valentine’s day scavenger hunt

Okay, so here’s what’s on tap for our little Valentine’s Day Family Extravaganza, depending on weather, attitudes, amount of sleep, and all other considerations when making plans for a family with three kiddos, ages 5 and under. . .

• Scavenger Hunt: A la Jon and Kate Plus 8, tonight after the kiddos went to bed, Brent and I came up with this. We’ll just print them out and set up the hunt tomorrow afternoon. We tried to add some little easy tasks along with “just find the location” clues. Of course, we’ll have to read everything to them, but they should have a blast with it.

1. Start here and don’t go far,
Walk over to where Owen plays with his cars.
All of his cars are in a big pile;
Put them in color lines–it will only take a short while.

2. We go here when we need something cool,
Like milk, yogurt, or our lunches for school.

3. Now look closely at the spot where Maddy sleeps,
Here’s where she says her prayers and closes her peeps.

4. Now go to to the room where the kids take their baths,
Where Mommy and Daddy remind them not to splash.

5. All the way down to the basement where everyone plays,
Find some paper and crayons, then write everyone’s names.

6. Go find a place where Blankie rests,
There will be a puzzle nearby–work together and do your best!

7. Find the room where all of the laundry goes,
Jump up and down 10 times then touch your nose.

8. Go to the big table where we do all of our crafts,
Put the a, b, c’s in order then clap, clap, clap!

9. Go out back and slide down the slide,
then run around the big tree and you’ll see where the clue hides.

10. This is your final clue; there won’t be any more.
Run around the house to our front door
And right out front, you will find
Little treats for our favorite Valentines!

We’ll have their small treats at the last clue–just some new markers and a coloring book for each of them with a couple Hershey’s Kisses thrown in.

The hunt should be a riot, but what we’re really looking forward to tomorrow is our romantic Valentine’s Day Family dinner. We’re going to try something that could be a total bust–or super fun–but Brent and I love it so much, it’s worth a shot. We’re going to break out our ole favorite fondue pot and make a simple cheese fondue with apples, bread, and veggies. I found the recipe in this month’s Wonder Time, so we’ll see how it goes. . . . fondue and homemade heart-shaped pizza (yes, pizza again. . . )? It doesn’t get much more romantic than that.