DIY on a Dime: Put a Little Heart into It

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Celebrate Valentine’s day with a few simple, yet heartsy touches that won’t cost much.

Put a little heart into it pie

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After a grocery trip in which I saw normal $6 bouquets jacked up to $16, I instructed my husband not to buy flowers until Friday. Why pay $10 more because it’s Valentine’s Day?

Yes, out of the mouth of the woman with hearts emblazoned across her chest.

I love doing up a holiday, but I also like staying in the black. As fun as crafts and sewing and making candy cute can be, I don’t think you should spend too much to do it. Find a good deal and stock up for next year is my motto.

Don’t go out and spend a lot of money. There are plenty of ways to make a festive celebration. Just put a little heart into it. Here’s how:

1. Bake someone happy.

Baking is always fun and tasty. Making something from scratch is so much less expensive than buying whatever the bakery has to offer. As cute as it may be, you can make it just as cute.

heart tarts

Try one of these on for size:

2. Get your sprinkle on.

Kids love sprinkles. Fess up, you do, too. Sprinkles add a festive feel to anything mildly related to sweet.

Valentine Oatmeal

You can grab a jar of Valentine sprinkles for a buck or two at the store. Then go to town by adding them into the simplest of dishes:

  • a batch of rice crispy treats
  • a bowl of oatmeal
  • a scoop of ice cream
  • a simple frosted cupcake. Seal it with a kiss.

3. Deck the halls a bit.

paris heart frame

Okay, so it’s not Christmas or anything, but I think kids get a real kick out of some kind of decor for festive events. It doesn’t have to be a big hoopla. It’s the little things, people.

Try one of these:

  • a heart banner
  • a deck of cards  (hearts only) strewn across the dinner table
  • a heart-shaped picture frame of the family
  • heart-shaped confetti
  • Valentine’s wrapping paper ($1 area of Target) used as a table runner

4. Present it with fanfare.

Take a page from Fancy Nancy and dress up the presentation a bit. When I worked in catering, the mantra was “presentation is everything”. That’s not really true, but it sure does change the experience.

get heartsy

There are loads of small touches that you can do throughout the day to make mealtimes a little more special on Valentine’s Day:

  • Set a fancy table — even if you’re just serving hot dogs.
  • Serve the meal on “real” dishes with silverware.
  • Cut cake or bars into nice squares and serve in colorful muffin papers.
  • Use that heart cutter to make bite-sized brownies. (Save the crumbs for a triple chocolate sundae.)
  • Add whipped cream to dessert.

Valentine’s Day may be considered a couples-only, greeting card holiday by some. But, it can just as easily be a fun little celebration of your family.

Do you have something special YOU do to put a little heart into it?

DIY on a Dime

This is part of the DIY on a Dime: Valentine’s Day. For more easy and frugal gift ideas, check out the list.

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5 Comments

  1. I love that tiny heart cookie cutter. Is it from Target? I think I have a similar one here… somewhere..? Today at lunch time, I mixed some fresh pomegranate seeds with plain yogurt to create Valentine’s Day yogurt for my kids. They loved it!

  2. I totally agree about the flowers. Hubby insisted on getting me some , so he bought a small bunch of carnations I added to it some bamboo sticks with hearts and an old stick that Says happy Valentine’s day then he got a rose from a friend and I put that in the middle put it all in a very expensive vase with gold laced fabric and some expensive ribbon leftover from Christmas so for $4.00 I have a set that looks like a delivered set of years past for $80.00 so I’m happy , he is happy and our budget is happy.

    Next I went to Lowe’s and they had little potted rose bushes I bought these for teachers put them in some pink painted buckets I had with the lace and ribbon and the bamboo hearts and left over Happy Valentine’s day signs for flowers of years gone past and the teacher gifts looked awesome , If I had to guess I would have said the rose bushes were $20.00 each but they were $5.00 each .

  3. I have a refridgerated cookie tube for sugar cookies left over..so i’ll make some jumbo heart cookies…my husband has been under orders since day one..no $$$$$$ flowers that week….i’d rather a live plant than cut flowers….last year i got a GORGEOUS bouquet the week before..and it was still glorious on valentines…and it was sooo much cheaper than on the 14th.

  4. I saw online that you could draw hearts with chocolate syrup for an easy fancy treat. I think I’ll do that for the plates on Valentine’s Day. It’s just a small bit of chocolate, and I know it would thrill my boys. =)