-OWN VALENTINES KIT
07. ERIN WALLACE “I’M WILD ABOUT YOU” VALENTINES WITH FROSTED ANIMAL CRACKER BAGS
08. VALENTINE PLAY-DOH PUSH POPS
09. ERIN WALLACE “YOU MAKE MY HEART POP” VALENTINES WITH POPPER FIDGET TOY BRACELETS
10. BLUE GINGHAM RIBBON
11. MERI MERI ICE CREAM VALENTINES
P.S. We’re big fans of sensory play in our home.
P.P.S. The mercury of play.
P.P.P.S. Cute toddler mealtime gear.