The Kiddie Patch

Valentine's Day isn't far off, so why not plan a Valentine's Day party for your kids? I thought you might like a few suggestions for Valentine's Day party games for kids to make your job easier.

Valentine's Day Party Games For Children

Heart Hop Relay

* Divide the kids into two groups (if not even, have one child go twice)
* Give each team a small stuffed valentine heart
* Have one child from each team place the heart between their legs and hop to the end of the room and back
* They give the heart to next child in line, and this repeats until children have had their turn
* The first team done is the winner

Valentine Present Wrap This is a version of the mummy wrap game for Halloween. For valentine's day you instruct the children that they are wrapping a valentine gift. When they are done wrapping their "gifts" give them a big red bow to finish the package. You can put the children in pairs or small groups.
Heart Candy Guess Fill a clear container with valentine candy (small hearts, M&Ms) and count when filling the container. Pass around the container when the children are eating and have them write down their guess on how many are in the container. The one that is the closest takes the candy home.
Valentine Relay

* Cut one heart for each child (an extra one if an odd number of kids)
* Write a different instructions on each heart for the relay race such as crawl, hop, walk backwards; write the same thing to do on 2 (one for each team)
* Divide the children in 2 groups (if not even, have one child go twice)
* Put the hearts at the end of the room in 2 piles
* On go, the first player on each team runs up to the pile and takes a heart
* The players come back to the group doing what it says on the hearts
* When the first players get back the next players run to the hearts

Valentine Pictionary

* Divide the kids into two groups (if not even, have one child go twice)
* Have one kid from each team draw a valentine object on the blackboard while the rest of the team tries to guess what is being drawn
* You can have one team draw at a time, both teams draw the picture at the same time, or both teams draw different pictures at the same time

Musical Chairs Musical chairs can be played with a set of chairs with large red hearts tied to the front of the chairs.
Pin the lips on Ms. Valentine Create a Ms. Valentine on a large, heavy posterboard or cardboard. You can use moving eyes, false eyelashes and pipe cleaners for hair (everything but the lips). Put each kids name on a pair of red lips cut out of construction paper and place tape on the back. Place a blind fold on the child and have them place the lips on the Ms. Valentine.
Valentine Bingo You can make your own bingo cards with valentine items instead of numbers to call. You could use a February theme to increase the number of items (groundhogs, President Lincoln, Washington, candy, hearts, doves, valentines, for some examples).

Why not check out the cute Valentine's Day t-shirts for babies and kids at thekiddiepatch? We carry a cute line of t-shirts and gifts for babies and kids, not only for Valentine's Day, but for Christmas, birthdays, and everyday children's wear.


Valentine's Day Dog Valentine's Day T-Shirt by thekiddiepatch
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My Grandma Loves Me T-Shirt by thekiddiepatch
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See other Family T-Shirts

Barack Obama's Presidential Inauguration

President-elect Barack Obama will face a difficult balancing act when he puts on his tuxedo for his inaugural ball next month.

Obama will have every reason to be jubilant as he celebrates becoming America's first black president. But he also will need to temper his celebration and avoid appearing ostentatious as he takes office during what many are calling the nation's worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

And that will require scaling back on spending for the inaugural ball -- a gala deep in tradition that has set the tone for every presidency.

President Bush held nine inaugural balls in 2005 -- the most expensive inauguration in U.S. history, costing $42.3 million in private money -- and first lady Laura Bush sported a different gown at each one.

Bill Clinton's inaugural festivities, which cost $33 million in 1993, were decorated with 1,000 floral centerpieces that alone required 250 hours of work. And Nancy Reagan wore a $100,000 gown to Ronald Reagan's three-hour inaugural gala, which featured Frank Sinatra, in 1981.

"We are mindful of the fact that people are really struggling right now in their lives, but on the other hand we see this as a real opportunity for people to come together and share their common values and goals," Linda Douglass, spokeswoman for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, told FOXNews.com.

"To that end, we certainly think that it's going to be a series of events that feel hopeful and optimistic," she said -- ones that underscore Obama's official inaugural theme, "Restoring America's Promise."

Gil Troy, a visiting scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said Obama will be treading a thin line between opulence and common sense.

"Obama has to square a circle," he said. "He has to balance between the joy of his transition and the sobering nature of these times."

"It can't be an inauguration on the cheap, because Americans love the pomp and circumstance.

There will be much pressure on Michelle Obama, in particular, to balance her image as first lady.

"With the Kennedyesque excitement that the Obamas bring, there will be a lot of focus on Michelle Obama's dress," Troy said. "She has to show that she's elegant, but not excessive."

Douglass declined to give details on the inaugural ball plans, saying, "the nature of the balls have not been released as of yet."

But despite the recession, money appears to be plentiful for Obama's inaugural festivities.

Several Hollwood actors have donated $50,000 each -- the maximum allowed -- to the inaugural committee to fund the galas, according to the committee's online database of contributors.

Among the high-end rollers are Sharon Stone, Samuel Jackson, Halle Berry, and Jamie Foxx.

Douglass said the donation cap of $50,000 is "much, much lower than the cap four years ago," which was $250,000, adding that the committee does not accept funds from lobbyists, political action committees and corporations.

Douglass said the inaugural festivities will be "the most open, accessible, and inclusive inauguration in recent history."

On Monday, the President-elect's transition team announced that Obama -- along with Vice President-elect Joe Biden -- will travel to Washington on an Amtrak train the weekend before the Tuesday, Jan. 20, inauguration. The Obama and Biden families will hold events at three cities along the way -- Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore -- before arriving in the nation's capital.

"This is one of the steps that we're taking to try to make sure that we're able to involve Americans who are not coming here to Washington, D.C.," said Douglass.

She said Obama's parade route will be more accessible to spectators, and the committee has been working with local authorities to open up the National Mall for people who do not have tickets. A total of 240,000 inaugural ball tickets will be distributed free of charge through congressional offices.

Courtesy www.foxnews.com

To celebrate President-Elect Barack Obama's inauguration, why not check out all the Obama inauguration t-shirts and gifts. Just click on the banner below.