16 Valentine's Day Boxes That Will Win The School Party

To the first-time parents about to experience their first valentine's day class party, get ready. This is the holiday that requires the most parent involvement. My best advice is to start early. Waiting until the last minute to make the Valentine Box and the Valentines is No Bueno! Picture it: You up until 2 am making the box and signing your child's name on 25 class Valentines.

NOTE: If the idea of making Valentine's Day box makes your sphincter spasm, no worries go to Target and buy a ready-made box. Yes, they totally exist. I did that last year. This year, We're making the BB8 Trash can. I picked up the stuff at the Dollar Store. I'll post the tutorial asap.

If you feel adventurous and crafty, it's really easy to make the box, and your child will probably love making it with you. All you need is either a shoebox, cereal box or tissue box, construction paper and an imagination. Below are 16 super easy to recreate Party boxes to get you thinking.

To see the step-by-step tutorial for any of the boxes or to see more Valentine's Day box ideas, Check out my Valentine's Day Pinterest Board. 

Nearly A Decade After The Fairytale Meeting, He's Still My Prince Charming #HappyValentinesDay

It's truly amazing how real the magic still feels. How electric his touch still feels. How I still get butterflies in my stomach when he kisses me. It's hard to believe it's been almost eleven years since my Australian Prince Charming swept me off my American feet during a magical meeting in Vienna, Austria. What's not hard to believe is that I'm still madly in love with him.

In honor of our magical decade together, below is the Fairytale story that took us around the world, brought us toe-to-toe with many, many border agents, on both sides of the pond, and loads of love, laughs, miracles, lessons and a little boy that took our breath away...

The following is 100% true and well-documented story of love, heartache, world travel, going up against Homeland Security and a few miracles that showed me anything is possible if you take a leap of faith and let fate do its thing...

Picture it: Vienna, Austria. June 18th, 2008. Sunny. Warm. Riot sirens blaring...

After two glorious weeks of celebrating my thirtieth birthday traveling through Europe with a girlfriend from, Vöcklabruck, a small village located in the western part of Upper, Austria, we parted ways so she could get back to work, and I could catch my flight back to the States. I hopped a train, solo, to Vienna, Austria, where my flight was scheduled to depart two days later. I figured I'd just wander around the city and take it easy during my last 48 hours in Europe.

Oh, how wrong I was. Little did I know, Fate was waiting for me at the hotel. 

But first, I had to get pickpocketed to kick off Fate's plan...

As I exited the Wien Westbahnhof, train station, riot sirens began to blare. But what struck was that no one seemed alarmed. I overheard a couple talking about how this was the third time the sirens had gone off today.

Thankfully, an English speaking cab driver approached me and asked if I needed a ride. 

I happily accepted the offer, then reached into my back pocket for the piece of paper I wrote the hotel info down on. It was gone. 


Semi-freaking out, I looked up at the cabbie and said, "Oh, No!  The piece of paper I wrote the hotel information down on is gone. I had it in my back pocket."  

He shook his head, "Probably got picked. With the 2008 European Football Championship game going on, the city is drawing opportunist from all over. Which hotel are you staying at?" 

"The Hotel Kummer." 

"I know exactly where it is. Mariahilferstrasse."

"What's with the sirens?" 

"The fans are drunk and out of control near the stadium. The rivalries are turning into riots.  I wouldn't recommend going out at night by yourself."

As we drove down Mariahilferstrasse, towards my hotel, the cabbie was right, the street was in fact, PACKED. After checking into the hotel, I went for a short walk, then retreated to the hotel's restaurant for dinner, before seeking refuge in my room for the night.

As I took my last bite of dinner, out of the corner of my, I see a guy walk up to the bar. 

I didn't really pay much attention to him until I heard him say to the bartender, in a very desperate tone, "Two fingers of your best scotch, my good man.”  

I couldn't help but laugh. The poor guy was clearly in need of a drink! 

The guy turned this head towards me and said, “Ha, someone speaks English!”

I laughed again. "I sure do, I'm American."

"Bloody Hell." He stuck out his hand, looked me in the eye and said, Good to meet you, I'm Australian."

When our eyes and hands met, A HUGE rush of fiery energy shot through my body.

I lost my breath.

(He later told me the same happened to him!)

It truly was love at first sight.

Long story short, we ended up talking and laughing until the bartender threw us out.

As we slowly slid off our bar stools, both of us were clearly not ready for the night to end, my Prince Charming asked if I would like to take a midnight stroll through Vienna. He knew the streets well and would give me a penny tour. 

Of course, I said, "Yes!" 

Sure, I knew he could be a psycho serial killer picking up lonely Americans.

I didn’t care.

I was mesmerized and taken by this man.

We stepped out onto the street, he took my hand in his, and off we went.

This photo was taken the night we met by a street vendor.

We walked the streets, hand-in-hand. Window shopping, sight-seeing and regularly stopping at streetside benches to sit and talk. Around 3 am we made our way back to the hotel.  He told me he hoped to see me again, gave me a kiss on the cheek and went to his room.

As I watched him walk back to his room, it was at that moment I told myself I could NEVER see him again. 

I was sobering up and seeing the situation for what it was. 

I'm American.

He's Australian.

We are from opposite ends of the earth.

Nothing about that had any promise of a future.

I've had my heart broken once or twice before; no way was I going to sign up for that again!

I could barely sleep. I spent the wee hours of the morning telling myself he was too good to be true and was probably a psycho serial killer after all.

I woke up mid-morning to the phone ringing. Since Mr. Wonderful was the only person I knew in Vienna that would call my hotel room, I ignored the call. I snuck out of the hotel for lunch, walked around the packed streets and retreated to my room for a nap.

When I woke up, there was a note slipped under the door from Mr. Wonderful Psycho Serial Killer. It said how much he enjoyed my company, and really hoped to get to see me again.

Ugh. I couldn’t hold out anymore. I broke down and called his room.

We met in the lobby 20 minutes later. He took me on a short tour of the area around our hotel and then invited me to dinner with him and his grandfather. I declined but agreed to a drink afterward.

Long story longer….

We met for the drink and ended up walking the streets again hand in hand. At one point we stopped and sat on a bench where he pulled out a set of silver teardrop earrings. He said he purchased them for me earlier in the day when shopping with his grandfather.  I was speechless.  He was way too good to be true! We spent another night hand-in-hand.

The next morning he came to my room to help me down with my luggage. In the lobby, he told me he ordered a car service to take me to the airport because he wanted to 'make sure I made it safely to the airport.'

LORD HAVE MERCY!

As I pulled away from the curb, I looked back at him standing there looking as sad on the outside as I felt on the inside. I burst into tears. Why was I leaving my very real Prince Charming on the side of the road in Vienna? This was a once in a lifetime meeting, and I was leaving! 

Needless to say, I cried the whole 10-hour flight home. 

Once back in the States, there was already an email from the love of my life telling me how much he enjoyed meeting me, and to please let him know when I had made it home safely…. I cried some more. 

The entire month of July, we emailed and Skyped incessantly. Including a 24-hour Skype session. By the end of the month, he (finally) asked me to come to Australia. 

ASAP.

He was running a business and couldn't leave. I was changing jobs, so the timing was perfect for me.

I flew to Australia on August 13, 2008. He'd warned me it would be cold. There would be snow. I would need a jacket. I laughed. Australia? Cold? HA! He doesn't know cold...

WRONG! He was not kidding about Southern Australia having a winter! #MindBlown 

Say hello to my mountain man!

Happily, I became his mountain woman...

I fed wild birds every morning! 

On December 4, 2008, WE flew back to the states together. (So much for 2 weeks!) He spent the holidays in the States meeting my family and friends. Of course, they loved him and gave me their seal of approval. Not that I doubted it. 

We spent the next two years stretching Visas to the max, flying out of the country the day it expired. Never separating, always traveling together. We were sick in love, and broke! Then in May of 2010, my mother called me in Australia to let me know we needed to come home quickly, my grandmother was very sick. We went to get his Visa from the US Consulate in Melbourne and were told, "NO!" 

Not only was it a 'no' to the Visa, but it was also a, "No more Visas for 5 years." He was no longer going to be considered a tourist. He had spent too much time in the States over the last two years and was officially a flight risk. Our only option was to move our wedding plans up to ASAP.

I was told I had to fly back to the States alone to file the I-129F Fiancé Visa paperwork to get my soulmate back in my arms. I still had to fly back to my ailing grandmother, so I booked the next flight out. Leaving my rock and heart in the Melbourne airport, not sure when I would see him again, was devastating.

I flew back to the States and filed the paperwork immediately.  I also submitted every letter possible to expedite the process, called my congressman and anyone else I thought could help. I spent nearly 4 months in agony, scared, unsure and most of all, annoyed. It did not matter how much I loved the 'Alien', both the U.S. government and the Australian government dictated whether or not we could be together. I hated it.

We were Aliens in love, which sucks.

Thankfully, it didn't take a year for the Visa to come through. We were back together on September 1, 2010. Not wanting to waste any more time, we married on October 10, 2010 (10-10-10)

We settled into married life with ease...

We dropped anchor in the States, slowed down and started a family.  

Today, we are a crazy lot. There's never a dull moment...

 I will love this man for the rest of my life. He is my rock, heart, soulmate and perfect match made in heaven. 

How The Rest Of The World Celebrates Valentine's Day

Ever wonder how different cultures around the world celebrate Valentine's day, or if they even do?  Here are a few unique Valentine's Day traditions from around the world.

Japan: Men aren't the chocolate givers in Japan, the women are. And not just any ol' box of chocolates. These chocolates are handmade works of art. There are two main types of traditional Japanese Valentine's Day chocolates,“Giri-choco", and “Honmei-choco”. “Giri” means obligation, a.k.a, no romance involved. Giri-Choco is given to friends, colleagues, bosses, and close male friends.  Honmei-choco translates to, "true feeling chocolate." These beautiful chocolates are given to a boyfriend, lover, or husband to signify true love. The Honmei-choco is traditionally prepared by the woman giving it.

Homemade Honmei-choco

Philippines: Ever dreamed of walking down the aisle with thousands of other couples? Well, here's your chance! In the Philippines, Valentine's Day is celebrated with mass weddings. Seriously. On Valentine's Day, hundreds of couples across the country come together to be married or renew their vows in colossal wedding ceremonies held across the Philippines in malls and large public spaces.

 

Iraq: Though the holiday isn’t accepted everywhere in Iraq, those who do celebrate have developed a few of their own traditions. Iraqi Kurds believe in a feast of love. Specifically, that the preservation of a red apple with cloves representing Adam and Eve’s story, will bring prosperity and love.

South Africa: Some young South Africans celebrate Valentine’s Day by pinning the name of their Valentine to their sleeve. Young lovers follow an old-age Roman festival of 'Lupercalia'. According to this traditional festival, young girls pin their lover's name on their sleeves. At some places, men also follow this custom.

FUN FACT: do you know where the phrase “to wear your heart on your sleeve” comes from? Although it was first recorded in the 1600s in Shakespeare’s play named Othello, during the Middle Ages a knight in battle would pin a lady’s handkerchief to his sleeve as a way of publicly proclaiming his love for her.

Germany: I have the Germans to thank for one of my favorite Valentine's Day traditions, the Lebkuchenherzen, or gingerbread heart. Imagine, a big yummy gingerbread cookie, covered in super cheeky phrases, attached to a ribbon to wear around your neck. YES, PLEASE! Having a half-Austrian husband, he has bestowed a Lebkuchenherzen upon me a time or two. But truth be told, we usually get them at Oktoberfest!

 

Estonia: In Estonia, Valentine’s Day is called “Friend’s Day” so that single people are not left out of the festivities. While streets may still be decorated with hearts and other Valentine’s symbols, there is also an emphasis on nonromantic love, with friends and family members exchanging presents. That's one way to make sure no one feels left out!

Guatemala: Valentine’s Day is known as El Día del Cariño in Guatemala, encourages celebrating love for friends and family as much as your partner. Guatemala City gets into the spirit with lots of colorful pageantries, with revelers dressing up in feathered masks and Mayan-inspired clothing. And don't miss the senior citizen’s parade.

Italy- It should come as no surprise, that Italy is the Place to be on Valentine's Day. More specifically, Verona, known for being the land of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. On Valentine's Day, couples pour into the city for,“Verona in Love.” To enjoy a number of V-day events, including tours that retrace the tragic lovers’ footsteps, a contest for the best love letter to Juliet, or a moment with Juliet’s statue for good fortune. Verona also offers Renaissance gardens, vineyards, boutique hotels, cobblestone streets and countless candle-lit restaurants to further solidify their stake on being the land of lovers.

Where ever you are, whatever your traditions, I hope you have a safe, kind Valentine's Day full of peace and love!

Do you have a fun or different way of celebrating Valentine's Day?  I make FTD his favorite breakfast, Eggs Benedict.

4 Valentine's Day DIY Dollar Store Party Decorations

Last year, I started a partnership with Rustoleum that has been nothing but amazing fun. The first campaign I worked on was the, Blogger Valentine's Day Decoration Challenge. I'm proud to say, one of my ideas was featured! Since the project ended after Valentine's Day, I decided to hold off on posting the ideas until this year. I'm so excited to finally share them, I present Dollar Tree Valentine's Day Party DIY Decorations.

I started by envisioning what a fun Valentine's day party table would look like. I saw lots of bowls of candy and vases of flowers. I went to the Dollar Tree and bought everything I could think of to bring the table to life.

4 glass bowls

1 glass vase

2 bunches of silk-ish flowers

1 box of metallic tattoos

1 bag of foam hearts

1 bag of chocolate hearts. (Ok one more but I ate that one.)

Below are the things I made...

Valentine's Day Flower Vase

Step one: Paint the vase. I held the vase and sprayed all around it first, bottom, too. The paint dries in minutes. I set the vase down in the box and finished the top with a few passes of the paint and let it dry.

Step 2: Once dry, I picked up the Vase the way shown above and sprayed a few LIGHT passes of the pink glitter spray paint to LIGHTLY coat the vase. I tossed in the flowers and boom, done!

Next,  I did the candy bowl. This was super fun and ultra easy! I stuck the foam hearts to the glass bowl, spacing about an inch apart, then spray painted the glass bowl by sticking it upside down in a large box, and painting all around it. 

Once the paint dried, I peeled off the foam hearts and filled the bowl with candy. SO CUTE!!!

At this point, I was on a roll! I painted a bowl all gold and pulled out the metallic tattoos. This was as easy as following the directions on the box. I ended up tattooing a second bowl too!

Next, polka-dots because, why not?  Same as the foam hearts, I stuck dots all over the bowl and hosed it in gold paint! 

Chevron? Absolutely!

As you can see, the possibilities are endless. I should have done a few bowls in just pink glitter, but I LOVED the gold. It dried super fast, too. You can get the Rustoleum Mirror Effect paint anywhere Rustoleum is sold, it comes in a bunch of awesome metallic colors, too!

16 Super Cool DIY Valentine Box Ideas For The Class Party

To the first-time parents about to expereince their first valentine's day class party, get ready. This is the holiday that requireds the most parent involvement. My best advice is to start early. Waiting until the last minute to make the Valentine Box and the Valentines is No Bueno! Picture it: You up until 2 am making the box and signing your child's name on 25 class Valentines.

NOTE: If the idea of making a Valentine's Day box makes your sphinter spasm, no worries go to Target and buy a ready made box. Yes, they totally exist. I did that last year. This year, We're making the BB8 Trash can. I picked up the stuff at the Dollar Store. I'll post the tutorial asap.

If you feel adventurous and crafty, it's really easy to make the box, and your child will probably love making it with you. All you need is either a shoebox, cereal box or tissue box, construction papaer and an imagination. Below are 16 super easy to recreate Party boxes to get you thinking.

To see the step-by-step tutorial for any of the boxes or to see more Valentine's Day box ideas, Check out my Valentine's Day Pinterest Board. 

10 ULTRA EASY Valentine's Day DIY Treats, Crafts and Gifts

With the long holiday weekend ahead, I thought I publish a fun Valentine's Day post full of SUPER EASY DIY Valentine's Day crafts, gift and treat ideas so easy there's no tutorial or crazy supplies needed. Enjoy! 

#LOVE

This is a classic, that you can do year after year. Fill grandma's garden perhaps? Make a stepping stone path in the back garden?

Salt Dough Stepping Stones
This is so easy!
Mix:
1 Cup of salt
1 Cup of Flour
1/2 Cup of Water
Roll out like dough then form into a heart.
Get those little toes and a butter knife!
Once the footprints are made, use a butter knife or thin end of a fork to PRESS in the letters,  DO DO NOT drag, letters will get screwed up.

Bake @ 200F (or 100C) for 3 hours. 

Once completely cool, paint and let dry.

. 

Since so many of us have to make a class Valentine box, 
I thought I would remind you how easy it is. 

Three things: Old box. Crafting crap. Your imagination.

Speaking of class party, here's a cheap and easy heart hat. 

TIP: Forget the white plates. Find Valentine's Day Party plates!  Feeling all crafty? Kick the hat up a notch or two.

Here's another great party idea, check out these super easy heart cupcakes.

Do a family dinner everyone will love! Heart-shaped Pizza!

     Roll out the dough, then shape into a heart. 

Wanna know the fastest way to your man's heart? 
Two words: Bacon Hearts
NOTHING says I Love You, Man, like bacon hearts!

For perfect hearts, cut strips in half, then shape half a heart at a time. 

Speaking of guilty pleasures, you could always make a Cork Heart!

(I might have to do this. ON a smaller scale.)

           

Organize red to white for the perfect gradient.

And for dessert, Rice Krispie kisses. 

                                

Or, maybe peanut butter cookie hearts.

But what I really want...

Yep. I have to go make those. Now.