Amici del Cuore

“Friends of the heart”

Valentines day. . .do you love it? Or hate it? I remember feeling a little bit of both growing up. In those days you did not have to make a valentine for everyone in the class. And so you kind of felt dread that maybe you would not get as many as everyone else.

Valentine’s day is not really a big thing here in Italy. Maybe young couples will give each other flowers or go out on a date, but there are no class parties or thousands of valentine notes to write.

But last year I was teaching a little english class. And I thought it would be fun to do our session on Holidays near Valentine’s day. So I surprised them with a class Valentine’s day party! The week before the party I gave them each an empty kleenex box so that they could create their own card box with an invitation to the party.

The theme was “Amici del Cuore” (friends of the heart- which is a similar to saying best friends). I loved the theme because it emphasized the importance of friendship. And I loved the red and blue color scheme! It was fun to shake up the red and pink valentine tradition!

I think it is so important for kids to learn to appreciate their friends and to be a good friend as well. So I asked them to create their own valentine cards for every student in the class. But not just that. I asked them to write down one nice thing about that student on their card. One thing that makes them a good friend.

It was a sweet challenge, because instead of just printing a corny card that said, “You are UNIque” with a unicorn on it, they actually had to think of something kind to say to everyone in the class. They did great!

A few of my favorite touches from the party were these adorable mini coke cans! I made the matching straws to go with them. The adorable customized toppers. The sweet customized labels on the bottles and the colorful banner.

My daughter used these too cute donut Valentine cards to give to her friends.

It was a super sweet party with an emphasis on friendship and on being a good friend. If you are throwing a little Valentine’s day party this year consider challenging your guests to write something they love about the other people who are participating. It is so good to feel loved and noticed, but it is also good for us to learn to see the good in others!

Happy Love Month!