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Posted February 4, 2009 by Mary Dixon Lebeau

Hearts, flowers, and boxes of candy. It's like Cupid designed Valentine's Day to have extra "princess" appeal.

So, it was no surprise that Princess Lots-of-Locks started planning the day soon after we took the Christmas tree down.

"Of course, I'll have cards for all the kids in school," she said. 

"Of course," I agreed. After all, princesses are always kind and giving.

"But what about Daddy?" she asked. She didn't say any more, but I knew exactly what she meant. Even though she doesn't really understand romantic love -- c'mon, she's only six! -- she does know exactly which guy she wants to be her Valentine. The princess' heart belongs only to Daddy (just like the queen's).

Libby decided she wanted to make Valentine's Day just as special as her daddy is, starting with a very special breakfast. On the menu -- toast with peanut butter, an apple and coffee.

"I can make hearts in the peanut butter," the princess said. The queen agreed to take on the coffee-making duties.

But of course, the King of Hearts needs more than protein and caffeine on such a special day. He needs the accessory all kings need. He needs a crown.

With some construction paper, lots of glitter glue, and a little help from yours truly, Princess Lots-of-Locks made a very special crown for her king. Here's how.

The King of Hearts Valentine Crown (good for the Grandparents of Hearts, too!)

Materials: 

Construction paper
Glitter glue
Regular glue, paste, or a glue stick
A magic marker
Scissors (and, for little princesses, someone to help with the cutting)
A picture of your Valentine (optional)

Instructions:

1.  First, cut hearts of various sizes. I used the old "fold squares in half and draw half a heart" technique, but Libby cut some of the smaller hearts herself, freestyle. They may not be symmetric, but they're endearing.

2.  Take the two largest hearts: On one, write a special message (Libby scrawled "I Love U" in her best kindergarten handwriting) while on the other, paste your special picture (or write another message). Decorate with glitter glue.

3.  On two medium sized hearts, we decided to tell the King what he had in store that day. On one, Libby (with my help) wrote, "I'll make breakfast" and on the other, "We'll play a game." We decided the little hearts stood for hugs, kisses, and smiles, so with gold glitter glue, Libby wrote an "O" on the pink hearts, an "X" on the red and a smiley face on the white. The King can cash these in at his convenience.

4.  While the glitter glue is drying, make the band of the crown. With a grown-up's help, cut strips of construction paper. Overlap and tape ends so you have one long strip, then use a grown-up's head (the queen volunteered to model) to measure the size of the crown. Tape the ends appropriately.

5.  Glue the hearts to the crown band. Alternate the coupons with the smiles, hugs and kisses, and make sure you glue your special message front and center. Violà! A crown fit for the King of Hearts.

To start the day's festivities, we took three of our leftover hearts and taped the points together. On one, Libby wrote "Go"; on the second, "2"; and on the third, "Kitchen." She left this on her daddy's nightstand, so when he woke up he found it. He followed directions (see, he is a good king!) and found the crown waiting for him on his plate on Valentine's Day morning. He put it on right away, then shared his peanut butter toast with his favorite princess.

That night, I saw him fold the crown and place it carefully into an old photo album. He caught my eye, shrugged, and I nodded. We both knew, without saying, what the other was thinking. Princesses are always magical, but they don't stay little forever. Someday there will be other princes, maybe not as charming as we'd like, and one day she might even share her heart with one of them.

But -- as the crown in the photo book will remind us -- we'll always know who had it first.