And Then Sweeten the Deal - Sis 1

After you've made a cute picture card of your kids, as in this post, turn it into an mp3 player. This is a modified idea from Family Fun Magazine.

Wrap a box of conversation hearts in foil.

Tape your picture to the front.

"Glue" on licorice and gummy candy "earbuds" with gingerbread house cement icing.

Give 'Em What They Really Want - Sis 1

You know what your parents really want for Valentine's Day. They want pictures of their grandkids. So give it to them.

For the life of me, I can't find the one I sent out last year, but my mom still has it hanging on her bulletin board, so I'll try to get her to send me a picture of it.

Healthful Valentine's Treats - Sis 1

I know it's completely crazy, but there are some people out there who are on a diet. Even worse, there are others who just don't like sweets. So, if you have any of THAT kind of people on your Valentine's list, here's an idea of what you can give them. And, they're mailable, so you can give them to long-distance sugar-hating valentines!

I put the nuts label on a package of nuts, the apple label on a squeezy pack of applesauce, the berry label on a squeezy applesauce and berry pack, and the banana label on a bag of banana chips. You could use all dried fruit, if you wanted.

If you don't need to mail these, use fresh fruit. All the better.

Here are my labels. You can click on it and "save as" and then print them yourself, if you'd like.

Make Your Own Fortune - Sis 1

Happy Chinese New Year!

As part of our celebration this year, I "made" custom fortune cookies.

I did this once for my husband as a romantic gesture, but all of my attempts are lost on him.

I gave him a small gift basket with some of his favorite kinds of store-bought treats in it, along with a re-sealed box of fortune cookies containing flirty fortunes. He sat down and started eating.

"Aren't you going to try your fortune cookies?" I ask, a little more obvious than I wanted to be.

"I don't really like fortune cookies."

"Just try them."

He rolls his eyes as if to say that he makes the biggest sacrifices for me and begrudgingly opens the package of cookies. He breaks one open and reads the slip of paper.

"Did you write this?"

"Yes," I say in my most coy voice.

"Huh," he says, shoving another handful of raisinettes in his mouth.

But, however small an impression the fortune cookies made on my husband, they were an incredible hit with my kids tonight.

Our mom has a recipe for homemade fortune cookies and I have made them that way before, but this is MUCH easier and more surprising, as the cookies look just like the ones at a chinese restaurant.

First, I got a paper and wrote things like "You will soon be the new owner of a dollar bill" and "You will not be required to do your chore tomorrow" on it. Then I cut the phrases apart and folded them into tiny rectangles. If you want it to look more professional, you can type and print the fortunes.

I took a fortune cookie out of it's plastic wrapper and microwaved it on high for 27 seconds. (All microwaves are different, so you may have to experiment to get the timing right. If you start low, around 20 seconds, and the cookie isn't soft enough to open, set that one aside to cool and microwave another for a bit longer. You can use the first one again after it's cooled.) This makes the fortune cookie just soft enough to open, remove the old fortune and put your own inside. Unless you're used to dipping your hands in very hot water frequently, as I am, you might consider wearing clean knit gloves for this part, as the fortune cookies are hot. Hold the cookie closed until it is hard again and repeat for each fortune cookie that you want to customize.

If you are doing this for Valentines Day, you could drizzle chocolate on top and then sprinkle them with red or pink sprinkles. The element of surprise might be lessened this way, but they look cute.