Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Gift

It’s February 12th. I wake up, roll out of bed, and grab my twins out of their cribs. I change them, make a cup of coffee, kiss my husband good morning, and turn on the Winter Olympics to watch Adam Rippon’s figure skating debut.

Within fifteen seconds, the commentator politely reminds the viewers that “Wednesday is Valentine’s Day.” She adds, “hope you haven’t forgotten your loved ones.”

Sh**. I’ve forgotten my loved ones. Specifically, my parents. I’d wanted to get them a cute Valentine’s Day gift from the babies. (My Aussie husband thinks Valentine’s Day is for lovers and that it’s weird to give your parents Valentine’s gifts, but Australian/American cultural differences are a topic for another post.) 

So what do I do? I do what has served me so well in the past. I run around the house in my underwear screaming like a madman. “HOW,” I yell to my husband, “will I ever make an Arts & Craft project in under an hour to get it shipped to the grandparents by the end of the day with a postmark that still says Valentine’s Day??”

He mumbles something confused about grandparents not being valentines and babies not having romantic attractions, but I’ll be damned if he’s going to derail my project with his strange Aussie literalism.

The project came together instantly. I decided to get the twins to paint heart-shaped Valentine’s Day “cards.” Being five months old, they’d need some help. I’d decorate cardboard hearts with pink wrapping paper, and then let the twins paint on them with their hands through ziplock bags. If it worked the way I imagined it would, the nuggets would be creating and gifting their very first pieces of art!

Here’s what I found around the house: An empty Little One’s baby wipes box, old wrapping paper, scissors, meat freezer bags, fluorescent acrylic paint, a glue stick and a black colored pencil.

Here’s how to bring this last-minute Valentine’s Day gift to life…

Step 1: Cut heart shapes out of the baby wipe box.

Step 2: Glue the hearts to the backside of the wrapping paper. After a few minutes, cut the excess paper off.

Step 3: Place large drops of paint on the hearts using cotton swabs. I chose purple, pink and a neon red.  

Step 4: Place the hearts into ziplock bags (meat freezer bags in my case) and make sure to seal them properly.

Step 5: Allow your children to attack the bags with gusto. Minus swallowing the bags, there is really no wrong way to let them “paint.”

Step 6: Carefully take the hearts out of the bags and let them sit on newspaper overnight.

And that’s it. An incredibly simple (and cheap) last-minute Valentine’s Day project. For babies and grandparents alike, husband.

If you do decide to try this project out, please share your finished photos with me. I’ll make sure to share them below!

Until next time, stay crafty.