Valentine's Day Allergy Friendly Ideas

Valentine's day doesn't have to be a reminder of your food allergy.  I got this information from:  http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/  I've added some of my own tips in red.  Enjoy!!!  (Also, another great allergy friendly bakery just came out called Kravingz.  I haven't tried it yet, but have heard great things about it!  They do custom cakes, cookies, and treats, and accommodate many food allergies.)

10 Food Allergy Safe Activities for Valentine's Day

1. Make homemade presents for the teacher or class such as:

• A Valentine's Day card
• Cupcakes or bread  
• For a great dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, and nut-free chocolate cake recipe visit www.milkallergycompanion.com
• Chocolates or candy  
• There are plenty of dairy-free candies out there.  We also saw a yummy chocolate truffle recipe in the Family Fun Magazine.  It uses soymilk, but I'm certain that you could use almond milk or rice milk if you have a soy allergy.  Here's the link:  http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/truffles-for-teacher-699740/  I've purchased the Giardelli's semi-sweet chocolate chips before, and they are dairy-free (though I believe that they may have been manufactured in a facility with dairy).  They also sell soy-free and dairy-free chocolate chips at www.glutenfreemall.com
• A homemade bouquet of paper or silk flowers  
• When my husband and I were dating, he made me an entire bouquet of flowers using origami.  It was such a wonderful surprise and so thoughtful!  I loved it:)
• A bouquet of fresh flowers

2. Make and decorate a fun mailbox for Valentine's Day. Some suggestions:

• Paper mâché, tins or a shoe box
• Decorate with craft foam, glitter, magazine cut outs, markers, stickers or different materials from the arts and crafts store to make it really fun.

3. Create original Valentine's Day cards at home.

• My kids LOVE making their own Valentine's Day cards.  I pull out stickers, stamps, cardstock, scissors, and glue and let them have fun.  The possibilities are endless!!!

4. Make homemade chocolate that is safe for your child for the holiday.
5. Make homemade sugar candies (see Valentine's allergy-free recipes or visit our Safe Eats™ Database).
6. Style decorative wrappers out of aluminum foil or colored plastic wrap for your candies and chocolates.
7. Make a decorative box for your chocolates or candies out of:

• Wood or cardboard boxes from an arts and craft store
• Paper mâché or tin

8. Make homemade hearts with fun Valentine's Day sayings on them such as “Be Mine,” “Cutie Pie” or others. Hearts can be made from:

• Safe dough or clay baked and then left to air dry and harden
• Paper, card stock, or foam
• For a special touch, personalize them with the recipient's name
• Decorate with hand-drawn pictures using crayons, markers or paint.
• Add glitter for a sparkling touch.

9. Make fun Valentine's bracelet jewelry using loops of decorated construction paper, or strings of beads or safe pasta noodles.
10. Create flowers by hand out of tissue paper, cloth, or clay.