Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. In years past, we haven’t done much to celebrate this holiday as a family. This year, however, I decided to take advantage of this “season of love,” using it as a tool to strengthen our family ties and teach some servant leadership at the same time.
Enter family homemade Valentine boxes. Last Sunday, we sat down together with a slew of recycled materials, construction paper, rubber cement and glitter glue. (Whatever else you use to build your box, you must use a healthy dose of glitter glue!) 🙂
There really are no special rules to making homemade Valentine boxes from recycled materials (other than the one I just mentioned about glitter glue, of course!). Making a homemade Valentine box from recycled materials is a highly creative process. Most of us chose to cover our boxes with pink, purple and red construction paper…after Mommy cut out the holes for the Valentine messages with a sharp craft knife.
Next came the decorations: feathers, buttons, glitter, tissue-paper flowers, you name it. One child even drug out some aluminum foil to make the words “love” on her box, an extra-special touch, I thought.
After an hour of crafting together (even Daddy got into the mix, making a special door he says is designed for extra large Valentines and candy bars!), we assembled our boxes on our buffet server, all ready for Valentine’s Day.
So what will we use the boxes for, you ask? Great question! We’ll be drawing names for a “Secret Valentine” exchange. All through the first 14 days of February, we’ll be sending special encouraging messages, doing secret acts of kindness, and even dropping candy in the Valentine boxes for our special Valentine. On Valentine’s Day, we’ll reveal our true identity in a special family celebration.
Want to join us? Find some cardboard boxes and craft supplies, add a heaping dose of creativity, and get started!