Our district allows us a certain number of holiday parties each year. Valentine's Day is one of those approved "party" days. Rather than have the students bring in way too many packages of cookies, cupcakes, and other sugary foods they tend to over consume, I provide the party snack. Over the years, I've settled on a few go to snack ideas. Ideas that are always a hit with my students.
Before I share the snacks themselves, I will point out that I do reach out to families and ask them to send in the items we need for our snack. This saves me from doing a bunch of running around town, and it saves money.
I highly suggest you reach out to families and ask for donations. You could easily send a message out via Remind/Dojo/Bloomz, etc. Or, you could create a SignUpGenius form and send that out to families.
On to the snack ideas!
Strawberry Floats
These are by far, my all time favorite. It's basically a root beer float made with strawberry soda. Oh, and instead of a straw, we use licorice. Fun, right?
Here's what you'll need:
- vanilla ice cream
- strawberry soda
- licorice
- ice cream scoop
- plastic spoons
- cups
To serve:
- Scoop 1-2 scoops of vanilla ice cream into the cup (this will depend on how big your cups are).
- Pour some strawberry soda over the ice cream.
- Add a piece of licorice and spoon.
- Enjoy!
Tips:
- If you have a parent helper available, have them help you scoop the ice cream. It's a huge time saver when you have over 20 students.
- If you have a student with a dairy allergy, check with the parents to see what kind of alternative ice cream works for him/her. There have been years when I've had an alternative non-dairy ice cream available for the student(s) that needed it.
Ice Cream Sandwich Sundae
This is another super easy snack idea. I set up a sundae bar at our reading table and have the kids come over a few at a time. They tell me what they want on their sundae and I make it to order.
You'll need:
- ice cream sandwiches (1 per student)
- whipped cream
- chocolate syrup
- sprinkles
- chocolate chips
- marshmallows
- any other fun topping you can think of
- paper plates
To serve:
- Place an ice cream sandwich on a paper plate.
- Put some whipped cream on top (some kids may not want this).
- Drizzle with chocolate syrup (again, some kids may not want this).
- Sprinkle toppings on top.
- Enjoy!
Tips:
- Again, a parent helper would be an amazing help. With a second pair of hands, the kids get their snack a bit quicker. So, if you have a parent that is willing to help, let them.
- Don't try and get these started without the kids present. If you unwrap a bunch of ice cream sandwiches and top them with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, you'll find that some of your kids only want whipped cream and some only want chocolate syrup. It's an easy snack to make and you can easily customize each sundae by calling them over in groups of 2-3.
- Again, if you have a student with a dairy allergy, be prepared to offer a dairy free alternative.
Decorated Sugar Cookies
This is actually what I do at my Winter Holiday party, but it would definitely be a fun Valentine's Day party snack too!
Sadly, I do not have any pictures of the cookies we decorated this past year. Sorry about that! But, I think you'll get the idea.
Basically, your students will decorate a plain sugar cookie with frosting and sprinkles. Get it? I knew you would!
You'll need:
- 1-2 sugar cookies per student (get the kind they sell in the grocery store bakeries-the size is generous and they taste homemade)
- frosting (the same kind you use to frost a cake)
- sprinkles
- plastic knives
To serve:
- Put some cookies, frosting, sprinkles, plates, and plastic knives on a tray.
- Place a tray at each table group/work area.
- Students will take 1-2 cookies and put them on their plate.
- They'll use the knives to spread frosting on their cookies.
- Last, they'll add sprinkles and enjoy!
I hope that one of these snack ideas works for you! It really is so much nicer to serve one fun snack than offering a mismatched party spread. Feel free to share your favorite Valentine's Day snack idea in the comments. :)
DON'T FORGET IT, PIN IT!
