I had so much fun planning this Valentine’s Sweetheart Party! I had this idea that the terrific and sweet Kathy from Tickled Peach Studio made come to life. I just wanted Valentine’s cards for school that read, “A SweeTart for My Sweetheart” to which we could attach a little packet of SweeTarts. (Now, if I had realized how hard it would be to find little SweeTart packages in early January, I might have given up on this concept! Whew.)

Free Valentine’s Day Card Printables

Kathy turned my little card idea into a full blown Valentine’s collection. We’ve got the card for you for FREE! Click here to download a four-page PDF with two card designs on each page.

Visit Kathy’s Etsy shop to purchase the rest of the Be My Sweetheart collection. You’ll receive all of this for only $12!

• Mini Candy Circle Labels (12 designs)
• Mini Candy Bar Wraps (4 designs)
• Large Candy Bar Wrap (1 design)
• Party Sign 5″x7″ (1 design)
• 2″ Party Circles (4 designs)
• 2″ Favor Tags (1 design)
• Favor Bag Toppers (1 design)
• Banner “Be My Sweetheart” AND “Happy Valentine’s Day”
• Flat Party Labels 4″x3.5″ (blank)
• Folded Party Labels 3.5″x2″ (blank)
• Straw Flags (10 designs)
• Cupcake Wraps (1 design)
• Bottle Wraps (1 design)
• Scrapbook Papers (4 designs)

Party Theme

We’ll get back to the cards later in the party, but let’s start at the beginning. My concept was a pre-Valentine’s party to get ready for the card exchange at school. You could invite as many of your child’s friends as you like and have them bring their cards for their classmates. Make your cards, eat some goodies, and prep some candy to giveaway to your friends. And just for fun, how about frosting some cookies?

Sweets Table

Our sweets table featured vanilla Jones soda, wrapped in Kathy’s bottle labels, to which I added a red straw with one of her party flags. And on the caps, I added a Hershey Kiss label. On the giant Hershey Kisses, I used the party circles on the bottoms.

On the tiered tray, we had chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, some finished with Kathy’s toppers and others with giant SweeTarts – yum! We also had brownie bites and homemade blondies. (Get the blondies recipe from Baked Perfection.) There also would have been heart-shaped red velvet whoopie pies but there was a little kitchen disaster. These things happen.

Party Decorations

Kathy’s collection includes two banners, which worked perfectly for my setting, although I shortened the smaller size banner so it would fit on our table. I love the little felt heart stickers that I used to cover the hooks I hung the banner from.

I usually try not to buy items for a party if I don’t know how to use them. But I couldn’t resist these heart Peeps. It was a while later before I had the inspiration to paint some lollipop sticks and add grosgrain ribbon leaves. Instant “roses.”

I was able to use my chair cover pockets for this party. I love the hot pink combined with red. The pockets are great for holding special party favors. And for the first time, I added a coordinating table runner, finished in a ball fringe to match the chair pockets. You can find the chair pockets and table runner in my Etsy shop. (2019 update: I no longer sell the chair pockets and table runners.)

Making Valentine’s Cards

After enjoying our sweets, the girls set to work on their Valentine’s Day cards. Just attach your SweeTarts in the space provided with a Glue Dot.

After making cards, we wrapped large candy bars, mini candy bars and applied labels to the bottom of the Hershey Kisses. Then we packaged the treats in Zip Lock sandwich bags and finished them with Kathy’s bag topper.

Decorating Cookies

We decorated cookies in Meg’s classroom before Christmas, and the boys and girls enjoyed making their creations equally. The fun part for me was watching those six-year-olds totally not know when to stop. There were some pretty over-the-top cookies. (In fact, Grace enjoyed decorating so much that Meg says she wants to make Grace a bowl of icing for her birthday!)

Party Favors

Finally, we passed out little favors: candy hearts in little red tins, topped with Kathy’s party circles, a polka dot ribbon, and the felt hearts.

Vendor Credits:

• Party Styling: The Party Teacher
• Photography: Viridian Images Photography
• Printables: Tickled Peach Studio
• Red Tiered Stand and Cake Stand: http://www.etsy.com/shop/OliviaDru