Tuesday 3 February 2015

Valentine's Day: heart-themed treats & a hunt!

It is February and that means Valentine's Day is coming up! More than anything it has become an excuse to do heart-themed baking/crafts/activities with my children than anything romantic with my husband!

Last year I was not organised enough to post anything in advance to share idea-wise with you. I saved up what we did do however and can offer it up as some inspiration this year....

Heart-shaped biscuits/cookies usually appear in one form or another at our house. Last year I branched out and tried a new (more chocolatey) recipe from The Crazy Kitchen, Chocolate chip shortbread hearts. Mine certainly don't look as pretty in the picture but they tasted delicious! I made the larger ones for my son to take to his teachers at school (we packaged them in a cute little bag, sealed with a heart sticker) and the smaller ones were enjoyed by us and some friends who came over that day. They are very simple to make and I would definitely make them again.

My son had a play date at our home on Valentine's Day last year and at the last minute, I decided to set up a little heart-themed hunt for them to do. I bought some small heart-shaped chocolates for them to find on the hunt. I cut out some pink paper hearts and wrote a very brief, easy description on each of where I had hidden a chocolate heart. It was a sneaky way to practise their reading/phonics, which at age five they were getting stuck into at school. So first they had to go around and find the pink paper hearts and then they had to read what was written on them to find the chocolate hearts. A hunt always goes down well with that age (4/5) and this one was definitely a success and a fun Valentine's activity.

I'll finish with a link for the grown-ups! I had every intention of making these Chilli chocolate truffles for my husband and I to enjoy but the weather was so atrocious last year, I could not face the trip to the supermarket to pick up the ingredients I needed. This year, I am definitely going to make them and still have plenty of time to get anything I need for them. I love the combination of chocolate and chilli!

Do you have any Valentine-themed activities or baking you like to do or that you have seen recently that sound fun?
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4 comments:

  1. these look great, thanks for the mention. I can't believe it's been a year since i made loads of these for sport relief - i'd best get baking again!

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    1. Thanks Helen, we all loved them and are probably going to make them again this year :-)

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  2. Love these ideas. I think my 8 and 10 year old would still enjoy a hunt. Maybe hunting for clues to lead to a surprise at the end. I will be doing this for sure, thanks for the idea!!

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    1. Glad you liked the ideas :-). I'm sure you're right that older children would still enjoy a hunt (they are good fun!). I am thinking about doing one again for my older two children.

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