Love Potion
One of my favorite school crafts for my son is Love Potion. I don't do anything easily so instead of just buying the "old school" paper Valentines that are sold in little cardboard boxes, I wanted to come up with something original for him to share with his class. I thought about keeping it simple but Pinterest was calling my name on this one. How could I call myself a crafter and hand out store bought Valentines? That's just bad form.
I ran across this one for Love Potion and fell in love. It's simple and creative and healthier than handing out handfuls of candy. I started out using full sized bottles of water and as the years went on and the classroom sizes got larger, I switched it to the smaller bottles. They were lighter and easier to transport to the school. I eventually found the fun paper straws at my local craft store which I thought added that extra special touch. I used whatever ribbon I had on hand in various shades of pink and red to attach the straws to the bottle. The same goes for the labels. I tore all of the labels off and replaced them with wrapping paper. Some years I had festive red paper left over from Christmas and other years I would go to the local dollar store to buy cheap Valentines paper with hearts or polka dots. Pretty much anything goes on this one, you can mix and match it up all you want.
The actual "love potion" is packets of Crystal Light or Fruit Punch or whatever you choose to buy that comes in those small narrow packets. Just be careful when you're punching the holes in them to string the ribbon. The first time I had the kids help me put them together I quickly realized if you punch the hole too low you end up with a table full of pink, sticky powder. The labels changed from year to year as well. Sometimes I print out labels on regular paper and cut them out along with adding festive stickers. I've also used Avery 5160 mailing labels to print cute sayings on. They're mailing labels and the size is small enough to print and then peel and stick to the drink packets. You can print instructions or a Valentine poem or just your child's name so the class knows who the Love Potion is from. Message me if you're interested in having a template for this and I can post one.
I love this one so much because the kids just pour, swirl and sip! I know the kids love it too because my son has asked me to make it every year!
