Putting the crass commercialism of Valentine’s Day aside for a moment, it really is a lot of fun.
Look at it purely as an opportunity to celebrate the special people in your life—partners, parents, children and friends. You don’t even need to spend any money. Just make a card, or better yet, a cake. How about a breakfast in bed? Or, for the busy parent, a coupon to be redeemed later for some precious alone time?
It was in this spirit of celebration that my sister-in-law and I held an after-school Valentine’s party for our kids this past Friday. The kids were so excited to spend some time with their cousins, doing some simple crafts and decorating cupcakes.
I tried out a vegan strawberry cupcake recipe from Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook. They turned out to be quite delicious, and reminded my sister-in-law of a recipe her (Italian) mom used to make, because they have a little bit of almond extract in them.
The “secret” ingredient combination is silken tofu blended with real strawberries.
The recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes, but I was able to make the 12 and still have enough batter left for this small heart-shaped cake. It was a good thing, too, because the cupcakes didn’t turn out to be enough to satisfy seven of us.
Here’s one of my nieces with her cupcake creation (a little bit of licorice on top).
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Here’s my son with his cupcake. He’s often a lone boy in a sea of girls, I’m afraid. Luckily, daddy came home after work to join him.
We did simple, dollar store crafts—nothing too taxing for the moms to come up with. Here’s my daughter with her door hanger craft.
Here’s my niece with a card she made for my daughter.
Happy Valentine's Day!
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