Happy Valentine’s Day!

Would you believe that after all that advance prep I managed to realize, 5 minutes before the party was set to start, that I’d forgotten the Rice Krispies for the cupid hair? So I literally ran (because I’d walked up to the school) back to my house and drove back, then explained to the children how to apply cupid’s wings while sweating profusely. Valentine’s Day is so much less romantic than it used to be. . . .

Anyway, I just remembered a tardy suggestion for Valentine’s Day, especially for those with young kids: an internal date, no babysitting required. Come to think of it, we haven’t done this in a while, so we need to do it, too.

The girls each received a Creativity for Kids: Petite Sweets Soap kit today. I’d had them tucked away for months, ever since I’d seen them on clearance for $5 (usually $15), I think at New York Toy & Hobby back in July. Basically, the kit includes soap “clay,” so it’s easy to mold, and there are decorative items like bath salts, glitter, and little flowers. The craft was a big hit, and the results were such pretty little soaps that I found myself wishing that I’d bought all of the kits, because these would make a great activity for kids to make a special gift for a mother or grandma.  The clay was a bit dry, so we needed to add water, and it would be nice if you could easily reseal the little plastic bags, but overall, it had lots of things I love in a craft: unusual material to make it seem special, plenty of variations possible for creativity, and a super-satisfying end product.

Here are J’s soaps: