Let's Hear It For The Boys!

I'm really excited to share today's post with you. As you know, I host several parties a year for my Miss Manners group, and I also plan lots of things for Jewell and her friends. I had been trying to think of something to do for Brack and his buddies along the line of Miss Manners. I recently came up with the brilliant idea of hosting a Mother/Son Valentine's Day party!

I began by making and sending out these invitations...

They're cute and say Valentine's Day, but they also have a masculine feel to them.

I wanted the chance to do something more "formal" for the boys and even take a little time to talk about some points of etiquette I feel they need to know, but I knew I'd also have to cut them loose at some point to play. I asked the moms to have the boys wear "church clothes" for the party, but told them to bring outside clothes for play time.

I tried to incorporate lots of Valentine-themed components to the party, but I purposely chose to avoid pink. Instead, red anchored the decorative theme while blue and yellow accents made it boy-friendly.

I decided to have the boys sit with their moms during the party, so I set it up "boy, girl, boy, girl". I had six in the dining room and four in the kitchen.

Place cards told everyone where to sit.

I pulled out my Starbuck's bottles to use as glasses. I have used these over and over and am so glad I invested in these. So is Brack - he drank all the mocha frappes in order to empty the bottles for me! I first used these a couple of years ago for a Pancakes and Pajamas Party I hosted for my Miss Manners girls. They've appeared at many parties since then!

The pretty blue filigree heart doilies beneath the bottles said "love" without being too feminine. I have a die that cuts these. I'll show you more about these later this week.

The primary-colored striped straws came from Michael's. They helped determine my color scheme and tied it all together.

I made the red checked runners out of fabric I had in my stash. I had bought several yards years ago to make the kids a matching set of PJ's. They never materialized (pun intended) so I decided to cut the fabric in half and hem it for runners. You'll be seeing them a lot this year. The red is versatile and I want to see how many times I can use them and make them look fresh and different! 

I literally have dozens of these votive holders in my cabinets. I took some acrylic paint and added the yellow polka dots to tie in with the chargers. A quick soak in hot water and a little Windex removed the paint.

A pack of square yellow paper plates from Dollar Tree served as my "chargers". They added a great pop of color. I splurged on a pack (yes, just one!) of yellow plastic cutlery from Dollar Tree, too. I pulled out my glass plates so the colors would shine through. 

Brack has had a growth spurt recently and his jeans are all a little too short, so I cut out the pockets to use to hold the flatware. I found a couple of pairs of Jewell's blue jean shorts that were too small and ended up having just enough! I can see using these for a barbecue dinner in the future.

When I picked up my flowers Friday, I decided to let Brack choose the color. I had narrowed it to white daisies or yellow jonquils, but he saw these green ones. Green is his favorite color, and the party was for him, so I went with them. I'm glad I did! They look so fresh. I had a few daisies left over from a party the weekend before, so I carefully placed a few where they'd be peeking out.

Don't they look pretty? I have to admit - this Winter-lovin' girl is ready for Spring!

These cute little candy shaped packages are filled with classic candy conversation hearts. Each placesetting had one. I have a little punch board that makes these. I'll show you how later this week.

I made the napkins because - well, because I can! - and because I liked the pattern on the bandana print fabric. But you can buy bandanas at Hobby Lobby and Walmart both for $1 each. They have lots of colors, too. 

I placed these little chalk boards between every two settings so we could play Tic Tac Toe or draw while we talked. These are normally $1.99 at Hobby Lobby, but I have picked them up when they were 50% off. I have a dozen and use them a lot when I set up a buffet and want to identify the food.

I have a tiny little heart punch (about a half inch) that made my heart-shaped confetti. I used the scraps from my other projects to punch these out. Of course I saved these to use again one day!

This project took the most time, but I like it. I have decided I love to have some sort of decoration on the back of my chairs. These went up February 1st and will stay up all month. I found these wooden hearts and I decoupaged them with pretty red and blue papers.

Finally, I made a couple of banners - "True Love" and "Be Mine" to decorate each room. At the end of the month, the banners, the hanging hearts, and the heart confetti will go into a gallon Ziploc bag for future use. Probably not next year, but maybe the next and I'll use them again!

Here's one last look at the tablesetting. Come back each day this week and I'll share the details on these crafts as well as the menu and recipes.

I hope you're Valentine's Day was special, too!

I'm so glad you stopped by my neck of the woods!

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