Holidays – Page 10 – Tribute Journal

Cinderella Days! A Special Valentine Tea Party!

For today’s special

you’re cordially invited to a

When I was a small child, my parents gave me a miniature china set that they’d purchased in Japan when they visited my Uncle who had been stationed there for military duty in the Air Force. Oh, the many delightful “pretend” meals I made and served on these treasured dishes!

As I grew up, my dishes got tucked away in storage at my folk’s home until well after my own daughters were past the prime age for getting any meaningful use out of them. As a result, I wanted to be sure that my granddaughters, Makena and Marli, got the chance to use them for special celebrations!

A Valentine Tea Party! www.mytributejournal.com

So welcome to our first, girls only, Valentine Tea Party!

Lacey, paper hearts, bite-sized food portions and chocolate, of course, made for the perfect afternoon with three of the most darling girls I have ever had the pleasure of knowing–and loving!

There never seems to be a craft project that my cute granddaughters don’t love! I had fancy jewels and Valentine stamps for them to decorate their placemat hearts. (The easier, the better for this grandma!)

Makena was quick to master the art of pouring from a tea-pot!

We all practiced our best pinkie etiquette!

Like me, my granddaughters believe that everything is better with a little chocolate!

As we finished eating we played what I call “The Favorites Game”–I had a bunch of questions written out on paper for us to take turns giving our answers…

♥What is your favorite treat?

♥What is your favorite game?

♥What is your favorite movie?

♥What are your favorite clothes to wear?

One hilarious thing that happened as we were finishing up the game was when Makena looked at me rather exasperated and said, “Hey, Grandma, what about our favorite colors?” I just hadn’t thought to include that question since the girls tell me quite often that they love pink and purple–regardless, I found out that it is still a very important question that they love to answer! (Of course, Makena’s answer to the question– “Besides where you’re living now, where would be your most favorite place to live?” –was Disneyland!)

You never know how something is going to play out when you plan it, but this game was a hit–and instead of each of us taking turns answering a question, Makena decided everyone should answer all the questions! Both the girls were so cute and animated with their answers, and I think they had fun hearing how their mom and I answered too.

After playing the game…

…I was glad to be able to send my granddaughters home with a few of their favorite things–and lots of LOVE!

What special plans do you have to celebrate Valentine’s Day? I would highly recommend a Valentine Tea Party!

–Mary

Oven Puff Pancakes!

Oven Puff Pancakes For Your Sweetheart On Valentine’s Day!

You won’t believe how easy Oven Puff Pancakes are to make! They are a fun spin-off of the original pancakes/crepes we all love! They make the perfect Valentine’s Day breakfast! (My family likes them for dinner too!)

I baked my Oven Puff Pancakes in a 9×13 inch glass pan, but like I showed you in my last post, my son and daughter-in-law made them in cast iron skillets…they are yummy either way. (It’s always fun to see the interesting mounds that form while the pancakes bake!)

Oven Puff Pancakes www.mytributejournal.com

We love Oven Puff Pancakes with all different flavors of syrup, but they are just as good served with powdered sugar, lemon whip topping and fruit too!

Oven Puff Pancakes

Lemon Cream Whip Topping

1-8 oz. package Cream Cheese (softened)

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice (or for desired taste)

1 small carton extra creamy Cool Whip

Beat together well, add a little grated lemon zest!

Surprise your sweetheart with Oven Puff Pancakes for a special Valentine’s Day breakfast! They’re sure to know that they were…

Special Valentine's Day Recipes www.mytributejournal.com

If you’ve never had Oven Puff Pancakes before and decide to try them, be sure and leave a comment to tell me how you liked them and how you served them!

–Mary

Celebrating Valentine’s Day! 5 Fun Ways To Get Your Cupid On!

Celebrating Valentine’s Day…

It’s nice to welcome a new month, warmer weather and a little love in the air as we look forward to celebrating Valentine’s Day! My husband and I also celebrate our anniversary on the 16th of February!

Celebrating both Valentine’s Day and our wedding anniversary each February, my husband and I obviously feel some added pressure to seek out the ultimate romantic gestures year after year! However, we both recognized early on in our marriage that life can be unpredictable, so it’s best to keep our expectations realistic when it comes to making plans for these special occasions!

In keeping it real then, here’s some fun ideas of things that I like to do when celebrating Valentine’s Day…

Celebrating Valentine's Day! 5 Ways To Get Your Cupid On!

In an effort to avoid the crowded restaurants in the evening, my husband and I love to go out to one our favorite diners for a Valentine’s Day breakfast instead! Believe me, a leisure breakfast date promotes a lot more romance than long wait times for a dinner reservation with harried waiters!

Making one of our favorite breakfasts together is another way to get a perfect Valentine’s Day celebration underway too!

Oven Puff Pancakes is one of our favorite breakfast dishes–they are so easy to make!

My son and daughter-in-law made us Oven Puff Pancakes (also known as Dutch Babies) for breakfast when we went to visit them recently in Oklahoma. Jake and Whitney served them with fresh berries and four kinds of syrup so we could have a syrup taste-off–so yummy! (I will be sharing the recipe in my next post.)

Celebratin Valentine's Day! 5 Ways To Get Your Cupid On!

I know what you’re thinking–not exactly the kind of physical romance you had in mind! Ha! But with hectic schedules, this really is a good way to be together and work off a little stress at the same time. Afterwards, my husband and I usually go home and make our favorite salad together, or we go out and share a hot fudge sundae or some other gooey, chocolatey dessert–hey, you have to splurge a little on Valentine’s Day!

Celebrating Valentine's Day! 5 Ways To Get Your Cupid On!

I actually got this idea from some of my kids and their spouses! Picking out a new game together and some silly heart flannel pj’s sounds crazy, but it really does make for a fun evening together! Add some of your favorite treats and a bit of competitive edginess and you can’t help but have the best time!

We recently bought the game Qwirkle—it’s easy to learn and so much fun to play!

Celebrating Valentine's Day! 5 Ways To Get Your Cupid On!

A few years ago, my husband planned a fun night out that recreated one of our first dates. We went to our favorite pizza place by the college campus where we both attended school, then we came home and watched the DVD version of “The Sting” with Paul Newman and Robert Redford, the first movie we saw together when we had just started dating. As our lives get busy with kids, work and other responsibilities, it’s nice to be reminded of the days when we were in that young, lovey-dovey stage of our relationship!

In this computer age, I think writing love letters has become sort of a lost art! The letters don’t need to be long, in fact, my husband and I have even done it where you fold the paper back and forth like a fan and write one word on each fold describing something you love about the other person. At the very least, I think this activity will help us all be better at telling those we care about how much we love them on a more regular basis! To help you get started, you can print off some heart stationary here!

The wonderful marriage that my parents had is also a good reminder for me to work hard at doing the things that matter most to help keep my own relationship strong!

Celebrating Valentine's Day! 5 Ways To Get Your Cupid On!