Invitation, decoration, food and drink ideas for planning a sweet themed Valentine's Day dinner and dessert party.
This February celebrate love and all things sweet by hosting a Valentine’s Day party. Invite children, adults or both for an evening of dinner, dessert and lots of fun. Use the ideas below to plan a party with a sweet treat theme.
Invites
The ideal invitations for a Valentine’s Day party are valentines, of course. You can purchase blank ones and fill them in by hand or on the computer with all the party details. Or you can make your own the old-fashioned way by cutting out hearts and decorating them with foil, lace or candy. At the top of the invitations write, “Join us for some sweet treats and Valentine’s Day fun!” Put conservation hearts in the envelope with the invitations as a sample of the sweet treats to come.
Table Decorations
- Search throughout your home for items that are red or pink and move them to the party area. Cover the kids' table with a white paper table cloth and place a red bucket in the middle of the table. Use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out melon hearts from slices of watermelon. Alternately place the watermelon hearts and strawberries vertically on plastic or wooden sticks. Fill the bucket with jellybeans and position the sticks in the bucket to form a fun fruit bouquet. Add a bowl filled with crayons to the table and encourage the kids to decorate their tablecloth.
- Use a solid colored fabric tablecloth as the basis for your adult tablescape. Cut a piece of co-ordinating wrapping paper the length of the tablecloth. Fold the edges of the wrapping paper and place along the center of the table as a table runner. Take red and white Christmas items such as candles, wreaths or garland out of storage and use them to decorate the table. Place a wreath or garland shaped into a circle in the center of the table. Group candles on either side of the wreath. Place a cake stand in the center of the wreath. Immediately before the party display a heart-shaped cake on the cake plate.
Food and Drinks
- Keep the food light, since sweets and dessert are the main focus of the night. For kids, make heart-shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a sweet but filling main course. Serve strawberry-banana smoothies as a refreshing drink and celery sticks topped with peanut butter and raisins with the fruit sticks to round out the meal.
- For the first adult course, make a romaine and strawberry salad with red onion and a poppyseed dressing. Next, make your favorite chili recipe sweetened with dark chocolate. Spoon the chili into oven safe bowls and top with shredded cheese. Melt the cheese in the oven and garnish with heart shaped pieces of cornbread.
- After dinner, serve the heart-shaped chocolate cake along with chocolate-covered strawberries, and store-bought frozen chocolate éclairs and cream puffs. Add Godiva liquor to mugs of coffee rimmed in sugar for the adults and make hot chocolate topped with pink whipped cream for the children.
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