We made Valentine Snack Mix this week, just because. The kids each have a basket to hold their personal snacks for adding to lunches and for grabbing on the way out the door.  I thought these would be a festive and unusual addition to their baskets. 

This was a big deal to the kiddoes, a much bigger deal than I thought it would be.  In my last post, I mentioned that kids spell love T.I.M.E.  And my letting them help with the snack mix was time together that made them feel extra loved.  That and knowing that I was going through the extra trouble just for them.  (Ever been cleaning and have your kids ask who was coming over?  This was a moment kind of like that.)

We bought the frosted cereal, MMs and plain and dipped pretzels at Aldi.  The teddy bear crackers and iced animal cookies were from Dollar General.  The treat bags, red hots, and sweethearts were from Dollar Tree.  I didn’t really run all over town grabbing stuff for the mix.  If I was running another errand, I looked around to see what was affordable that might fit the theme.  It ended up a very sweet mix–so I kept the portions small.

All we did was open all the bags and throw it together in a huge bowl.

After which Grant said, “Mom!  Look over there!”

And filled his mouth full.

We gave it a little stir and scooped it into treat bags. (The smaller bits tended to fall to the bottom, so I kept it stirring with every scoop.)

Easy, delicious, fun!

P.S. There are healthier mix options if you’re into that.  Freeze dried strawberries, yogurt covered raisins, and smoked almonds would be delicious!