Hearts and Flowers and Candy – Oh My!
BY PAT BURNS
From the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy said it best; “There’s no place like home.”
This Valentine’s Day, I plan to invite all four of my grandchildren to my home with a meal to celebrate our special love.
For many people, becoming a grandparent is one of life’s most heart expanding accomplishments and the love that gushes from the heart can bring immeasurable joy and sometimes unimaginable heartache. Especially as our grandchildren transition from adorable children to tweens to young adults and then off to their separate lives. As the Wizard said to the Tin Man, “As for you, my galvanized friend, you want a heart. You don’t know how lucky you are not to have one. Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable.”
“A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.” Wizard of Oz
Knowing that there are times our grandchildren will break our hearts, it’s ever so important to take the time and effort to create memorable moments with them. This can be done by simply setting a Valentine’s table in honor of them, crafting one that they’ll reminisce about as they move forward in their lives.
Setting the mood with a tablescape flaunting hearts, flowers and other symbols of your love expresses just how much they are loved. The pink and white heart-shaped salad plates, from Pottery Barn, remind every one of our days in elementary school and always bring a smile. The white dollied-laced plate chargers frame the pink and white ruffled dinner plates and create a visual sense of adoration.
The table’s centerpiece combines soft artificial rose petals and candles. Finishing the tablescape with martini stemware filled with chocolate hearts from See’s Candies® and silver heart-shaped napkin rings wrapped around fan-shaped pink napkins completes this love-filled holiday setting to show how much the grandchildren are loved.
With the table ready, gather your grandchildren around Valentine Day’s weekend and serve a meal that includes their favorite foods.
Thinking about Dorothy’s lessons learned from her adventure along the yellow brick road, let’s remember another memorable quote from the Wizard: “A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.”
See more Pat Burns’ articles here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pat Burns is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Orange County Children’s Book Festival; a Celebrity Journalist, Film Reporter, the author of Grandparents Rock®. Also, a happy grandmother of four.
Read more from Pat here