We are coming up on my kid’s favorite holiday, outside of Christmas. Why? I am not entirely sure, but I think it has something to do with eating more candy. But seriously, we use Valentine’s Day as a family to express our love for one another. It may be goofy and sentimental, but for us as a family, it is a time when we simply say “I love you!” and the kids and hubby dig it, as do I. So in addition to little treats, and yes, more candy, we do a fun family activity together, share cards and give a few extra cuddles. Here are some things that you can do to share the love with your family.
SPECIAL CD MIX
Our family really loves to dance and I am always listening to Pandora.com trying to find new artists in genres that I usually enjoy. I am pretty good at figuring out my kid’s and hubby’s tastes as well so finding new music and making a CD or an ipod playlist is a great way to tell them you care. Here are some fun music sites for you to find the latest new music.
Of course there is the tried and true itunes.com, 
which personally, I don’t love, mostly cause it feels smarter than I am and I have a hard time navigating the site. But that being said, it is the quintessential online music store and has just about everyone you would ever want to find. But if you are willing to be a bit
adventurous, here are some other music sites that allow you to download and buy music. Amazon.commp3. Amazon MP3 is cool, cause it feels a little easier to use and more like a consumer shopping site, but we all have our preferences and I prefer Amazon.com
Here are some other music download sites that might be fun to try.
Real store, Super Pass, has movies, television and music for a low monthly subscription rate, this is great if you download movies as well as music.
Napster has been taken over by Blockbuster and has a huge selection of music. 
http://www.napster.com/index.html?sid=home&affiliate_id=88&referral_id=CJ&PID=3151978&AID=8352268&darwin_ttl=1297406224&darwin=s1210J®flow_id=s1210J&naps_app_id=0#
Napster is also a monthly subscription service that offers a lot of different kinds of downloads.
And my real guilty pleasure and major music download secret site is GOMUSICNOW.COM This is a legal site, based out of Russia, that offers music for a low as $09 per song. It is a steal and I love it!!!! The music site is legit and most of the songs play on all MP3 players. If you are really strapped for cash this site will give you a chance to really offer something special to someone you love, for far less than any other site out there.
A HUG BOX
I know this is so, Kumbayah…but it is about doing a family activity and sharing love. So the idea is, you create a box that you and the kids fill with little notes, drawings and things that express your love for the other person. Whenever someone is feeling sad, they only need to open the box and pull out the little letter inside, or picture, drawing or treat that says “I love you!”
You can decorate the box with anything, but the kids and I like to collect old wrapping paper, magazines, we clip pictures and print stuff off the internet to decorate our box. You mix regular school glue with water, until it is half glue and half water and then paint/paste your decorations onto the box. You can then cut out little pieces of paper and write sayings, draw pictures or download photos from your online photo albums to put inside. I also like to throw a little bit of chocolate in there for the kiddos as a surprise. For hubby, I put in redeemable coupons like “This is good for one free massage”, “This is good for one romantic evening”, “This is good for a YOU PICK day!” My notes to him, make us laugh, are sexy and fun and give us a chance to reconnect with one another on a regular basis.
CUTE MICKY AND MINNIE CANDY BOXES
To find fun things to do, I always go to my favorite family site, Family.com which is a Disney owned brand. Here are cute candy boxes to give to little friends and little Valentines.
Just print the template on card stock.
Instructions:
- Print out the boxes on regular paper or cardstock and cut them out. Don’t cut along the dashed lines — this is where you will fold the paper.
- Fold the A tabs, the sides, and front and back of Mickey or Minnie’s head away from you along the dashed lines.
- Cut a small slit along the white lines in each outer tab on the side pieces. Punch a hole where indicated on the head pieces.
- Drop a few pieces of small candy into the box and close it by interlocking the two tabs where you cut the slits.
- Cut a small piece of ribbon or string and loop the heart pendant onto it. Close the box by looping the same string through the holes in Mickey or Minnie’s head pieces and tying it shut
Download the template here:
Mickey & Minnie Cutie Candy Boxes
