Well, we're all still inside and fighting the cold and Covid cabin fever, but all is not lost. There's so many fun ideas that can bring delight and entertainment to any gray day! Just this week I had a brand new experience that took my kids from bored indoors to involved and loving it!
Last week a lovely family friend in her mid 60's asked if she could bring a tea luncheon over for myself and two daughters, 6 and 4. At first this sounded like a lot of work for her and I hesitated, but she assured me that since her grandkids are out of state that this would be a joy for her and she wanted to do it. This sounded like such a needed break for us, so I said sure! We were all excited about the date.
When she arrived she came carrying a large party tray with ceramic square reindeer plates, paper heart cups, a beautiful flowered teapot, a bowl of green grapes, stacks of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut in triangles and cutouts of bears and hearts, a plate of square shaped turkey and cheese crustables, and a bag of tiny iced heart shaped cookies. The food was stored in Valentine's plastic baggies for freshness and festivity. She even included hot tea bags and a glass bottle of iced tea as both of my girls wanted a different option. It was a unique, creative and thoughtful display made with time and love.
The lunch was tasty and we all enjoyed the meal and company of our friend. After the meal, she had more surprises to share. She had made a gift bag for both girls with a collection of heart shaped suckers and chocolates and an individual bag of goldfish crackers. More fun to unwrap! Then she brought a brown bag to the table and took out a stack of plain white blank paper cards, heart shaped foam stickers and little stamps to make homemade Valentine's Day cards. The girls enjoyed making cards for my husband and me and their aunt, uncle and cousins. We plan to mail them and share the love!
She only stayed about 2 hours as my oldest needed to get back to her virtual learning, but it was just enough time for a healthy break for our restless spirits. I was so appreciative of her kindness, care, attention to detail and effort in giving us all a wonderful experience to enjoy. This has given me fresh inspiration for a new idea to incorporate into playdates and gatherings with other friends and family in the future.
There are so many ways to creatively plan a Valentine's Day travelling tea party. You can share the work with your friend or family member and even get the kids involved with the prep work by icing and sprinkling cookies, washing fruit and helping you bag it up. It can be done with little cost by using your own serving supplies and making homemade decorations such as cutting out paper hearts to stick to your clear ziploc baggies. I found a box of 32 Valentines at Marc's on Dressler Road for $.25 and they had many others for $.99. You can include these in little gift bags for your friend's kids and also add a few candies.
With little expense and a lot of love and thoughtfulness, you can try something new this Valentine's Day and have a real treat!
