Personalized Mailboxes & Love Note Station {Thoughtful Thursday}

Again with Target saving the day! I love the dollar spot & I was so excited they had these adorable mini mailboxes again this year {since I was too slow to score them last year}.

We are using these cute lil guys as part of our month long Valentine's Day Party. All I did was buy different color boxes for each child. My Target has pink, red, and white in the small $1 version & the same colors in the larger versions but those were $5. The only reason I got larger ones for Matt & I was because they didn't have enough of the 'right colors' in the smaller one. {almost missed them again}

I used some of that great chalkboard paint leftover from our chalkboard table project.

All I did was use painters tape to mark off the rectangles I wanted the tiny chalkboards to be on the front of the mailbox door as well as the side {that one was a little bigger than the front}. I made one rectangle "stencil" and pulled it off to use on each mailbox to make sure they were the same size.

Putting multiple coats is the best idea for a chalkboard that will last. I did chalkboards rather than just using sharpy for writing their names so I could use them for other things if I wanted to.

Let these dry really well between coats. Be careful though...if you let the tape stay on until the its completely dry it will tend to pull up the paint. I put on the 1st coat, removed the tape {placing it on the next box I was planning to work on} and then just added the next few coats over the area I already had marked out.

After writing each persons name on them, I set up a "love note station" where the kids as well as Matt & I can write sweet nothings to one anther through the month of February.

Love Note Station includes:

• chopped up red, pink, purple, and white paper using cutesy scissors
• heart hole punch
• red, purple, black pens
• pink highlighter
• heart, flower, Valentiney stickers

Tuesday was our first day to introduce the boxes and they LOVED them! They loved getting notes from their parents about how much they're loved. They were also really into 'writing' notes to one another...this basket was EMPTY day one...I had to restock with more paper & random stickers.

I am also using these little boxes to give the kids silly treats or tiny toys {I got on 50%+ off sale after season last year}. Tuesday I cut up packs of those jelly window clings and gave each kid only a couple. I plan to give them a few at a time so they new doesn't wear off as quickly. I have heart bracelets, heart popper thingies, and candy divided up in bags marked with each child's name so every other day I can sneak a treat into each kids box.

My oldest is on the verge of reading/writing on her own so we used the highlighter to write messages she thought up and then let her trace the letters with her own pen. I think when they're a little older I will add a bible or list of scriptures about love to the station or even cutesy Valentine's Day library books for a little inspiration!

What are you do'n with your kiddos this lovely season?