Back to School celebrations!

I strongly believe in celebrating special occasions. And going back to school is a big occasion! We celebrate in a special way each year. Some years we go out for ice cream at our favorite ice cream shop. Or order pizza and eat on the patio ~ finishing off the evening by roasting marshmallows and making smores on the fire pit. Some years we go out to a fancy restaurant and toast (complete with glass clinking). AND some years we just plan a special menu at home.

This year we chose the latter.

For the menu we had:

grilled NY strips
roasted carrots
herb rubbed baby red potatoes
garden salad

german chocolate cake for dessert

We ate in the dining room and decorated the table. Some of the decorations included: a globe, old texts books, student dictionary, pencils, pewter trophy, vintage sheet music, alphabet flashcards, ruler, whistle and an apple. Pretty much just anything I had laying around that lent to the theme of 'School'. You will be surprised how much you have when you start looking around! We have quite the spread in ages (ranging from 2-16) so I tried to make the decor applicable to everyone. The possibilities for grade school aged children is limitless! Dr. Suess Books, flash cards, markers, crayons, desk name tags as place cards, brown bag or lunch box themed dinner served IN the brown bag/lunch box. SOOOO many fun ideas!

For our dinner, I also printed off 'First Day of School' photos from past years. I matted them on scrap book paper (made them double sided) and hung them from the lighting fixture over the table. It was fun to reminisce about the past first days and the girls shared memories. My favorites were of their kindergarten first days...so sweet!

It doesn't take a lot of work to make a meal special and memorable. I'm sure my kids won't remember the table scape or decorations, but they'll remember how proud their mama was of them and their adventure into another new and exciting school year. :)

Valentine's Day

I love making dinner extra special on Valentine's Day for sweeties! This year I opted to make breakfast for dinner...it was an easy way to incorporate hearts into the meal!

First we'll start with the table:

LOTS of red! I used fancy glasses...which are really just plastic, but the kids get a kick out of using them and I don't have to worry about anything breaking! :)

Each chair had a felt heart banner. Super easy to make. Just cut out a bunch of hearts, then cut two small slits on both sides. Then string your twine or ribbon through. I opted to tie each set together. But either way will work! 

I placed large doilies underneath glass plates to add some lacy sweetness. Each child had a HUGE chocolate kiss and little gift (in the heart box). 

Of course chocolate strawberries for dessert! 

Sparkling OJ  and Shirley Temples to drink - both garnished with a cherry and heart flag

For dinner or breakfast or ....hmmmm. For the meal we had heart shaped pancakes and heart pressed french toast. I tried heart shaped bacon in the oven...big time FAIL...but it still tasted good! 

Take advantage of special days to spoil your loved ones! It's worth all the extra time and effort!