Valentine's Day buckets: a tradition

Yesterday morning I announced to the kids at the breakfast table that: Hooray! It's February (!) which means we're two weeks from Valentine's Day.

It's not that I particularly love Valentine's Day, but I do appreciate an excuse to celebrate.  And when the whole idea is to express love- and most often through cards and notes?  Well, that's right up our alley.  :)  Everyone at my house loves to make cards and notes.

These seven buckets--- one for each of us-- are now hanging on our fireplace mantel to be filled over the next couple of weeks with notes, cards, or treats (or any other such small thing that may fit in these buckets). 

I recently purchased a few sheets of Valentine's-Day-themed-paper at our local scrapbooking store-- (the large sheet beneath the bin in the photo above is my favorite-- all sorts of tiny messages that I cut out that the kids will love to get their hands on) and then just some other pink and red papers with hearts and sprinkled donuts. :)  I tucked some blue and yellow and white little scraps in there, too, just in case the boys are completely adverse to all the pink.  ;) 

I filled a little bin with some card-making supplies (scrapbook paper scraps, heart stickers, scissors and glue) and set it in the living room in a visible spot so that we all have easy access to make a card and slip it into someone's bucket. 

Hooray for cute bins all filled up with cheery notes to one another!  I love this kind of thing!  :)  

Any Valentine's Day traditions you do with your kids?

Previous Valentine's Day posts here on the blog: 

Valentine's Day, 2013- in which I get little gifts for the kids, bring Mark goodies on his route, and made heart-shaped pretzels.

Happy Valentine's Day (2011)- in which I make heart-shaped yogurt coffee cake for breakfast and we make treats.  :)

Valentine's Day recap (2008)- in which I make heart-shaped everything for the kids and plan a fancy dinner for just Mark and I.