photo credit: karen horton

Each year, couples from around the globe celebrate their love on February 14. They exchange cards, flowers, chocolate and other gifts, and go out for special dates. But have you ever wondered why we do this?

There were actually three saints with the name Valentine, all of whom were martyred on February 14. This makes it a bit harder to pinpoint the exact origins of the holiday, but a popular theory is that the holiday is named after St. Valentine, a priest in the 3rd century.

This priest performed secret marriages against the wishes of Roman Emperor Claudius II who thought men should stay single, as they would be more likely to enlist in the army. Rumor has it that he healed the jailer’s blind daughter, and then sent her a note before his execution that said “From your Valentine.”

England’s King Henry VIII declared Valentine’s Day an official holiday in 1537. At this time it was still a religious holiday; it was another 500 years before Valentine’s Day cards became non-religious. The day remained a Church holiday until 1969 when Pope Paul VI removed it from the official Church calendar.

Whatever the background reason, it has become an American tradition to celebrate this day and show your love for the special people in your life.

6 Chocolate Belgian Chocolate Spoons: Luxury Chocolate Stirring spoons for Coffee, tea or milk!

From My Heart To Yours - Homemade Chocolate Gifts

By Nicole Dean

If buying gifts this year for whatever reason, whether it’s your babysitter’s Birthday, a Christmas gift for your neighbor, a Valentine’s gift for your favorite Aunt, or a Thank You gift for someone who took care of your dog, has you panicked, join the club. Families all over the world are feeling the pinch of an exceedingly tight budget.

We’ve discovered in our goal to reduce spending, that when money is tight, the first thing that we start to question is our gift giving. We all want to lavish people we love with beautiful, expensive gifts. But, that won’t be the case any longer in our family, so what do we do? I believe a gift given from the heart is appreciated just as much, if not more, than a gift of monetary value.

My favorite heartfelt gift is food, chocolate in particular. If you have a little bit of time, you can create some pretty fancy chocolate treats with very little money. A little bit of chocolate goes a long way when you use it to create nut clusters or coconut haystacks, or any number of fun, simple treats. Anyone would think you just paid a fortune when you present them with some pretty chocolate delicacies.

Making chocolate treats isn’t as difficult as it may seem. You’ll need just a few simple supplies, a little practice, and you’re on your way. Once you get good a making a few treats, your family and friends will look for them with great anticipation. This particular chocolate treat is really great because no one will think to make them just for themselves.

Chocolate Dipped Coffee Spoons

This spoon will top your list of all time favorite gifts for the coffee lover. What’s great is that you can give this gift to a man or woman because chocolate knows no limits.

This is what you’ll need:

You can either purchase some nice silver spoons from your friendly local thrift shop, or just buy some heavy plastic spoons. I like the silver ones because you can find fancy spoons and sometimes some pretty unusual ones, too. Just wash and dry them before using.

Purchase milk chocolate coating, not Real Chocolate. You’ll find blocks of the coating in the baking aisle at the grocery store. The reason you don’t want to use Real Chocolate is because it tends to be a little more difficult to get just right. You don’t want to bother with it, and the chocolate coating is delicious.

If you’d like to add some crushed peppermint candy or other candy sprinkles to your spoons, that’s really pretty, too. You may also look for flavoring oils, like peppermint or amaretto, to really make these spoons fancy.

Parchment paper is a must for covering the cookie sheets. Do not use waxed paper. Warm chocolate has a tendency to stick to waxed paper. The parchment paper will make your finished product a lot easier to handle, and your clean-up a bit nicer, too.

I recommend that since you’re giving a gift of food, buy the proper wrapping. Look in your candy making section of any craft store for clear cellophane candy bags in a size to fit the spoon, leaving some of the handle sticking out. You’ll also want to find some ribbon and raffia to tie the package closed and to decorate the gift.

The process is simple:

Fill a large pan with water and bring it to a boil. While you’re waiting, carefully chop your chocolate into little pieces. Place your chocolate pieces in a smaller heavy pan that will fit into the large pan. When water boils, remove large pan from heat, and carefully lower the smaller pan into the water, being sure you don’t overflow the water. Let chocolate sit and start to melt, then remove from pan with water and begin stirring with a big spoon or spatula until chocolate is all melted.

When the chocolate is melted down, take a spoon and carefully dip it into the chocolate, hanging on to the handle, and place it on parchment paper on your tray or cookie sheet. Now is the time to add any decorations like sprinkles or crushed peppermints. Then continue dipping each spoon and decorating. When you are done, take your cookie sheet full of spoons and place it in a cold area. You can put them in a freezer or refrigerator but don’t let them stay in there because they will get moist. If you do use the freezer or refrigerator, take them out in just a few minutes and let them totally set up somewhere dry.

Now your chocolate is set and you are ready to wrap your spoons up. Begin by placing each spoon in a candy bag that you purchased. Tie a piece of raffia, or gift wrap ribbon, or other pretty material on each bag around the handle so that the bag is closed securely. You may wish to tie more ribbon or some decorations on the bag, even a peppermint candy cane, or anything that makes your spoon gift more festive.

Now that you’ve finished tying up all those pretty little gifts, aren’t you pleased with yourself? You have spent your time creating gifts that show you care. Instead of running out to the store to quickly buy yet another gift card, your gift shows that you took time to plan and make a very special someone a very special gift… straight from the heart.

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Nicole Dean is the mostly-sane mom behind ShowMomtheMoney.com - a fun and informative site to help moms achieve success working from home. She welcomes you to learn more ways to save money in her Frugal Meal Ideas section. Be sure to sign up for her free lessons for work at home moms.

One-Pot Chocolate Desserts: 50 Recipes for Making Chocolate Desserts from Scratch Using a Pot, A Spoon, and a Pan

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and it’s time to start thinking of some date ideas. Yes, you could celebrate by going to a movie and dinner. But if you’re up for something more adventurous, try these ideas:

photo credit: www.ericcastro.biz

• Before you head out to dinner, pick a number. Count the number of restaurants you pass and when you reach the restaurant that matches your magic number, stop in for a bite, even if it’s a fast food place or a dive bar.

• Instead of sitting through a movie, get physical on your date by going bowling, playing a round of indoor miniature golf, or going ice skating (don’t forget the hot chocolate!).

• Soak up some art and culture by going to the art museum, to a play, or to a concert. It doesn’t have to be an expensive, high-end event. Search your local paper for presentations put on by your local theatre group or for the local bands playing at the smaller venues in your area.