I love Valentine’s Day. I love all of the cute and corny valentines that everyone makes. And I miss elementary school where everyone gave all of their friends cute valentines and candy to go with them. I’m sure in a couple of years when I’m making hundreds of valentines to give to my then 5-year old’s classmates, I won’t miss it. But right now I do. My husband and I always go out or do something special for Valentine’s Day, but that’s just expected. You’re supposed to do something special for the people you love most. I thought it would be fun to do something a little different this year and go back to those fun elementary school days and give my friends, not just my family, a little Valentine’s Day surprise. That surprise came in the form of a Valentine’s Day themed craft night, or as I call it a “Craft Your Heart Out” night that I threw for my friends last night. We’ve always talked about doing craft nights together, and I thought this would be the perfect excuse. I picked out two simple crafts that I’ve seen all over Pinterest, bought the supplies, and invited some of my closest friends over for a night of treats, crafting, and girl talk. And it felt just like I was five and giving out corny valentines again, okay maybe not quite, but it was still a pretty awesome night.
Since it was a craft your heart out night, everything was Valentine’s Day colored and shaped like hearts, hence the craft your “heart” out theme. For the actual desserts, I added the M&M’s® Red Velvet and pink marshmallows to my favorite marshmallow treats (recipe below) to create red velvet marshmallow treats in the shape of a heart of course. n addition to the marshmallow treats, I also served other fun heart shaped cookies, treats, and chocolate like DOVE® Promises. And since it was a girls night celebrating friendship, I broke out the sparkling red grape juice too. There’s just something about sparkling juice that makes everything feel like a celebration.
Before everyone arrived, I setup two tables prepped with everything the girls would need to make the two crafts I’d chosen – Valentine’s Day XOXO frames and Valentine’s Day bubble gum machines. And then the fun began. We spent the next three hours chatting, crafting, and snacking on all flavors of M&M’s® and other treats. It was such a nice break from our typical playgroup chasing our toddlers around, and I think I’m going to make a girls craft night a monthly thing. And snacking on M&M’s® a daily thing.