Baby's 1st Valentine's Day

In the House of Burke, we are right in the midst of establishing our own holiday traditions! I am a holiday lover! I believe that they are such an important part of childhood; and I love the idea of my children looking forward to certain special days throughout the year. For Kingston's 1st Valentine's Day, I put together an array of goodies for him to wake up to in the morning. Even though our little man is still too small to remember any special day that we plan for him, he still enjoys himself during the festivities and he will have pictures and videos to look back on later in life! Cupid came to our house the night before Valentine's Day and arranged K's treats on the counter.

Prior to Valentine's Day, I visited the Used Book Superstore, Walmart, the Target dollar bin, and the Dollar Tree to pick up some gifts for K. I got the cute red bucket at the dollar store, which we will be able to re-purpose for other things. I also picked up the "I Love You" balloon there which ended up being a huge hit! Inside the bucket was a bunch of books, Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton, Where's Baby's Valentine by Karen Katz, The Story of Valentine's Day by Nancy Skarmeas, and Noisy Kisses by Barney Saltzberg. (I have an intense love for children's books and our holidays thus far have had a strong center around books.) There was a 1st Valentine's Day outfit rolled up inside and also two segmented plates with sharks and hearts on them from the Target dollar bin. He won't be using these for awhile, but they were too cute to pass up! Hanging off the front was a bib gifted to K from his Glam*Ma and Grumpy. Beside the bucket was a recordable bear from his Auntie that says a message when you press the belly and also a Valentine's Day sensory bottle that I made for him. Surrounding the bucket were all of the cards that Kingston received in the mail from relatives, as well as a card from his Dada and I. Inside the little red mailbox (an awesome find from the Target dollar bin) were two love letters, one from his Dada and one from me.

I wrapped everything in tissue, so K could have easy access to his gifts in the morning. He has obviously not mastered unwrapping yet, but loves to explore tissue paper! The next morning when he woke up, we brought him out to see his gifts. We showed him each item and let him explore them; and we read him each of his cards and love letters. He was very snuggly and gave us lots of hugs and kisses in the process! After, we let him sit in his red bucket and explore his gifts! He loves impromptu sensory activities. His absolute favorite gift out of everything was the balloon. Under careful supervision, we let him bop everything with it including me, Todd, and himself! He thought it was hilarious. Kingston's 1st Valentine's Day morning was a  big success. Kids are never to young to enjoy a holiday!

Ideas for goodies to give to baby for their 1st Valentines Day:

Books
Themed Clothes
Themed Bibs
Sensory Items - bottles, bags, shakers
Love Letters
Red baby item necessities such as pacifiers, eating utensils, etc. 
Baby Snacks (if your baby is of eating age) such as red or pink puffs wrapped in cellophane
Balloons (under supervision)
Stuffed Animals
Personalized Items

Later that morning, before Kingston's Valentine's Day Party, we took a Vday photo shoot with lipstick cheek kisses:

Happy Valentine's Day!!!