Valentine's Day 2011

I know this post is coming a week late but I'm trying. I'm really trying...

Other than cards for everyone and treats for the kids (and sometimes for us), we've never been huge on Valentine's Day around here. This year, I decided to do a little more than usual and make things more festive for the day of love. Not that it was anything huge, but as part of dinner I made a 7 layer Jell-O along with cherry chip cupcakes with pink almond frosting and red sprinkles for dessert. I also covered little heart shaped boxes with scrapbooking paper and put grosgrain ribbon and a button around/on the edge of each lid. I filled them with a variety of Valentine's candy and each person got theirs with a card after dinner.

The little heart boxes turned out well enough and the kids thought they'd hit the jackpot when they saw all the candy inside. I'm planning on keeping the boxes and using them for this tradition each year. As for the Jell-O...well, it looked good enough (all red gelatins and I tinted the white layer pink) but unfortunately, it was not very tasty and most definitely not worth the work. Maybe I should use different flavors and a different mixture for the white layer next time? I'm not sure but I know I won't be using the same recipe again. Luckily the cupcakes made up for what the Jell-O lacked and were a huge hit. Not only did they taste good (I made the frosting but must give props to Betty Crocker on the cake mix) but I loved the way they looked sitting on my grandma's milk glass cake stand with the heart toothpicks that I made sticking out of them.

All in all, I feel like I managed to spread a little more love with the efforts I made this Valentine's Day. The cupcakes and heart boxes will both be repeats next year while the Jell-O will obviously not be on the menu. Now happily taking suggestions for replacement festive menu items...