All Things February - Week 1

Through the years, our family has found every possible excuse to establish fun-filled February traditions. Although it is the shortest month of the year, we have seemed to be able to pack in more memorable activities than observed in the other months. And even though I am missing most of my active and willing participants for these activities, I am still planning on following through with these traditions, just in new and different ways. Each week in February I will showcase these traditions. Hopefully this will inspire you to carry on with your own celebrations or maybe even start some new ones. Hip Hip Hooray for February.

Groundhog Day- Every February 2nd, we anxiously await the news of Punxoutawney Phil's prediction for the remaining winter weather. This is probably the most nonsensical day of the year. Really now? A groundhog accurately predicting the forecast? Hummmm. But that is exactly what makes it all so fun. Who can't resist that cute little, tuxedo clad, medium sized varmint with all the Pennsylvanian pomp and circumstance? In case you missed it, Phil did not see his shadow this morning (no kidding with all the record breaking snow storms back East). So, for all of you who are sick of the snow and cold (we Californians are exempt from this as our past few weeks have been rather balmy) you can look forward to an early Spring thanks to Phil's lack of shadow following. I can rest easier now. How about you?

If you can't get enough of this one-day-a-year tradition, you can always watch the classic Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day and keep it going all through the year. It is definitely a favorite in this household any day.

Valentine Cards- Giving Valentines Day cards is very serious business in this family. I can remember the hours spent with the kids choosing the right theme for their cards and then helping them with the careful addressing of the cards so as to not convey the wrong message to the wrong person while making sure the right person knew their true intent. Such emotion.

Every once in awhile we would tackle creating the homemade valentine. These were mostly made for grandparents because they were quite time consuming and not nearly as popular with their friends as the latest Disney character or movie versions. I collected red, white, and pink construction paper, lace doilies, glitter, fancy scissors, glue sticks, beads, ribbon, conversation hearts, markers, etc. -- everything needed to convey valentine love.

This year, I accepted a "valentine swap challenge" from my daughter's Blog the-stationery-place.blogspot.com She invited readers to share their homemade valentines with five other random followers of the Blog. How fun is that? Being a supportive mom and wanting to revisit the valentine making days, I readily accepted the challenge. I set perimeters for myself however. My valentines had to be made from materials I already had on hand. No going out and buying new supplies. My craft cupboards are bulging with all sorts of treasures that I have been saving over the years for just the "right" project. I have tons of stuff waiting to be used. I figured that this was as good as time as any to break into that junk and do something with it. "Someday" had finally arrived for me to give permission to myself to use it. I actually came up with enough supplies to make two different kinds of valentines: hip and traditional. I decided on the more modern version to send off in the swap as the five names I was given to send cards to are all cool, young women types with their own Blogs. Wa La:

All in all, it was a lot of fun to spend a couple of carefree hours planning, assembling, and mailing my valentines. I hope these cards will invoke memories for my recipients of days gone by, of friendship, and of appreciation for what matters most: love.