I know I have shared the placemat idea in the past but I just had to do it again. This time the theme is Valentines Day.  Have you heard of the red special plate?  The idea is to let someone in your family use it when you want to make them feel special. You could do it on Birthdays, special acheivement days or just when a little person needs to feel some extra love.  How about making a placemat instead of using a plate.  I have this one decorated as a special placemat using the Valentine heart theme.  Another idea is to rotate who gets to use the placemat each night at the dinner table.  Then go around and each person tell the holder of the placemat what they love about them.

All you need is:
Large construction paper
markers
stickers
colored paper in red, white, pink, purple (or whatever you like)
doilies
rubber stamps
glitter glue
lots of heart shapes cut out of paper.

You can show your child how to cut a heart by folding the paper in half.  Starting at the top part of the fold cut half of the heart shape (similar to a question mark).  Unfold and you have a perfect heart.

You can use any or all of these supplies.  You can make your own for the special placemat, or if you want to get the children involved, pile all the stuff on the table and let them have at it.  You can also attach a photo of the child on the placemat.  That gives it the personal touch. Make sure you have your child sign it at the bottom and date it.


Also, don't forget to laminate your placemats.  If you don't have a print shop nearby to do it, use clear contact paper.  Cut two sheets to the size you need, giving a little extra at the edges.  Peel the contact backing about 4 inches.  Place your placemat on top of the sticky part and then continue peeling back the backing paper.  Press you placemat down as you peel back. Repeat for the other side. This helps to minimize bubbles and wrinkles.  Then trim the sides. 

Have fun loving your family this month.

Susan

Susan Dusseault is in her 5th year of homeschooling her three daughters.  She and her husband have been married for 11 years and reside in the  Pacific Northwest.  Susan loves all things crafty and is passing this love along to her daughters.  Visit her blog Ladies in Training.

Related Tags: craft, placemat, stickers, laminate, markers, hearts, Valentine's Day, construction paper, doilies