treats

Last-Minute Valentine’s Party Ideas for Kids!

Holidays, kids

I’ve always appreciated Valentine’s Day, but I love the holiday more now that I have kids. My son especially loves Valentine’s Day and has declared it as his second favorite holiday after Christmas. Every year, we have so much fun making Valentine’s crafts, heart-shaped treats and finding thoughtful ways to tell our family, teachers and friends that we love them.

This year, Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday, and our school district has the President’s Day holiday (this year, President’s Day is Feb. 17 — it always the third Monday in February) listed as a 4-day weekend, instead of the typical 3-day weekend that I grew up with. So, the kids will be home for Valentine’s Day! Curious about how we should spend the holiday, I decided we’ll host a last-minute mini Valentine’s Day party. As I’m typing this, we’re only two days away from Valentine’s Day, so we need food, decor and activities that we can pull together fast and easy!

Below, I’ve listed my favorite ideas for hosting a last-minute Valentine’s Day party for kids, including heart-shaped food, festive decor and love-themed crafts and games! I also shared these ideas on KTLA Morning News – scroll to the bottom to watch the clip!

Sharing my last-minute Valentine’s Party ideas for kids on KTLA Morning News

VALENTINE’S DAY FOOD FOR KIDS

Heart Shaped Mini Tortilla Pizzas

I love that these pizzas are only three ingredients – so easy! Thanks to TheBakerMama for this cute recipe!

Photo courtesy of @thebakermama

Photo courtesy of @thebakermama

Ingredients:

  • 12 street taco size tortillas
  • 12 slices mozzarella cheese
  • 36 pepperoni slices
  • 1/2 cup prepared pizza or marina sauce, for serving

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
  2. Cut each tortillas into a heart shape with a 4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter or shape the tortillas into hearts with kitchen scissors. Place the heart-shaped tortillas on a baking sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes until they start to lightly brown and crisp around the edges. 
  3. While the tortillas are baking, cut slices of mozzarella cheese with the same heart-shaped cookie cutter you used to cut the tortillas.
  4. Use a mini (1-inch) heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut the pepperoni into heart shapes or shape the pepperoni into hearts with kitchen scissors.
  5. Once the heart-shaped tortillas have baked, place a slice of heart-shaped mozzarella cheese onto each tortilla and then 3 mini heart-shaped pepperonis.
  6. Return the topped tortillas to the oven and bake for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to turn golden brown in spots.
  7. Serve with pizza or marinara sauce for dipping.

Deviled Strawberries

This is an adorable healthy-ish treat from one of my favorite TV chef Katie Lee Biegel. The deviled strawberries’ filling is the same recipe – marshmallow creme and cream cheese – used for fruit dip at parties when I was growing up in the 90s. Top your deviled strawberries with coconut, chocolate shavings or sprinkles. Find the full recipe here.

Photo courtesy of Food Network, Katie Lee Biegel

Assorted Treats from Cheryl’s Cookies and 1800 Flowers

It’t not a Valentine’s Day party without heart-shaped treats and chocolate, of course! Cheryl’s Cookies and 1800 Flowers has you covered with a large variety of beautiful and playful treats perfect for a kids Valentine’s Day party! Plus, Cheryl’s and 1800 Flowers offer same day or next day delivery in many zip codes throughout the United States. This is a perfect last-minute option for treats when hosting a party. Here are three of my favorite Valentine’s treats for kids from Cheryls.com and 1800flowers.com:

Cheryl’s Cookies Valentine Gift Tin Treats Assortment – This cute heart cookie tin comes with 15 snack size butter shortbread heart cookies plus 17 other different treats, like raspberry galettes, buttercream frosted red heart cutout cookies, cheesecake flavored buttercream frosted raspberry cookie, gourmet drizzled chocolate pretzel and a raspberry crumb bar, so all your party guests can choose their favorite goodies. Purchase this cookie tin here.

Photo courtesy of Cheryls.com

1800 Flowers Fleur de Chocolate Belgian Chocolate Roses – This box of chocolate roses not only looks stunning on your party table, it’s fun to eat while letting each guest pick their favorite rose! This also could be a fabulous hostess gift! Purchase the beautiful chocolate rose box here.

Photo courtesy of 1800flowers.com

Disney Princess Explosion Box with Spinning Music Stand – Add some excitement to your Valentine’s treat table with this show-stopping explosion music box that’s perfect for a Disney princess fan! When your kids open the box, they’ll feel completely enchanted by the flurry of bright butterflies and a delicious strawberry shortcake topped with an edible bow. Purchase this fun music box with strawberry cake here.

Photo courtesy of 1800flowers.com

VALENTINE’S DAY DECOR FOR KIDS

Florals from 1800 Flowers

Flowers are an iconic symbol of Valentine’s Day, and 1800Flowers.com is the floral and gift authority with 49 years of helping consumer’s celebrate the love-filled holiday! In fact, this year they plan to deliver 24 million stems with 15.5 million of them being roses! They have a curated collection of fun gifts and floral bouquets that are perfect celebrating with your littlest sweethearts and are available for next-day and same-day delivery on Valentine’s Day. A favorite arrangement of mine is the Fields of Europe Romance Bouquet. This vibrant mixed bouquet includes a variety of pink and red blooms. On special request, the blooms can feature a whimsical heart banner that says “Happy Valentine’s Day.” I also adore this Love Pup Arrangement for kids, which includes a plush puppy! Arrangements from 1800 Flowers are designed and delivered by a local florist in your community. If you’re looking to support a local business, this is a great way to do that!

Photo courtesy of 1800flowers.com

Photo Courtesy of 1800flowers.com

Heart Shaped Table Runner

Sprucing up your dining table for Valentine’s Day is easier than you think with foam paper! I love using foam paper for easy crafts, like the heart-shaped table runner. I used pre-cut foam hearts, but you could also cut them yourself from regular foam paper. You could always use construction paper to create a similar table runner, but I prefer foam paper because I think it looks nicer, and it lasts longer!

Photo Courtesy of ANightOwlBlog.com

Tissue Paper Wreath

This was a craft my mother taught me in the 90s, and now I love that I get to share it with my children! To make this wreath, cut a large heart out of a piece of cardboard. You’ll also need Elmer’s liquid glue, a pencil with an eraser, and LOTS of squares of tissue paper – preferably in red and pink Valentine’s colors! If you want to hang it inside or outside, attach a ribbon or decorative pipe cleaner as a hook on the back of the wreath once complete.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Station by Baker Ross

VALENTINE’S DAY ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

XO Tic-Tac-Toe

In my opinion, there’s not a more fitting kids’ game for Valentine’s Day than tic-tac-toe because of its X’s and O’s! I used foam paper and decorative craft tape to make one version of a tic-tac-toe board and painted wooden hearts for another. You can create X’s and O’s out of pipe cleaners (bonus points if you shape the O into a heart!) or use different colored candies for opposing players. I used Dove milk chocolate hearts for one player and Dove dark chocolate hearts for another.

Valentine’s Themed Tumble Tower

Put a love-themed spin on the classic tumble tower game! I got this cute idea from Vanessa at the Tried and True Creative Blog. Jazz up your blocks with some red hearts, then write Valentine’s themed instructions on each block. Every time your child pulls out a block, they have to follow the instructions. Blocks could say, “Show us how dogs say I love you,” “Give me Eskimo kisses,” or “What do you love most about yourself?” I’ve seen many different versions of Tumble Towers available on Amazon and at Target, Dollar Tree and craft stores, and I used paint pens to write on the blocks.

Photo Courtesy of TriedandTrueBlog.com

Photo Courtesy of TriedandTrueBlog.com

Melissa & Doug Heart Themed Crafts

Sometimes, we don’t have the time or energy to make our own crafts, so I adore Melissa & Doug for helping out with their heart themed craft kits. Melissa & Doug has long been one of my favorite children’s toy and activity brands. From classic wooden toys to realistic pretend play sets, Melissa & Doug products inspire creative thinking through screen-free, open-ended play. They intentionally make well-crafted toys that are developed with care to be passed down from generation to generation or shared family to family. Here’s some of their great heart-themed craft products to consider adding to your Valentine’s Day party:

Created By Me! Heart Beads Wooden Bead Kit

Created by Me! Heart Box Wooden Craft Kit

Wooden Stamp Set – Friendship

All these crafts are so fun to do with friends and guaranteed to last!

Photo Courtesy of Melissa & Doug

Watch the full TV segment featuring all these ideas on YouTube, linked below!

What other ideas do you have for a kids Valentine’s Day party? Share in the comments below or connect with me on Instagram at @maggiehjackson.

Recipe: Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

Cooking, Holidays, Home, Kitchen

Rice Krispy Treats are a classic childhood favorite! I wanted to make our homemade version more special than what you can get at the store, so I added peanut butter to the recipe and dipped them in chocolate! Make these Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Rice Krispy treats festive for a holiday or themed party by adding colored sprinkles. We made these treats for spring, so I used pink and blue sprinkles!

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats Recipe

Ingredients:

Instructions:

  1. Spray an 9″x 13″ (or 8″x 8″ for thicker bars) casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a 4 quart sauce pan, melt butter on low heat. Do this slowly, you don’t want burned or brown butter here.
  3. Once butter has melted, keep heat on low and add mini marshmallows.
  4. Once marshmallows begin to soften and melt, add peanut butter.
  5. At this point, you will need to constantly stir the mixture so the peanut butter does not burn and the marshmallows can evenly melt (won’t take too long, about 5 minutes or so).
  6. Once, mixture is combined and melted, turn off heat and remove pan from stove.
  7. Add Rice Krispy cereal to sauce pan and stir until evenly coated with mixture. This is sticky stuff so do your best to get it all combined.
  8. Pour mixture into casserole dish (it will look very loose.) Spray your hand with some nonstick cooking spray and pat down the mixture until firmly compacted.
  9. Allow 30-45 minutes for treats to set up. Cut into small squares or rectangles.
  10. Melt white or dark melting wafers in a small bowl according to package instructions.
  11. Dip one end of Rice Krispy treat into bowl of chocolate, top chocolate with sprinkles and place on parchment paper to set for 15-20 minutes.

This Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats recipe was adapted from The Country Cook‘s original recipe, found here.

I love adding these Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats to themed dessert boards! Check out my tips to make a great treat board here!

Let me know if you plan to try these and what color sprinkles you’ll use in the comments below! Follow me on Instagram or TikTok for more fun ideas for the family!

XO Maggie

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: Some of this post contains affiliate links for the products I use and LOVE. If you take action on these links (like clicking, buying, etc.), I may receive compensation at no cost to you. As always, all opinions are my own, and I’ll only recommend what I truly love. For more information about affiliates and your privacy, view our Terms & Conditions page here.

How To Make A Holiday Treat Board

Cooking, Holidays, Kitchen, Lifestyle

I love hosting a good themed party, so a holiday themed treat board is right up my alley! I’ve recently created two treat boards for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, and I’m having so much fun that I can’t wait to make more for future holidays, birthdays and other celebrations! The best part? They’re SO EASY! Much easier than intricate charcuterie boards!

St. Patrick’s Day Charcu-TREAT Board!

To Love or Hate Charcuterie Boards? Beautiful charcuterie boards have been trending for a couple years now, and as someone who loves entertaining, I couldn’t help but jump on the charcuterie board bandwagon! Who can resist a decadent board of fine cheeses, quality meats, and all the yummiest snack pairings and accompaniments?! Plus, these boards are gorgeous to admire and make for the perfect photo-worthy party centerpiece!

I’ve loved putting together charcuterie boards for gatherings, but during our last family-friendly party at our house, I realized that the process can often be more time consuming than I’d like. Slicing the cheeses, arranging the board, thoughtfully considering the correct salty-to-savory-to-sweet pairings… I was getting a little bogged down by the process. Plus, if you choose high-quality meats and cheeses, a charcuterie board, which is often viewed as an appetizer, can cost as much as cooking a group dinner! During our party, guests hovered around the charcuterie board (score!), took photos of it, and snagged bites in between socializing and chasing their kiddos in and out of our backyard. At the end of the party, I noticed that no one hardly touched the honeycomb, dried fruit or olives, and what was left of the cheeses and meats had been sitting out for hours and not worth saving. Only a few of the children ate some cheese and crackers, but most of them didn’t have a palette for bold Roquefort yet. My charcuterie board was beautiful for the adults… but was it worth it?

Enter the charcu-TREAT board!! For St. Patrick’s Day this year, I decided to try something a little different… A dessert board! And, boy, did I have fun getting creative with this one! I went to my favorite spots for holiday treats – See’s Candies and Target – and pulled together a fruit and dessert board reminiscent of a rainbow and gold. Like a traditional charcuterie board, it was the center of the party, but this time it got eaten!! It cost me half the price of what it would to put together a fancy cheese board and was more festive for St. Paddy’s Day than charcuterie! Now, treat boards are a trend I can stand FIRMLY behind!

Easter Treat Board

Tips for Putting Together a Charcu-TREAT Board:

  1. Choose a large board – You can use a classic cheese board in a rectangle or round shape, or choose a tray to keep the treats from rolling off your board. Holiday themed serving platters, like this Easter platter, makes the treat board extra fun and festive!
  2. Pick a color scheme – This is easy for holidays, like St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween and Christmas. For other celebrations, have the treat board match your party decor colors. For example, if you’re hosting a Spiderman themed kids birthday, look for red, blue and black candies and sweet snacks.
  3. Incorporate party decor – To add some festive flair and help fill space on your board, incorporate leftover decor that you’re already using for the party. For example, I used Easter grass on my Easter board. You also could add a porcelain bunny!
  4. Choose a variety of candies, chocolate and sweet snacks – Candies could include jelly beans, sour straws, gummy bears; Chocolate could include M&Ms, wrapped chocolates, chocolate covered almonds; Sweet snacks can include fruit, cookies, rice crispy treats, or chocolate dipped pretzels, cookies.
  5. Have one or two homemade items – One of the benefits of a treat board is little to no prep work, but to make the boards special, I like to add one or two homemade items, like chocolate dipped rice crispy treats or cookies in cutout shapes that fit the theme of the party.
  6. Utilize small bowls – Make the board interesting by incorporating two or three bowls filled with candy. This also is a good way to corral smaller candies into one place.

Steps to Put Together a Treat Board:

  1. Gather a board and 2-3 small bowls, along with sweets, treats and decor you wish to use for your board.Ideas for boards, candy, chocolate and sweet snacks are listed at the bottom of this post!
  2. Place the small bowls and whatever else you want to be the centerpiece on your board. For example, on the Easter board, I put the small bowls and the chocolate Easter bunny on the board first. For the St. Patrick’s Day board, I made the fruit rainbow first.
  3. Add larger items, like cookies, brownies, rice crispy treats, etc. Arrange them in fun ways to add visual interest, like rows, fanned, or a pattern. These larger items are also great for creating barriers for the smaller items to stay in place on the board.
  4. Fill in the rest of the board with smaller treats, like jelly beans, marshmallows and M&Ms, and pay attention to color distribution.
  5. Add small spoons to bowls and offer small plates or cups next to the board for guests to take their favorite treats with them!

Voila! Kids and adults alike will go nuts over a fun themed treat board!

Board Ideas:

  1. West Elm Mixed Marble & Wood Preston Cheese Boards – Feel fancy with marble!
West Elm Mixed Marble & Wood Preston Cheese Boards

2. Williams Sonoma Boska Oak Rectangular Cheese Board Medium – A classic, gorgeous oak board!

Williams Sonoma Boska Oak Rectangular Cheese Board Medium

3. Pottery Barn Connor Ash Wood Tray – I like to use trays with edges to keep all the treats in one place. This makes the board easier to move, if needed, without candies rolling off the sides.

Pottery Barn Connor Ash Wood Tray

4. Texas Shaped Catskill Craftsmen, Inc. Wood Cutting Board – A board in the shape of your state could be great for any gathering!

Texas Shaped Catskill Craftsmen, Inc. Wood Cutting Board

5. Threshold Wood Bunny Serving Board – How fun would this be for a special Easter treat board!

Threshold Wood Bunny Serving Board

Board Accessories Ideas:

  1. West Elm Minimal White Ramekins – I love these ramekins to add a modern look to the treat board.
West Elm Minimal White Ramekins:

2. Pottery Barn Hammered Nut Bowl – A gorgeous bowl for smaller treats!

Pottery Barn Hammered Nut Bowl

3. Libbey Small Glass Bowls with Lids – Corral smaller treats into these easy, inexpensive bowls!

Glass Bowls with Lids

4. CB2 Gold Cocktail Spoons – Gorgeous gold spoons really elevate the board. Use these for guests to scoop up little treats, like M&M’s and marshmallows.

CB2 Gold Cocktail Spoons

5. Stainless Steel Mini Spoons – Add some drama with black stainless steel!

Stainless Steel Mini Spoons

Homemade Treat Ideas:

Store Bought Treat Ideas:

I’d love to hear your ideas for future treat boards! Share your favorite treat board goodies or theme ideas in the comments below! Be sure to follow me on Instagram and TikTok for more fun family-friendly ideas!

XO Maggie

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: Some of this post contains affiliate links for the products I use and LOVE. If you take action on these links (like clicking, buying, etc.), I may receive compensation at no cost to you. As always, all opinions are my own, and I’ll only recommend what I truly love. For more information about affiliates and your privacy, view our Terms & Conditions page here.

Non-Candy Halloween Treats

Health & Wellness, Home, Kitchen, Lifestyle, Mom & Baby

Blake’s Seed Based Rice Crispy Treats are a yummy (and healthy!) treat for the whole family!

First of all, I know many of you may have read the headline for this blog post and rolled your eyes… Look, I’m a kid who grew up in the late ’80s and ’90s (Gushers! Mountain Dew! Pop Tarts! Sugar on top of SUGAR!), and I promise you that I’m NOT ready to give up the tradition of genuine TREATS for Halloween! What is Halloween without candy, anyway?! But, as I review the holiday activities we have planned this month… WHOA… it’s major compared to when I was a kid! We don’t just have a class Halloween party and the classic trick-or-treating… We also have the pumpkin patch visit, the multi-family immersive Nights of the Jack experience, our local YMCA trunk-or-treat… and I’ve already said no to a few other local Halloween festivities that include kids getting treats! I realized that if we don’t take the time to be mindful of moderation, the candy exposure can get really out of hand!

So, here I am… being that annoying healthy mom that I used to roll my eyes at before I had kids. I assumed “her” kids drank kale smoothies for breakfast and their favorite treat was the olive bar at Whole Foods… Well, I’m here to tell you that my kids DO NOT drink kale smoothies for breakfast and my oldest wouldn’t touch an olive with a 9-foot pole. But, I do know that my kids can appreciate “treats” in forms other than candy, like nutrient-packed muffins, festive shaped foods and seasonal flavors!

I put together this list of non-candy Halloween treats for parents desiring to limit the candy craziness this year. Whether you want to create healthier habits for your family, dread the kids’ candy sugar high, or responsible for sending a non-candy treat to school for the class Halloween party, these non-candy Halloween treat ideas are great for parents who need an easy, individually wrapped goody this fall season! From pumpkin rice crispy treats to pumpkin dog treats, there’s something for the whole family to snack on and feel good about!

6 Non-Candy Halloween Treats for the Whole Family:

  1. Blake’s Seed Based Pumpkin Spice Rice Crispy Treats  

I have lots of memories around my mom making homemade rice crispy treats and purchasing the prepackaged cereal treats to put in my lunchbox as a kid. These are EVEN BETTER! Blake’s Seed Based Rice Crispy Treats come in many yummy flavors like strawberry, birthday cake, chocolate chips, and now PUMPKIN SPICE! Blake’s is the very first vegan rice crispy treat on the market, so it’s the perfect allergy-friendly trick-or-treat candy. They’re 90 calories, only have 7 grams of sugar, nut-free and gluten-free! If you live in Southern California like me, you can find Blake’s Seed Based Rice Crispy treats available in local Sprouts stores, or you can shop the snacks online at Amazon or on the company’s website.

Blake’s Seed Based Rice Crispy Treats are a perfect treat for Halloween!

2. Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Chips Ghosts & Bats   

We already eat Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Chips in our house as a better-for-you alternative to regular fried potato chips, so I was really excited that the brand came out with Halloween chips in spooktacular shapes! Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Chips Ghosts & Bats have the crispy crunch and flavor you want in a snack, but without all the artificial flavors and artificial preservatives that you don’t. The seasonal chips are packaged in individual-sized bags that are perfect for trick-or-treaters, classroom parties, or lunchbox treats. They are available in major retail stores across the nation, as well as online and Amazon, sold in individual bags or packs of 24.

My kids’ treat bags filled with Sensible Portions Veggie Chips Ghosts and Bats!

3. Bobo’s Pumpkin Spice Oat Bites  

I often get frustrated with store-bought muffins and snack bars, because the ingredients show that they may as well be cupcakes and candy bars! Not Bobo’s! The Bobo’s brand offers delicious, simple, handmade 100% whole grain oat bites and snacks and released a brand-new pumpkin spice flavor just in time for the holidays! The slow-burning oats give kids clean energy that won’t leave them with a crash, while satisfying their sweet tooth. Each bite is non-GMO, gluten-free and plant-based, and there’s a variety of flavors in addition to pumpkin spice, like apple pie, chocolate chip, coconut, lemon poppyseed and peanut butter & jelly! You can easily find them at your local Kroger flagship, Whole Foods Market, or Target and online at Amazon. 

4. Bare Baked Crunchy Apple Chips  

Nothing says fall like apple harvest season, which is the perfect reason to pass out Bare Baked Crunchy Apple Chips to trick-or-treaters!  Bare Baked Snacks are real apples baked into deliciously crunchy chips and never fried. The apple chips are non-GMO verified and have no added oils or preservatives. They’re sold at select retailers, or you can purchase in multi-packs online at Target and Amazon. 

5. Dole Mandarin Orange Jack-O-Lantern Fruit Cups  

Orange fruit cups turned into jack-o-lanterns with faces and pipe cleaner stems
Photo Credit: https://www.thatswhatchesaid.net/halloween-snacks-pumpkin-fruit-cups/

Get a little crafty by turning Dole’s Mandarin Orange Fruit Cups into cute Jack-O-Lanterns! All you need is a black sharpie to draw a Jack-O-Lantern face on the cups! Bonus if you decide to add the green pipe cleaner for a stem! These are the perfect festive snack for a class party! Dole Fruit Bowls Mandarin Oranges in 100% Juice are made from the best sun-ripened fresh fruit that nature has to offer, and they’re non-GMO and naturally gluten free. Dole Fruit Bowls are available at all major grocery stores or you can get multipacks on Amazon.

6. Greenies Dental Treats, Pumpkin Spice Flavor  

If you want to share holiday treats with your furry family members or pass out treats to dogs trick-or-treating with kids, Greenies Dental Treats for dogs has launched a puppy-approved pumpkin spice flavor!  The unique texture of Greenies Dog Chews cleans down to the gumline to fight plaque and tartar and freshen breath. The treats are sold at Target, Amazon and Chewy.

Would you share these festive treats with your family? I’d love to hear what other better-for-you store-bought treats you pass out at Halloween! Please share with me in the comments below or connect with me on Instagram at @maggiehjackson!

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: Some of this post contains affiliate links for the products I use and LOVE. If you take action on these links (like clicking, buying, etc.), I may receive compensation at no cost to you. As always, all opinions are my own, and I’ll only recommend what I truly love. For more information about affiliates and your privacy, view our Terms & Conditions page here.