Valentine's Day Party Planning
Love
is in the air, or at least it should be. Valentine’s Day
is the holiday that adds some pizzazz to the dreary
month of February with a little love, romance, and
friendship. Not everyone’s a fan of mushy hearts and
sentiments but retailers make sure that this holiday
does not go unnoticed.
Everyone has someone special in his or her life -- whether it’s a lover, friend, or family member. If you’re trying to lay low and let the day pass quietly, you may just be labeled a scrooge -- or worse yet, a tightwad. Don’t even go there!
Children love the Valentine’s Day because it means getting a school party with cards and candy. Adults have different reasons that may be dependent upon the state of their relationships. Whatever your feelings about the occasion, you can celebrate with the best of ‘em with some of our tips and ideas for planning a Valentine’s day party that will be fun for everyone and may just be the spark needed to bring new love.
Decorating
Set a romantic mood with an eye-catching, Valentine’s Day theme. A traditional color scheme is red, white, and pink but you can deviate from this and decorate in white and silver or purple and gold. Valentine decorations in the latter colors are more difficult to find in stores so you may need to make some homemade decorations in the colors of your choice and look in the birthday section for crepe paper, balloons, and stationery that’s available in a wider selection of colors.
Children love decorating so why not let them make most of the decorations and have a pre-party where they can transform the room into a heart-filled haven? School crafts can involve cut-out hearts placed on paper lace, custom candy dishes, and a large centerpiece. Add some tablecloths, balloons, confetti, and decorative tableware for cake and treats.
Of course, each child will need a custom (mail) box, packet, or bag to collect their Valentines. Decorating this is probably one of the projects that they will enjoy the most. Shoeboxes work the best and are sturdy containers for cards. Provide some tape, glue, construction paper, candy, ribbon, markers, crayons, stickers and perhaps some paint and brushes to adorn the boxes Valentine style. If you’d like an easier approach, let them use wrapping paper and the design is already there. Make sure every child adds their name to avoid confusion when it comes time to handing out the cards.
Candles are pleasing not only to the nose but to the eyes as well. Whether you’re planning a Valentine’s Day party for adults or just a romantic dinner for two, candles add a pleasing aroma that will fill the room and show everyone in a better light. Super sexy scents (say that three times fast) include lavender and French vanilla, and floral scents such as rose, jasmine, and sunflower.
Activities & Games
Liven up your school or home party with some entertaining activities and games, Valentine style. All of your games should have a heart or lovey-dovey theme to celebrate the holiday. Get creative and transform ordinary, party games into some good, old-fashioned fun – with a twist.
Whoever knew that you could pin the arrow through the heart, or on Cupid? Forget an Easter egg hunt, why not hunt down hearts instead? Playing musical chairs to love songs, who woulda thought? Below, you’ll find more game ideas that will keep the children occupied and surely give them a Valentine’s Day to remember.
Valentine’s Day Cards
Let the kids have fun with crafts by gathering some construction paper, glue, candy, ribbon, candy and whatever else you can think of. Let them decorate cards for friends and family.
Guess How Many Conversation Hearts
Fill a jar with conversation hearts and put in on display. Have a contest and let the kids guess how many hearts are in the jar. Have them put their name on a piece of paper along with their estimated number. The child who comes closest, wins the prize.
Word Find
See how many words the kids can make with the letters in “Valentine’s Day.” The one who has the most wins the prize.
Finish the Love Story
On a piece of paper, begin a love story and let each child add a sentence (or two.) When everyone’s finished, read the story out loud. It can be rather amusing the direction the story may take.
Secret Admirer
Similar to drawing names for Christmas, have everyone draw a name several days before your Valentine’s Day party. Set a price limit and have the guests bring a treat and card for the person they drew. The giver will remain a secret or you can make a game out of guessing who gave what gift.
Charades
Children and adults love pantomimes. You can choose a love song theme and have them take turns acting out the titles. For younger kids, you may need to make it a bit easier by having them choose more current or popular songs that have the word “love” in the title. Song ideas are below.
List of Love Songs
- All Out of Love (Air Supply)
- As Long as You Love Me (Backstreet Boys)
- A Time to Love (Stevie wonder)
- Baby I Love You (Jennifer Lopez)
- Baby I Love Your Way (Peter Frampton)
- Before Your Love (Kelly Clarkson)
- Best of My Love (Eagles)
- Because I Love You (Jewel)
- Because You Loved Me (Celine Dion)
- But I Do Love You (Michelle Branch)
- Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Elton John)
- City Love (John Mayer)
- Could this Be Love (Jennifer Lopez)
- Crazy in Love (Beyonce)
- Everlasting Love (Andy Gibb)
- Greatest Love of All (Whitney Houston)
- Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman (Bryan Adams)
- How Did I Fall in Love With You (Backstreet Boys)
- I Have Always Loved You (Enrique Iglesias)
- I Love You (Martina McBride)
- If I’m Not in Love With You (Faith Hill)
- I Just Called to Say I Love You (Stevie Wonder)
- Love Alone (Trisha Yearwood)
- Love For All Seasons (Christina Aguilera)
- Love is All (Marc Anthony)
- Love Me Tender (Elvis Presley)
- Love Takes Time (Mariah Carey)
- One Love (Selena)
- Still in Love (Brian McKnight)
- Sweet Sunday Kinda Love (Beach Boys)
- When a Man Loves a Woman (Percy Sledge)
- You Don’t Love Me Anymore (Tim McGraw)
If you’d like something else for charades, consider a romantic movie or book theme, picking only the tearjerkers and not necessarily having “love” in the title. Some of the best ones do not.