Can you believe that it’s been nearly a year since COVID19 came screaming into our lives? 1 year. 365 days. 8,760 hours. How have you and your loved ones spent those hours? Netflix? Jigsaw puzzles? Long walks? There is no doubt that the last year has been a heavy lift for many, while heart breaking for others. Family traditions have been broken and milestones missed. And yet, we have persevered! Starting Confetti Betti during a pandemic may seem like poor timing, but we couldn’t disagree more! If ever there was a time for finding the good, for providing some tools to spark joy, it’s now! So, as we close in on a year of this pandemic and Valentine’s Day approaches, we want to share some ideas of how we are making our homes and lives a little bit festive and fun during this strange season.

Serve up some Love

Everyone knows that the fastest way to someone’s heart is through their stomach! Serving up a little love this Valentine’s Day is a sure-fire way to put everyone in a loving mood. We have a few fun ideas on how to style your sweets!

Create a Cozy Corner

For our cozy corner, we opted to style a bar cart with some of our favorite seasonal treats. But if you don’t have a bar cart, no problem! The key to styling a quick (and affordable) cozy corner is to work with what you have! No bar cart? No problem! You can use a side or console table, or even a book shelf! In our case, we pulled the bar cart into the corner and then moved the piano bench next to it to create a little bit of seating. We used these cute heart pillows from Target to add a little festive fluff. I love walking by and seeing one of my kids snuggled up on the bench chomping on a chocolate heart.

• To style the cart, work with what you have! You don’t need to run out to by a bunch of items! Here is what we gathered up for this cutie cart:
• We started with a pink cake stand, purchased a few years ago from the Target dollar aisle. Anything that gives you the ability to add some dimension and differing heights is awesome. If you don’t have a cake stand, a stack of books work great!
• Next, we added a couple glass candy dishes. I keep these on hand year-round to serve up seasonal treats…after all, nothing beats easy (and tasty) seasonal décor. For the festive treats inside these dishes, we took a quick trip to our local Home Goods and grabbed the cutest Valentine themed candies. We particularly loved the heart shaped marshmallows. But you could grab at your local grocery, dollar store, or Amazon!
• To add a little humor and color, we chose an adorable faux succulent planter. This cutie pie hedgehog was also purchased from the dollar aisle at Target a few years back, but let your creative juices flow here and work with what you have! A cute stuffed animal, a heart shared candle, or even a small framed photo you love would be a great accent piece here!
• The heart shaped wreath over the bar cart is also a Target buy. We love how it looks in this compact space and used a command hook to give it a temporary home.
• We grabbed some Rose lemonade because we loved the cute bottles, but you-do-you and pick the beverage of your choice! We styled with our color changing reusable straws, but you could add beverage napkins or any other beverage accessories!
• We threw a Valentine dish towel over the side because……well we have a bunch of kids and dogs running around here and it looked cute!
• Finally, we stacked some of our cute Slay the Rose’ wine tumblers on the middle shelf and repurposed a shoe basket for the bottom with some festive XOXO paper plates.

Stock a Snack Station of Love

There are a lot of heroes that have come out of this pandemic. We are especially grateful for doctors, nurses, medical staff, grocery store employees, and really ALL frontline workers…..including our amazing delivery drivers and mail carriers! Since we are running our business out of my home, we receive A LOT OF MAIL (and the occasional Door Dash order), and we wanted to do something to make sure all of those hardworking folks know that we love and appreciate them!

To build this little snack station, we printed a simple sign and slipped it into a white frame we had laying around the house. I repurposed an outdoor side table from our days of backyard summer fun and placed an aluminum beverage tub on top. A large basket would work well too! I placed the framed sign inside the tub and then filled it with a few drinks and individually wrapped snacks like granola bars, animal crackers, fruit snacks, etc. To add a little fun, I tied a small sparkly heart wreath behind the tub and added some Valentine ribbon to the scene.

I hope that this little snack station makes these hardworking helpers FEEL our love and maybe puts a smile on their face and a little treat in their tummies! If nothing else, my kids love grabbing a snack on their way in from the bus stop!

 The Valentine Candy Charcuterie

OK, there are people out there that are truly Charcuterie artists….and we are here for their master pieces! That said, you don’t have to have a degree in charcuterie to make a fun festive candy board for Valentine’s Day! Here’s how we made this cute board…..which not only looks beautiful on the kitchen counter, but also puts a huge smile on my kids’ face.

Again, we grabbed most of these awesome seasonal candies and treats from our local Home Goods. They always have a seasonal aisle or two set up and the treats are not only affordable, but super cute and unique and usually you don’t have to buy them in large quantities. We also got this heart shaped board there, but you can use any shape plate or cutting board for this project. We opted to group our candy by type to fill in this heart, but have fun with it! If you are using a square cutting board, outline the heart shape with one of your sweets and then work your way in with the others. We love finishing the center of the heart with the classic Valentine’s Day candy….conversation hearts! 

Be a cupid!

Regardless of age, everyone loves happy mail! Whether the package is sent via mail, or left on your doorstep by a sneaky friend, it’s always a sweet surprise. Here are a few of our favorite Valentine gifting ideas!

Drop a ‘love bomb’

We love the idea of leaving ‘love bombs’ on your friends’ and neighbors’ front steps. Get creative and pull a little basket or bag of seasonal goodies together, drop it on their porch and do the ding-dong ditch run! We have done everything from heart shaped donuts from Krispy Kreme, to a mini mimosa package, or just a gift bag full of candy! Be creative and have fun! It truly is the thought that counts and the lucky recipient of your love bomb will have their heart fluttering regardless of the contents. If you need a little help with your box, we can assist! Check out our Galentines and Love Bomb celebration boxes if you need a little assistance from Cupid!

 Write a love note

Sometimes the most thoughtful gifts come in the form of a heartfelt note. Words have weight, and in the era of COVID and less social interactions, they seem especially important now! Kids and adults alike will smile receiving a Valentine card, whether they are in the classroom or working from home! Here are a few of the cards we currently carry, but check out Paperless Post for some pretty funny electronic options as well!

Set the mood (and the table)

Big parties and gatherings may not be back quite yet, but with minimal effort you can still set the scene for a fun and memorable holiday! Valentine’s Day is such a gift in that it brings all the pinks, reds, and pastels helping us dream of spring. Plus, all the hearts and X’s and O’s have us all feeling the love!

 Make the morning special

This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday, which means no school (and hopefully) no work! An awesome and easy way to make the day feel a little bit special is to throw a few easy decorations up and make a festive breakfast. We are suckers for a heart shaped pancake and all the pink and red fruits we can find, but pink donuts or eggs and bacon all work too! Check out our Be Mine Valentine kit for an easy morning set up. Hang the banner, set the table with the cute XO plates, and blow up the balloons! All of a sudden you have transformed your space and morning into a Valentine’s Day wonderland!

 The Seasonal Centerpiece

If you want to up your seasonal décor game, we have a show stopping centerpiece that can be easily updated from season to season. Meet the Betti Bright candle box! This 3-foot-long candle box holds 47 tapered candles, which can be changed out at any time to match your personal style or to coordinate with the season. We went with a winter white through Christmas and New Year’s, but are in love with the new pink set for Valentine’s Day! We will be adding additional seasonal candle sets to our site soon, but you could also purchase standard tapered candles and build your own themes.

 In summary, Betti Says....have fun! Don't be afraid to do small (or big) things to make these unusual days a little bit special and fun! Tag us in your festive photos on instagram @shopconfettibettti