Tag: date night

Valentine’s Day Crafts for Sitters

Valentine’s Day Crafts for Sitters

platinumsitters

Now that parents have found something to do to celebrate their love, it’s time to let the kids in on the action! Help them share the love by setting up these Valentine’s Day crafts and games. Parents, these are great activities to let our sitters do with your kids while you’re out–just leave them the supplies and they’ll do the rest. 

Write Valentines for Mom and Dad

Use whatever you have lying around–construction paper, pipe cleaners, magazines–and let the kid’s express their love for their parents. Help them write a list of ten things they love about mom and dad or draw a picture of what they love doing together. 

Create a Paper Chain

Countdown to love day by creating a paper chain. Use red, pink, and white construction paper to create strips. Loop them together and secure them with glue or tape. Kids can take one chain off each day to create excitement–and it makes for a cute decoration in the meantime! 

Create a Valentine’s Day Treat

Who doesn’t love a little something sweet for the holidays? Try this cute ten-minute dessert from Six Clever Sisters which just takes a few ingredients: Hershey’s Hugs, pretzels and M&Ms! This a great “cooking” project for little hands. If you make enough, take a walk and share with your neighbors! 

Let’s Talk About Love

Do a little research on the history of Valentine’s Day and help kids come up with a “lesson” for Mom and Dad about love. Kids can create their own skit to act it out and even make a list of how we can spread love now–complimenting strangers, helping mom and dad around the house, sharing with siblings–the possibilities are endless! 

Chemistry is Real! 

We love any chance to incorporate a little STEM into our day! These salt hearts will get you talking about a different kind of love on this Valentine’s Day! What is nice about these is that they last forever so you can display them year after year as part of your decor. 

Hidden (love) Messages 

Create invisible ink using pure lemon juice! Simply squeeze a lemon into a bowl and use a q-tip to draw your secret messages on paper. Let them dry and when mom and dad come home from date night they can use a heat source (light bulb, low temp iron) to reveal the secret message. 

Geometric Hearts

Need an activity for older kids? This art project is great for talking about color theory, math and creativity. You likely have the supplies at home and the end result can be given as a gift or displayed for years to come.

Art Tutorial 

If you’re working with younger kids but still want to get artistic, this sweet tutorial would be a blast! The step by step directions make it easy for younger kids to create a masterpiece they are proud of. 

Heart Shaped Pizza

Our sitters are happy to make dinner for your kids while you’re out–so why not make it fun? Pre-made crusts make this homemade pizza easy to assemble and kids will love calling the shots for dinner. 

Love-Themed Movie Night

Grab some popcorn and candy and let the kids enjoy a movie night full of love-themed movies. Try “Lady and the Tramp”, “Beauty and the Beast” or “Up!”. Make it extra special with blankets and pillows on the floor!

Valentine’s Day Events In Our Regions

Valentine’s Day Events In Our Regions

platinumsitters

Sometimes the hardest part about planning a fantastic Valentine’s Day date is simply getting the sitter but since we have already got that handled for you, we figured we would help with the rest, too! Valentine’s Day runs the gamut from fancy and fabulous to low-key but even the most cynical among us love a good excuse to get out and do something! Check out date-night suggestions from our different service regions—and then let us know when you need your PlatinumSitter to arrive.

Charlotte

Sip N’ Paint

February 12 at 2:30 p.m. 

Local artist J. Voc will guide you through a painting class while you sip prosecco and enjoy chocolate covered strawberries at The Thirsty Dog in Belmont.

Candlelight: Valentine’s Day Special 

February 12 at 7 p.m.

Enjoy music from a stringed quartet during this romantic “Romeo and Juliet” inspired production.

Dinner Detective

February 13 at 6 p.m.

Add a little mystery to your Valentine’s Day with this murder mystery dinner theatre. 

Valentine’s Dinner at Carolina Brew Supply

February 14 at 6:30 p.m.

This is not your average Valentine’s dinner! Enjoy six courses with special wine pairings during this private dining experience.

Greensboro 

Couple’s Valentine’s Dinner

February 12 at 4 p.m.

This fun-filled night will include dinner, couple’s games and photo opportunities. 

Greensboro Big Band

February 13 at 3 p.m.

Enjoy the sounds of The Greensboro Big Band and either watch or partake in the swing dancing at this event! The best part? It’s free!

Chris Wiles’ Very Special Valentine’s Day Show

February 14 at 7 p.m.

Loosen up for your Valentine’s Day celebration with lots of laughs at this Comedy Zone show.

Raleigh 

Charcuterie Board Design 

February 12 at 2 p.m.

Learn to create your own gorgeous charcuterie display at this workshop just in time to create something special for Valentine’s Day!

Romance in the Air

February 12 at 4:30 p.m.

Check out the sounds of Adele, Lady Gaga, Etta James and more as performed by a 16-person chamber choir. 

Chocolate Lover’s Flight 

February 13

Check out the special Valentine’s Day flight at The Flying Saucer featuring four different chocolate beers.

Downtown Raleigh Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt

February 13

Head downtown to  the Sir Walter Raleigh statue at the Raleigh Convention Center  and grab your treasure map. Follow the clues to earn prizes!

Wilmington

Coglin’s Second Chance Prom

February 12 at 8 p.m.

Take a step back in time and enjoy all of the fun parts of prom–dressing up, dancing, lots of picture taking–but with yummy cocktails and no curfew!

Valentine’s Day Run 

February 12 at 9 a.m

Kick off your love weekend with a run through Wrightsville Beach! Make it a date night with a stop for brunch on your way home.

Speaking of Wilmington, we have an exciting giveaway in this area! Head over to Instagram to check out the chance to win four hours of free babysitting in addition to some amazing prizes from Beauty and Bloom, Native Salt Cave and Wellness and The Second Glass Wine Bar!

Babysitting: Beyond Date Night

platinumsitters

We all know the feeling: your kids are safe with a sitter, your husbands driving, and you are headed for a scream-free dinner. Its pure bliss, right? Well, at PlatinumSitters we believe you deserve to feel that carefree and relaxed more often. Additional date nights are a great place to start but we can help with so much more!

Birthday Parties

There’s the cupcakes that need handing out–Beckett wants chocolate and Aiden prefers vanilla. There is the juice boxes that need straws in them and someone needs to fill up the next round of water balloons. Has anyone seen the lighter for the candles? Oh, and maybe you’d also like to enjoy your kiddo’s expression as he opens his gifts. Hire some extra hands and soak it all in–they’re only this young once!


Grocery Shopping

Let me set the scene: you’re cruising the aisles. You’re drinking Starbucks. It’s hot. You’re actually following your list. No one has asked you for Oreos. You’re getting Oreos you can hide somewhere to eat in your closet later. It’s heaven, really. Totally worth that two hour minimum.


Family Events

You know what you don’t need? To spend two hours cooking, cleaning and prepping for your mother-in-law to come in and criticize your youngest’s outfit. Someone to come hang out with the kids while you get ready for your parent’s anniversary dinner will make all the difference for the night–and your sanity.


Self-Care

When’s the last time you got to soak your feet in a pedicure tub while sipping a cold drink? Too long? Hire someone to take the kids to the park for the afternoon. They’ll be thoroughly worn out while you’re thoroughly relaxed and then you can still enjoy some low-key family time before bed. Win-win!


PlatinumSitters vets all of our sitters through background checks, reference checks and interviews. We believe in hiring engaging sitters who are going to have your kids asking when they can return. Our sitters know to follow your house rules regarding screen time, meals and bedtime. PlatinumSitters is run by moms and we only hire sitters we would trust with our own kids because we know how important safety and reliability is.

Its simple to register (www.platinumsitters.com), input the dates and times you need, and review profiles of available sitters. Rates are set per child (starting at $14/hour) and no cash exchanges hands–we charge the card on file! We are making babysitting easy and stress free so you can have peace of mind to enjoy the day-to-day and the special times.

We look forward to working with you!

It’s Monday and Mondays Matter

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Shoutout to my colleague, Ms. Mitchell, for this mantra. See, as many of you know, I am an educator at heart. I taught middle school for seven years before I started with PlatinumSitters. For half of that time, I was at a middle school with Ms. Mitchell and she did the Monday morning announcements–always signing off with “Don’t forget, today is Monday–and Mondays matter!”

via Pinterest

I don’t know when or how, but somehow that little affirmation lodged itself in my brain and has lived there ever since. I think it to myself each Monday morning. I say it to my kiddo as I usher her cranky self off to school. Because it’s true: Monday is the start of something new. A week of possibility. The chance to get things back on track or keep the momentum going.

Well, guess what? Today was a MONDAY. The baby cried so much that I called my mother-in-law crying. Yes, eight years into the parenting game and they still break me from time to time.

After that, I had to hustle to get a mama a sitter when she was diagnosed with the flu and deal with some work “fires”. Somewhere in there, I burnt my lunch and cried a little more over some tough situations around us. I realized I dropped the ball on my own childcare for an event later this week. I hustled to fix it, hustled to catch up on laundry, and hustled to put on real pants for story time.

The opposite of my work setup most days.

But, my husband came home with flowers and chocolate. We managed to have a nice meal. The rain they promised didn’t come until well past our need to be outside. We reset. It’s fine. And I am choosing to embrace what Ms. Mitchell always tell us: It’s Monday and Mondays matter.

So let’s get after it this week, mamas. If you have had a day like me, lets remember that today dictates the rest of the week. End tonight on a positive note: email a friend to say hello, call your own mama, schedule a date night to look forward to.

If you’re have an awesome start to the week, soak it in! Recognize it and appreciate it. Let that good feeling carry you through whatever the rest of the week may bring. Because today is Monday–and Mondays Matter!

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Plannin’ for the Weekend

platinumsitters

There are more clouds on my weather app than bachelorette posts in my Facebook feed–its dire, guys.

Michael Scott keeps us laughing, at least.

So, its extra important to find something to keep ourselves entertained and to keep the blues at bay. Here are a few things happening around town this week:

For Date Night:

For Girls’ Night Out:

For the Whole Family: