Valentine's Day is considered one of my favorite occasions to share with my fami ly and friends especially to share with my children.

Its baking up those cakes, desserts and cookies and making lovely Valentine Day cards too. I have plenty o f ideas to share with you. Valentine's Day is traditionally a day for loved ones to celebrate their love for each other. However, not everyone is in a relationship each year when Valentine's Day rolls around. This does not mean these people have to spend the day alone at home. Jus t because you don't have a significant other on Valentine's Day does not mean yo u can't have a great Valentine's Day. Spending Valentine's Day with a friend can be a wonderful way to spend the day. You and your friend can do all sorts of th ings to celebrate Valentine's Day and keep both of you from feeling left out on this holiday. Here are some ideas to focus on for spending Valentine's Day with a friend. Going out to the movies can be a great way for friends to spend Valentine's Day. Going to movies is not one of the most popular activities on Valentine's Day so you will likely not have to worry about long lines or shows being sold out. If couples do choose to go to the movies, they are likely to flock to romantic movi es so you and your friend can avoid the crowds by choosing a comedy or a science fiction movie you have been wanting to see. Another fun way to spend Valentine's Day with a friend is to get dressed up and go bowling. Bowling can be a lot of fun and it is not normally an activity coupl es tend to favor for Valentine's Day. Try getting dressed up in your old prom at tire and head to the local bowling alley. You will not only be having a lot of f un but you will also be making the activity seem more special. You can also try dressing for a specific theme such as the 50s or the 70s for your bowling outing . Go play a game of pool at pool hall or throw darts. Go get your nails done, th ere are lots of manicure and pedicure shops open in the evening. Go window shopp ing for a new dress or eat a nice restaurant and enjoy your friendship. There are a few fun Concepts and Ideas for Children: Celebrating with children and their friends is so special. They simply love it. We begin cutting out card sized hearts for the cards I usually try to find heart patterns at my local craft store. I purchase glitter and ribbon to make homemade Valentine cards. There are just so much more person al and fun to do. I actually do not care for purchasing the store, not much crea tivity. The children actually enjoy pleasure in writing a personal note on the V alentine's Day card. To ensure the homemade Valentine cards do not get crush or dropped on the ground and in addition to allow them to carry back their Valentine's Day they received from school. We will make a simple tote bag with cut out hearts from constructi on paper, and you will need some permanent markers, too. I remind my children to consider others in their class or friends in the neighbo rhood. When we go to our local dollar store or craft store and we buy pink, whit e and tulle, wide ribbons and plastic goodies bags with hearts. We place a small amount of candy in the middle of the table. Chocolate candies or heart-shaped c andies are good. We place the tulle or plastic bags on the table. We place a few pieces of sweets in the plastic goodie bags and if you have a stapler, fold the top of the goodie bag and you can staple the goodie bag with a piece of ribbon attached and tie the ribbon into a bow. Then, the cut tulle that are in squares place the candy in the center and get the ribbon and assist your children to tie the sides up with ribbon.

Candy molds are at all times enjoyable to melt and make chocolate spoons. Be cau tious some schools may not allow you to bring treats as a result they're homemad e however you'll be able to possibly share together with your neighbors or take to local church gatherings and if you go to your friend's house. I also enjoy ma king chocolate cupcakes and whipping up some chocolate fudge icing and heart spr inkles. My children love to present Valentine's Day treats to their teachers. For his o r her teachers we make their very own special candy bags or place the candies in a pickle or mayonnaise jar that has been cleaned out. Remember to remove the la bels from the jar. Fill the jars with candy or nuts that was specially chosen fo r his or her teacher. Cover the lid with a square piece of Valentine tulle or wi de pretty pink or red ribbons. We like to print up labels with special Valentine message for the teacher. The second gift that you can help your children make is cookie on a stick or bou quets. Start by helping your children to bake heart-shaped sugar cookies or choc olate chip cookies. There are a number of different size cookie cutters you can purchase. Before you bake the cookies it would be best to place a wooden dowel i nto them, place the dowel in the center. Pinch some of the cookie dough to cover the dowel. You can bake these at 350 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. After the cookies cool you can spread the cookies with red or pin k icing and permit the icing to set. Buy a piece of floral foam (you can purchas e at a craft store and they usually come in to colors white and green) and place the cookies in the bottom of a box or in a plastic container to set your flower cookies in. Arrange your heart cookie flowers to complete this gift together wi th your children. Another idea for children teachers is purchase a 4- inch terracotta pot and enha nce the container with acrylic paints, glitter glue or self-adhesive foam hearts . The adhesive foam hearts come in all kinds of colors. Fill the pot with valent ine day school pencils printed with hearts shapes, chocolate foiled hearts with red and pink paper clips, heart pads and valentine stickers and wrap it up in cl ear or pink cellophane. Valentine for the Family With my family I love to give Valentine presents all day and into the evening. I t's so to see their faces with such vibrant smiles. I like to put small boxes of little notes from my heart to each,family member. Quotes: I love you more every single day or you are the best, and you have a good-looking face. I adore you. No candy could ever be sweet as you. You get the idea. Always finish with Happy Valentines' Day affection. It can be a little mushy for some people. So just be mushy and have fun! On the morning of Valentine's Day morning, I like to place Valentine's homemade cards or little stuff animals like bears or rabbits or even a baby doll for the little girl in your life at the table or my husbands desk before he leaves for w ork or before the children get up in the morning. You possibly can have every ch ild place their Valentine's Day for their brother or sister on their chair the e vening before and so they can't open it till morning. OK OK OK! for breakfast Heart-Shaped pancakes. Yeah! You can go to the cooking s tore and get stencils or attempt to do this by hand. I have some metallic cookie cutters which are heart-shaped and you'll pour the batter inside. May sure you use a little cooking spray. They are medium cookie size however making plenty of these ahead of time for your loved ones continues to be enjoyable for them to e at I like to add fresh fruit like strawberries or fresh raspberries and blueberr ies, don't forget whip cream too. In the event you don't want to do that you can

make toast and use your heart-shaped cookie cutter and cutout your toast. Make some scrambled eggs with some cheese, sausage or bacon, a spoonful of apple sauc e and any other favorite breakfast food for your family. Lunch time Ideas: How about decorated Valentine's Day brown paper lunch bag or d eliver them lunch at school. Of, course this relies what number of children you have. However, it is always a lovely thing to leave a small present for them at the attendance office. Inform the office attendant to have them come to the atte ndant or main office and make sure put your child's name on it. I like to leave their special sandwich or put their favorite fast food meals in the bag and natu rally a valentine note that says I LOVE YOU! Valentine's Day at the park is at all times is fun, if the weather is good. Pack ing up a picnic basket for the day is nice time for bonding and play board games . Where I live there is a river and you'll be able to explore nature and have a long walk. For the smaller children they'll play on the playground, and after th at they can spend time opening up your picnic basket and revel in! All of the things above can be exhausting for some mothers. So I suggest a famil y night to watch movies. A bonding time. Wear your pajamas early and wrap up in a nice big blanket. Build a tent and make up funny stories. Do something that wi ll bring a closeness to your family. Make some popcorn, or kettle corn. Play a c ard game or board game. You can always go out to see a family movie together. Wh atever, it takes to show Valentine Day love. Appreciate one another. Candle lights for the family I say YES! Just have an elegant dinner at a nice re staurant with candle lights is fun for the children. Just keep an eye on childre n that can reach the candle. My daughter just loves to talk about it. Where does fire come from? How come fire is hot? But, it great to have our family together on a day of love. But, each and everyday should be love whether its Valentine D ay or not. I also suggest having a nice dinner at home. Have the children set th e table and order pizza. Ha! If you have time make a beef roast with rosemary/ga rlic potatoes and with cooked carrots sauteed in butter with fresh squeezed lemo n and tablespoon of brown sugar. Just the two of us (Couples) Couples with or without children its your time to spend with each other. One thi ng to remember when searching for a romantic gift is that a truly romantic gift does not have to be complicated. A simple candlelight dinner can be one of the m ost romantic gifts you can give someone on Valentine's Day. You can either plan on making dinner yourself or ordering dinner in from a favorite restaurant. This is because what you are eating is not nearly as important as the mood you set. Whether you have pizza or filet mignon your dinner can be romantic if you set th e table with elegant place settings, light a few candles and play some soft musi c in the background. Ah! the music, I enjoy Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, Etta J ames for some deep loving with Barry White. All of these small touches will help the evening truly be romantic and you and your partner are bound to have a grea t Valentine's Day. An over the top gift such as a hot air balloon ride can be a very romantic Valen tine's Day gift. This type of gift is not only very original but it is also very romantic. You and your partner will not likely be alone in the hot air balloon because you will need a staff member present to help guide the balloon and help ensure a smooth flight but once you are up in the air you and your partner will be in awe of the breathtaking sights. A hot air balloon ride is something most p eople will never do in their lifetime but setting up a ride for you and your par tner on Valentine's Day will be a very memorable and romantic gift. Focus your a ttention on what the one you love's favorite desert is. Chocolate is always spec ial, chocolate bon bons, chocolate ice cream with marshmallows, a slice of choco

late silk pie. Try a fresh strawberry cheesecake with whip cream topping. We have a lovely fireplace and my husband lays the blanket down on the floor so we can gaze into each others eyes. We talk about our children and about how we m et and how if we would meet each other again, we would do this all over again; a nd how we love each other very much. One year my husband placed lite candles all over the living room and it was so beautiful. He set the mood with soft romanti c music like a light instrumental music or smooth jazz. It was so lovely. Later we watch a romantic movie and opened up a bottle of wine. When the movie was ove r we had a nice romantic dance, then he turned on some rock music and we danced our heart out. If you do this remember not too loud if the children are sleeping . Just because you are married doesn't mean that you have to be all stiff. Just let your hair down and have fun with your spouse. Then when that is over, what b etter to end with a sensual oil massage. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day Fratena Dawson

Enjoy this recipe: Be-My-Valentine Cookies Total Time: 2 hr 20 min Prep Time: 2 hr Cook Time: 20 min For cookies: 1 cup(s) (unsalted ) butter, softened 3 ounce(s) cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup(s) sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon(s) peppermint or vanilla extract 3 cup(s) flour

For Glaze 12 ounce(s) package, 2 cups, semi-sweet chocolate chips 2 tablespoon(s) shortening Directions: 1. In a large bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, sugar, egg and peppermint or v anilla extract. Using electric mixer, beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour. Continue beating until well mixed . Divide dough in half; wrap each half in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate dough f or 2 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 375F. Roll out half of the dough (keep the remaining dough re frigerated) to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies using a 2-1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on ung reased cookie sheets. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until edges are very lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets; cool completely on wire rack. 3. Line cookie sheets with waxed paper. Melt chocolate chips and shortening in 1 -quart saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until just melted and smooth (4 t o 6 minutes). Dip half of each heart into the chocolate. Place cookies on lined cookie sheets and refrigerate until chocolate is firm. Store refrigerated in air tight containers, with waxed paper separating layers of cookies. These were my mom's favorite! Try some of these favorite recipes: </a>href=" http://valentinesdayfunrecipes.blogspot.com "> Happy Valentines Day! Try some of these great recipes: </a>href=" http://valentinesdayfunrecipes.blogspot.com ">

Author Bio: Fratena Dawson is a blogger that loves fun exciting things do with c ooking and baking especially on Valentines Day and through the whole month of Fe bruary. visit this link: href="http://valentinesdayfunrecipes.blogspot.com">