1. One Sweet Cookie!. Purchase a heart shaped cookie cutter (the kind without a handle). Laying it on a flat surface, fill it with cinnamon hearts or similar candy. Next, carefully slide it all into a tight fitting plastic bag -- we've found a flat-bottom freezer bag works well with 3" cookie cutters. Remove air and twist the bag top to close the opening; tie with a red ribbon!
2. South of the Border. For latin-flavored message, purchase a romantic piñata -- we found some shaped like giant lips -- and fill it with Hershey's Hugs and Kisses and personalized love notes!
3. Personalized T-Shirt. Most malls have stores or carts selling air-brushed tee shirts. Take a fragment from a favorite love song or poem to create a memorable -- and wearable! -- Valentine message.
4. Romantic Fortune Cookies. This one requires steady hands and patience! Straighten a paperclip, then use it to carefully push the fortune out of several fortune cookies. Replace the fortunes with your own romantic messages!
5. Tatoo You. Use a henna tattoo kit to create a very intimate valentine message for your sweetheart! Keep in mind, however, that while henna is not permanent, it does take a few weeks to wear off -- so choose your spot wisely!
6. Breakfast in Bed. This one requires just a little dexterity with pancake batter! Use a spoon to drizzle pancake batter on to a hot skillet so that it forms a special message...perhaps "I (Heart) U." Let the batter brown, then pour more batter over the message. Now you have the message embedded in a pancake, and should see your message in a slightly darker color when the pancake is ready to be served!
For more great breakfast ideas, visit me2u.com's Gift Store for the Breakfast in Bed cookbook!
7. Bursting Your Balloons. Write some Valentine messages on small pieces of paper; roll them tightly and insert them into balloons. Blow them up, then allow your Valentine to pop them one at a time!
8. Crayola Balloon Kit. Here's another trick you can do with balloons...purchase a Crayola balloon kit and then write a special message on each balloon. Have the ballons inflated with helium at a local party store, then line them up one after the other in a hall or room. Perhaps the balloons lead to a special gift or place?!?
9. Crayola Magnet Kit. We don't own stock in Crayola (honest)! But you an also purchase a Crayola Magnet Kit to create a romantic message that can be displayed prominently on your refrigerator door! Simply replace the paper included in the kit with your own.
10. Instant Roses. Say "I love you" with instant roses! Available to local party stores, you simply submerge this teeny itsy-bitsy bouquet of red roses in water...then stand back to watch them grow to a magnificent size! (Tip: after Valentine's Day, remove them from the water and they'll shrink to original size for easy storage.)
11. Top It Off. Announce your love to the world with a cotton cap embroirdered with "John loves Mary" or similar sentiment. You can find caps locally, or call NEBS at 800-711-9102 to order product t39.
12. More Wearable Art. Speaking of messages on clothing...try using fabric paint to add a special message to clothing, or even a pillow case! Fabric paint can be purchased at most any craft store, and can be used to stencil, stamp, or free-hand paint your Valentine message.
13. And One for Next Year... If you have a yard, here's a surprise you can arrange for next year! This summer, arrange and plant snow crocuses in a pattern (a heart, for example). Next year around Valentine's Day, your sweetheart will be totally charmed by the romantic display these little flowers will make through the snow!