Kindergarten Valentine's Tea for Two

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This year Valentine's Day falls mid-week so I need to scale back our annual Tea Party. Instead of a group of friends we've invited one friend and her mom to the house for a Mother/Daughter Tea.

Since there are only four of us I didn't buy anything except Valentine's MnMs and some paper goods. I'll use things I already have on hand.

The menu:

• Chicken Salad on mini croissants
• Fruit Salad made from what is in the fridge
• Valentine's Snack Mix made from Rice Chex, white chocolate chips & MnMs dredged in powdered sugar and sprinkles
• Custom Valentine's Fortune Cookies we had 4 cookies left from take out last week.
  The printable fortunes were free thanks to The Mess for Less
• Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies I had the red velvet cake mix in the cupboard. I made frosting for the filling, but marshmallow fluff would work just as well.
• Tea, Cocoa or Strawberry Punch

 The fortune cookies took a little longer than the original blog had described, probably because they were from a restaurant and maybe not the freshest cookies. I had to wrap the cookies in a really wet paper towel and microwave them for a full minute before they were pliable enough to pry open. I tried again with a box of fresh La Choy Fortune Cookies (less than $2) and the instructions were spot on.

 

 

 

 

I've become a huge fan of cake mix cookies recently. They are tasty and super simple. My current favorites are Confetti Cake Mix Sprinkle cookies from Sally's Baking Addiction, but these Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies are a close second!

 

All these required were the cake mix, an egg, melted butter and a dash of vanilla. They come together with just a quick stir and then you roll them into a log and refrigerate for an hour or more. Once the dough is cooled all you have to do is slice off rounds and bake them. Fill with canned frosting and you have a fancy treat. What could be simpler? (Other than buying them....)

 

 

 

The party games & activities:

• Dress up (naturally)
• Mother Daughter Manicures - Danielle has washable Barbie nail polish just in case they paint their skin or their clothes...
• Making Valentine Cards
• And, because the girls are both aspiring scientists, pink and purple Erupting Goop! created from baking soda, cornstarch and spray bottles filled with colored  white vinegar

I'll set the table with Dollar Store plates, napkins, etc. I'm a huge fan of re-using things so I'll use the cake stand tutu from Danielle's birthday party. We'll  use our tiny espresso cups for tea, cocoa or punch. Party favors are tiny sequined pocket mirrors from Michael's and boxes of conversation hearts.

So much simpler than last year, but just as much fun!