Valentine’s Day is upon us, which means little love notes, special treats, shades of pink and red and lots of parties! This past weekend I set up a small get together with the kids and a few friends and, with the help of Clafoutis Creations, we threw one lovely bash. To host a kid-friendly party for the Valentine season just follow our simple steps.

Decorations || Think Pink and Simple Style
We wanted our decorations to be easy going and very kid-friendly. I used a white linen tablecloth and then added a strip of white freezer paper on top, my go to addition for any kid party. To add some texture the kids and I cut heart shapes out of small potatoes, dipped them in gold paint and stamped them on the freezer paper. I swapped out a traditional painting that hangs in the dining room for our Pirum Parum print and added some homemade garland that was left over from a previous party. To set the table we used paper plates, napkins, straws and cups that added pops of color from Clafoutis Creations.

Food || Drinks and More
To add to our pops of pink and red we set out bottles of sparkling juice with paper straws. We served mac & cheese in colorful baking cups that were placed on a white platter. Red strawberries filled white bowls and, of course, iced cookies, cupcakes and candies are the real treat!

Activities || The Love Arrow Kit
No Valentine’s Day party is complete without cards and messages to close friends! Clafoutis and La Maison de Loulou have collaborated to create – with amour – a little DIY kit that allows children to create 10 whimsical Valentines. Your little Cupid will make his or her own arrows with messages attached. The kit is complete with all materials and detailed instructions -all you need is a pair of scissors, glue and a little creativity! When kids weren’t decorating their love arrows they colored on placemats that instantly transformed into paper disguises.

I had the opportunity to ask Anne, owner of Clafoutis, and Marie-Laure, the inspiration behind La Maison de Loulou, a few questions and here is our interview.

Anne, what inspired you to start Clafoutis?
When my daughter was a year old we relocated from Tokyo to New York and I took time off work to stay at home with her. Overnight I felt as if I had become a personal assistant/party planner! We organized little tea parties for her cuddly toys and dolls and loved to invite little friends over for play dates and parties. My friends started to ask me to help them with their own parties and I realized that what was fun for me was stressful for others.

Mixing together all the ingredients for a good party can be a big challenge – especially in a city like Manhattan. I wanted to create a one-stop-shop for parents-on-the go. Somewhere they could find party planning services, shop for pretty supplies to create their own event, or shop for gifts when their children were invited to parties.

What was your career before you launched Clafoutis?
I am a mathematician and for many years was a math teacher – both in France where I was born and also in Japan and here in New York. I feel this experience helps me in the way I organize the concept of each party. When I was teaching I felt like a performer – I had one hour to captivate twenty teenagers with the delights of calculus! Now, making sure that everything goes smoothly at a party and that the little guests are happy during a puppet or magic show doesn’t seem so difficult 😉

Anne, when you were little, what did you dream of becoming when you grew up?
I wanted to become a notaire – a French notary! My parents had a friend who was one and I loved visiting him in his office. Everything was so well-organized and on his desk he had beautiful stationery and Mont-Blanc fountain pens. He would let me sit in his beautiful chair and – at the age of 8 – I would dream that I was an important business woman!

How about you Marie-Laure?
As far as I remember, a dreamer!

Tell us a little bit about the Love Arrow Kit, which was a collaboration between Clafoutis and La Maison de Loulou.

Anne:
Since I launched Clafoutis I have been keen to create some ‘busy boxes’ – simple do-it-yourself craft projects in a box. Nearly all children love to craft but not all parents love – or have time – to go to the craft store.
When I met Marie-Laure – the queen of D.I.Y. – I asked her if she would be interested in a partnership to create a simple do-it-yourself kit for Clafoutis. We both agreed that we should launch our idea for Valentine’s Day. Each year children love to make and send Valentines so we decided to let them actually play Cupid by creating their own love arrows and – voila – The Love Arrow Kit was born!
Marie-Laure and I are still little girls at heart so we had loads of fun brainstorming with several ideas, think “How about more glitter?” and “How about a jewelry box?”. It was Clafoutis’ first collaboration and Marie-Laure made it a wonderful experience. I cannot wait to do it again! Marie-Laure, what do you say??

Marie-Laure:
When I first met Anne we just connected, that is it. We are different but similar on so many levels. Doing a project together after a two hour chit chat about life, family, work and more just made sense for us. We decided to create something beautiful and original for Valentine’s Day and we hope you enjoy it!

Lastly, can you share with our Babiekins readers a few tips on organizing a Valentine’s Day Party?

1. I think every party should start with a beautiful invitation card arriving in the mail. Children love snail mail. It is a real treat and more unusual these days for them to receive something in the mail. It makes the recipient feel excited and special. “I have been invited!” is already an, “I love you!”

2. A Valentine’s Day party should be about celebrating friendship through games and good food. Traditional games that encourage team work – such as balloon sandwich – are always a success and guarantee lots of laughter.

3. For decorations I would say that it is fun to surprise the guests by using different colors of red and pink but you definitely have to play with hearts!

Thank you Anne and Marie-Laure for answering our questions and sharing these tips!
You can order your own Love Arrow Kit here, check out what party supplies and more Clafoutis carries and become inspired by Marie-Laure’s DIY blog.

Happy Valentine’s Day Babiekins Readers!
xo // Liz