Strawberrylicious Valentines for $5

Beautiful chocolate covered strawberries cost $50 a dozen plus time spent online to order and time to wait for delivery.

I would never have thought of something like this as a Valentine's gift for my husband until he made rave comments when he saw a television commercial about them. Checking several sources online, I found the cost to be $36.95 - $49.95 per dozen PLUS delivery which took all prices above $50.

Fortunately, I remembered that I had both vanilla and chocolate Almond Bark left over from Christmas and found this box of 15 huge strawberries at Walmart for $5.00. Just 90 seconds microwave heating time to melt each of the flavors and I was in business. 10 minutes, max, from start to clean-up. I saved a minimum of $45 and my husband will be thrilled.

The "Large" egg was included in the photo so you can see the great size of the berries. Also, I left half of them plain in an attempt to salvage at least a fragment of my diet.

Valentine's Pizza

With Valentine's Day approaching, a heart shaped pizza says, "I love you", to the family without spending a bundle.

I just used a box, pizza kit that usually makes 2 medium pizzas. The crust dough is simple to put together and I let mine "rest" for 25 minutes for a lighter crust which allowed time to prepare additional toppings.

Using a cookie sheet, I was able to easily shape a 14" x 17" heart, making for a big, family sized pizza.

I had the idea to use half strips of string cheese to fill the crust and it worked perfectly.

No need to be fancy. Just pinching the crust around the cheese works well.

Spread with sauce, add toppings, bake as directed and..............

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Make a Valentine's Bunting

A perfect place to tuck a love note...

or as my mother would say "a billet doux."  (pronounced billy do)  It's a French phrase literally translated as a "sweet (or soft) ticket, a short love letter".  Mother's interpretation was a "love note".  And this family garland is the perfect repository for love notes from and to each member of the family. 

Tucking the flaps inside envelopes and punching four holes along the topside of each one allows for easy stringing on a ribbon or piece of yarn.  I added a little extra decoration with red felt cut-outs dangling by red thread.
Paper doilies, construction paper, scissors and glue...a child's provisions for creativity and great memories. These days it's the grandchildren who enjoy making Valentine's cards but I remember my children doing the same and my memory even stretches back to my own childhood feelings of accomplishment over a few 'especially lovely' creations of my own.  As the cards or notes are made, they can be slipped into the appropriate envelopes to wait for Valentine's Day.
Cost: $0  All materials on hand.

Here are links to two other Valentine's Day ideas:  Making Chocolate Covered Strawberries and making Valentine's Pizza,