Make this the Best Valentine's Day Ever
February 3, 2017
Every year on February 14th, chocolates, flowers and gifts are exchanged between sweethearts and friends. Valentine's Day is celebrated all across the world and in many different ways.
It is believed that Valentine's Day originated from the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration that was actually celebrated on February 15th. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius turned Lupercalia into a feast day in honor of Saint Valentine and moved its observance one day earlier to February 14th. Young Romans offered handwritten greetings of affection to women they admired, known today as Valentines. That’s certainly reminiscent of how we celebrate in the 21st century, right?
Cupid also originated with the Romans. Before he became a cherubic icon, the Greeks referred to him as the god Eros. As the god of love, Eros was often depicted carrying a quiver of golden arrows that he used to strike gods and mortals alike, and play with their emotions. The Romans adopted Eros, renamed him Cupid, and made him the mischievous winged toddler that we know today. Today, Valentine’s Day is a major holiday celebrated in the United States and other parts of the world. Some people celebrate with romantic dinners, greeting cards, jewelry, or flowers but the most delicious gift is chocolate! Americans love chocolate so much that we consume over 3.1 billion pounds of chocolate per year. Which means, on average, each one of us will consume more than 10,000 chocolate bars in our lifetime! While 75% of chocolate purchases  are made by woman all year long, on Valentines Day 75% of chocolate purchases are made by men.
Incorporate your gift of chocolate in a cute and sweet way for your significant other by making breakfast! Start by setting the table and hanging cute valentine decorations, such as a set of whirls, a cascade, a chandelier or another heart mobile (See instructions for a DIY below). If you really want to go all out, buy roses for the center of the table or try a fun centerpiece. Use pictures of you and your honey to really set the mood and celebrate your relationship. Make sure to have a themed holder to put them in! Heart shaped confetti is a nice touch too. Now the most important part...the food. Don’t stress, stick with the basics. Make chocolate chip pancakes or waffles. Stir up some scrambled eggs and chop up some seasonal fruit. For all those bacon lovers out there … take two strips of bacon and form into the shape of a heart, then fry. This breakfast can be made romantic with candle light or breakfast in bed, but either it will be delicious!
Want to impress your loved ones with your creative DIY skills? Check out this simple heart mobile decoration that you can make at home!
What You’ll Need
- Heart Cutouts
- String
- Tape
- Scissors
- Exacto Knife (optional)
- Glue (optional)
Instructions
- Start with two different sized heart cutouts. Trace the smaller heart onto the larger heart. (We started with a 12- and a 9-inch heart)
- Use an Exacto knife or a scissor to cut along the outline.
- Repeat for various sized heart cutouts.
- Layout hearts in desired order. You can place two outlines together, an outline with a full heart, or individually in any combination you like.
- After length is determined, cut string to proper length.
- Tape all hearts to their location on the string.
- If you would like the string to be hidden, cut out two of each heart and glue string between two matching pieces.
- Once glue is completely dry, hang strip from the ceiling.
- (Optional) Personalize hearts with photos or quotes.
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