As a homeschool mom, I love to make holidays meaningful by switching up the lesson plan, adding in crafts, and teaching more in-depth about the roots of each holiday. Sometimes holidays sneak up on me, and I find myself rushing to plan and prepare. One simple thing I always have in my back pocket that makes a day special and takes very little planning is a themed tea party! With Valentine’s Day coming up, I decided to plan a little love-themed tea time for my children in lieu of lessons one afternoon this week.

Here are my steps and tips for hosting a love-themed tea time!

Choose a day and time.

Maybe you want to have your tea party in the morning on a weekday or on the weekend so your husband can join. Even though Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday this year, I wanted to incorporate it into our weekday lesson time. I plan to replace our homeschool lessons one afternoon the week before Valentine’s Day and surprise the kids with a love-themed Tea Time instead!

Make your guest list.

You could invite grandparents and friends to join or keep it simple with just you and your children. Don’t forget about stuffed animals and dolls! My children always love surrounding the table with stuffed friends when we have Tea Time. If you want to get really fancy, you could make homemade invitations to invite your children or other guests.

Choose your menu.

To keep it really simple, you could offer store-bought cupcakes or cookies and some hot tea. If you have the time and want to, there are a ton of fun Valentine-themed recipes out there. At our Tea Time, I plan to make these heart-shaped rice cereal treats and chocolate-covered strawberries. We will also have this delicious pink tea that’s a favorite in our house.

Here are some other fun Valentine recipes you may want to try:

Gather some love-themed stories and poems.

Start with the books you own. You might be surprised to discover how many stories and poems you have within the pages of the books in your home that are love-themed. If you have time to make a library run or go shopping for some books, here are 10 great love-themed books we enjoy:

• The Love Letter by Anika Aldamuy Denise, Lucy Ruth Cummins
• Love Is by Diane Adams
• Snowy Valentine by David Petersen
• The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting
• Cranberry Valentine by Harry Devlin, Wende Devlin
• The Day it Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond
• A Village Full of Valentines by James Stevenson
• I Love You Already by Jory John, illustrated by Benji Davies
• Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Paul Yalowitz
• A Kiss For Little Bear by Maurice Sendak

I personally plan on making this particular Tea Time focused on poetry and short stories, rather than Read-Alouds. I bookmarked some love-themed poems and short stories in some poetry and treasury books that we have around the house. I also plan on reading 1 Corinthians 13 and taking a moment to talk about God’s love for us and how we can show love to others.

If you’re looking to add some books to your home collection, here is a blog post of my favorite poetry and story treasury books!

Gather or create some simple Valentine’s decor.

I plan to lay out a pink quilt on the table as a tablecloth, use the tea set I have hodge-podged together over the years from thrift stores, and string up some homemade watercolor hearts on the chalkboard. I may add some chalk art as well. You could also add some freshly picked flowers and pretty beeswax candles.

Choose a heart-themed art project or handcraft.

After our tea, treats, and poetry reading, I plan to put out the materials to make some handmade valentine cards for friends and these simple clay nature hearts.

Here are 5 more sweet handcrafts you may want to try at your tea time:

Heart Bird Feeders from Natural Beach Living

Rainbow Heart Wall Hanging from Lil Blue Boo

Heart Nature Weaving Craft from Little Pine Learners

Woven Heart Craft from Fireflies and Mudpies

No-Sew Valentine’s Pillows from Moms & Crafters

Give each child a love letter.

Before you end your special tea time, you could give each child a sweet love letter, sharing with them how special they are to you and why you love them! I plan to surprise my children with these letters and include a small gift of a new book or stuffed animal.

Will you be hosting a sweet and simple tea time this week for your loves? If so, snap a photo and tag me on Instagram. I would love to see and share!