Valentine’s Day is possibly one of the most controversial special days – for some it’s a Hallmark day – a marketing ploy to sell chocolates, flowers and absolutely anything that’s red and covered in hearts. For the romantics, it’s the chance to write poetry, send anonymous love letters and spoil their loved ones with roses and candlelit dinners.
We have to admit, at Lalibela, we tend to fall into the category of the latter. How can you not love a day that celebrates love? If you put aside the cheesy cards and over-the-top gifts, the premise of Valentine’s Day is really quite lovely.
And of course, there are so many facets of love – love for a pet, a sibling, a special brand of tea. Valentine’s Day tends to focus on the romantic kind, but we thought we’d celebrate love in general – it’s less cliché and more inclusive (we couldn’t resist giving our guests red roses though).
We thought the best way to do this was to enlist the creativity of the Seven Fountains children. There’s a certain magic to Valentine’s Day when you’re younger – it usually involves decorating something in bright colours and lots of glitter. We decided on cookies – there’s nothing more exciting than getting to eat the fruits of your labour!
On Tuesday, the wonderful Charmain, our head of Community Development, taught the aspiring bakers how to make sugar cookies. On Wednesday, her role was in more of a supervisory capacity, as the children baked a batch by themselves (with a little guidance here and there from Charmain with measurements and use of the oven). In fact, they got the hang of it so quickly, we even managed to make enough for all of our guests!
Thursday was the most exciting of all – it was time to decorate. Bright pink icing and sprinkles were the order of the day. We had two stations – the icing station, where the children could decorate their cookies, and the craft station, where they could put their personal touch on the packaging for the guests’ cookies.
The End Result?
Each child went home with three cookies and a sugar high, each guest received a cookie and thank you note in personalised packaging, and we are all left with very happy hearts on Valentine’s Day.
We wish you all a lovely Valentine’s Day, filled with love and hopefully at least one chocolate! Once again, thank you for all your support towards the Seven Fountains community, we are so lucky to have such wonderful guests.
OUR FAVOURITE PICTURES FROM THE DAY…
The decorating station.
The craft station.
Packaging underway.
Heading home with homemade cookies in hand.
