Whether your loved ones live near or far, everyone enjoys mail and kids love to send it!

Our Valentine tradition is only a year old but I plan to continue this as long as we can, by Sending Hugs to those we care for during this special season of LOVE.

Here is what you'll need to get started…

I like to prep my crafts ahead of time, keeping the whole process organized and everyone happy! Get it all ready when your kiddos nap or the night before. In our house, 3 year olds have strong opinions and little patience. Without prep, our craft would have been started on the floor with marker on the wall and a fresh bandaid somewhere. Of course, this is all ok but if you're like me... prep is a big help!

When you're ready to start and you have all the above, next...

Once you have your hands traced, get out those scissors and CUT! Parental assistance is advised. If you're cutting many hands out, keep your kiddos busy with extra paper and have them practice cutting!

My children's arm lengths measured 31" and 33". I was only using 8.5 x 11 printer paper, so I needed to cut multiple strips that (once taped/glued) would altogether equal the arm lengths!

Have your children help tape or glue the paper strips together and you can verify the length against their arms! Of course, no need to be perfect... but my girls had fun checking this again. Then, let your kid add his/her creative touch! While decorating the "arms", we did a little free hand drawing with colored pencils, had fun with stamps, added stickers and once they were all done I added their name and wrote "A 31 inch HUG from me to you!" on the back. Then fold the arms like an accordion! I cut extra paper strips for my kids to practice folding so they continued to feel part of the process, if I needed to take over at all. Then those cute little hands are ready to be attached. Note: make sure thumbs are facing the same way!

Have your kiddos check their project! Make sure anything wet is dried (i.e. marker or glue). Have them test it out and really feel the joy of their fun creation!!

Find an envelope that will fit the hands and get ready to send! In addition to the HUG, you can add a little poem if you'd like. This is the one we created (see below)!

Lastly, help kiddos address, stamp and pop this sweet HUG in the mail to send off to their loved one/s, to receive in time for Valentine's Day!

Enjoy & much love xoxo