Well, it’s officially that time of year in the South when the weather is cold and the skies are grey. Enter Valentine’s Day. Whether you’re a fan or not, it’s the perfect excuse to pull out every shade of pink and red and bring some color to these dreary winter days. I’m not getting into any gift guides for this holiday as I’m not a huge believer in big gifts between me and Paul, but I do love giving fun treats to the kids and celebrating a “day of love” with them. Oh, and there are also what feels like a million school parties for each of my kids, so there’s plenty of celebrations surrounding Feb. 14th whether or not I like it. I was already planning to host a mom’s night at my house, which turned into a “Wigs and Wine” party. This could easily translate to a “Galentine’s Day” idea, which will be Part 2 of the post. Let’s start with the kids first and then move onto the wigs…
This year, I went with a Conversation Heart candy theme. Conversation Hearts are to Valentine’s Day what Peeps are to Easter. Cheap, cheesy, but colorful and easy to decorate with (oh, and both taste horrible, but that’s beside the point). And I recently (like 5 days ago) found out that Conversation Hearts will not be sold at many stores this year because the original company that produced them when out of business. Don’t fret, there is a new company that will make them for next year, but it didn’t have time to get them on the shelves for 2019. So basically, if you go with this theme and manage to find these “collector’s items” (ha) this year, then you will be an EXTRA special hostess. Thankfully, Amazon came through for me with two massive bags. Maybe I can resell the bag I haven’t opened yet for a profit! The darling iced heart cookies featured here are by My Sweet Dessert.
Clearly, sticking with any kind of heart theme for Valentine’s Day is the way to go if you want to have options for decor. I always love using Meri Meri party supplies, and they have the cutest matching paper plates, cups and napkins this year. They come in the perfect pastel colors, which weren’t all pink and red, but a mix of colors, just like Conversation Heart candy.
Target had a great disposable tablecloth and to add an extra layer to the table, I added a paper runner from Hester and Cook, which has a paper runner option for just about any color story you could possibly need.
For flowers, I decided not to order any this time (clearly I’ve had a stroke- ha), so I went as simple and easy as possible and stuck to a single type of flower. No arranging needed. I honestly believe that any kind of flower in mass, can be beautiful. I went with Baby’s Breath, which when used as a filler-flower is beyond horrible, but when used all by itself, looks like puffy white clouds. They last forever, and I think they’re a nice change from anything you might typically expect for Valentine’s Day (aka roses).
And last but not least, balloons. I keep thinking the “big balloon trend” will end soon, but it’s still going strong. However, I must admit, balloons are a great way to fill space and create backdrops affordably. Since I wanted to include a lot of heart balloons and needed a specific color scheme, I shopped on Amazon. I usually try and buy local and use one of our many party suppliers in Nashville, but Amazon had everything I needed in bulk and was cheap. And when I say bulk, I mean that I will have pastel-colored heart-shaped balloons for the rest of my life. Also, you should know that Mylar balloons are fun, and I use them often for my events, but extreme cold or hot weather is not their friend. They are temperamental, and will deflate easily if not kept at room-temp. Latex balloons can handle the heat and cold better, though they do best at room temp as well. My heart-shaped balloons are latex and lasted a few days, which is more than I needed.
Last but not least, I found cute headbands with Conversation Hearts sticking out of them as a cute favor to offer. These are from Oriental Trading Co., which I honestly don’t think to use enough. It’s easy to get lost on their website, so it’s best to know what you’re searching for before shopping, so you can look up specific things and not fall into the abyss of their party supplies.
Happy Valentine’s Day y’all!