Valentine's Day Party

Calling all Cupids! If you're planning a special Valentine's Day evening for you and your honey, all you need are some candles and a bouquet of red roses to set the mood. But if you're throwing a Valentine's Day bash for your friends and family, you'll want to spice things up in other ways.Vintage-style Valentine's Day cards add a classic touch to your Valentine's Day party decor. Keep the lights dim and hang clear white Christmas lights or heart string lights. Use candles in creative ways to give off romantic lighting. Fill clear glass votive holders with red hot candies and top with tea light candles, use red or white pillar candles in groups throughout the party area, or fill clear glass bowls with water, add a few rose petals, and stick a few float in heart candles. 

If you're going to be serving a sit-down meal, sprinkle the candy hearts down the center of your table and place one or two on each napkin. Love is on the menu for Valentine's Day, and you can easily incorporate rumored aphrodisiacs like oysters and champagne into your Valentine's Day party food ideas. Looking for Valentine's Day dessert ideas, well chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate truffles, chocolate fondue and chocolate heart-shaped cookies are always a good way to go. Now don't forget about the drinks. There are so many choices for you to choose. Try and choose one theme drink for the party so you don't have to buy a lot of alcohol or other beverages. You can either find a drink that looks good and looks like a Valentines day drink and name it yourself and decorate it or you can use one of these:

<3 Love Potion Punch: A fun drink for the kids or non-alcoholic crowd. Combine 2 (64-oz) bottles of cran-apple or cran-raspberry juice and a 2-liter bottle of chilled ginger ale. Combine in a punch bowl, or pour into individual glasses and garnish with fresh raspberries.
<3 Chocolate Covered Cherry: For each drink, pour 3/4 oz. Amaretto and 1/4 oz. Kahlua into a coffee mug. Fill the mug the rest of the way up with hot chocolate, and top with whipped cream and a cherry.
<3 Love Potion #9: To create this drink you will need a pitcher or punch bowl. Pour 20 oz. of cherry kool-aid, then add 8 oz. of vodka and 3 oz. of white rum, Then add on additional pouch of cherry kool-aid mix and stir.  Add heart shaped ice cubes to keep it cold. 
<3 Love Birds: For each drink mix 0.5 oz of grenadine, 1 dash of dark rum, 2 oz. sour mix, and 1.5 oz of vodka, add ice and garnish with mint leaves or two cherries. 

For added party fun, have everyone come dressed in red, white, or pink. Red and pink are the traditional colors of Valentine's Day, but that doesn't mean you have to dress in hearts and flowers from head to toe. Also be sure to set the mood by playing some good tunes in the background. Songs about love are a good choice, but keep them upbeat mostly. You can also have some games for everyone whether they are for kids or adults.

<3 Full of Love: Fill a large jar with Valentine candies and have the kids guess how many candies are inside. The one that guesses the closest wins the candies.

<3 Valentine Craft Activity: Have the kids get crafty by making their own Valentine cards or collages. Just provide them with the supplies and let them get busy making their masterpieces.

<3 Cupid's Challenge: Purchase the Newlywed Game and have the couples compete to see who knows each other best, or get creative and make your own questions.