<p>Midwest Parent, I have literally just returned from mailing Valentines packages to both sons. So sorry I didn’t see your recipe sooner. Guess I’ll have to make a batch and keep it to myself. :D</p>
<p>Here’s the complete recipe for the Sweet Snack Mix (and changes I’ve made)</p>
<p>14 cups of popped popcorn (I use 3 - 3.5 oz microwave popcorn bags)
3 cups crisp rice cereal (I leave this out)
2 cups salted peanuts (I put in a 1 lb can)
1 pound white confectionery coating (almond bark)
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 lb bag M & Ms</p>
<p>Pop popcorn and pour into large bowl. I use a long handled spoon and try to fish out kernels that did not pop. Dump in peanuts and stir. Melt almond bark in microwave until smooth and stir in peanut butter. Pour mixture over popcorn/peanuts - mix gently but thoroughly. Spread mixture out in a thin layer over wax paper. Sprinkle M & Ms on top and allow to set. I put my hands under the wax paper to break up. Put into individual cellophane bags. I have also purchased cute colorful buckets, lined them with plastic wrap and put an entire recipe in a bucket to give to an office or group. </p>
<p>I’ve made it for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas using the seasonal M & Ms. Also made it for D’s graduation open house using M & M’s of the school’s colors. Ive never found anyone who doesnt like it!</p>
<p>So does “white confectionary coating (almond bark)” mean I’m looking for almond bark made of white chocolate?</p>
<p>Found this recipe online:
[Caramel</a> Popcorn - Fine Cooking](<a href=“http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/caramel-popcorn.aspx]Caramel”>http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/caramel-popcorn.aspx)</p>
<p>It’s much easier than it looks and I use microwave popcorn rather than the old-fashioned kind. (2 of the bigger bags of microwave popcorn) and use a REALLY big bowl</p>
<p>One caution, I threw in chocolate chips into the last batch and the result was very messy. Won’t do that again. But nuts are a nice addition! Enjoy!</p>
<p>I sent my far-away son a gorgeous (and cheap!) Chicago calendar, to remind him to how beautiful our area can be (when it’s not below zero with a foot of snow on the ground, that is). He’s probably not coming home until mid-August, after summer school. boo-hoo</p>
<p>Crate and Barrel had some kitchen utensils on sale on a V-day table; red top ice cream scoop, red spatula, dish towels, etc. Useful items, not too cutesy.</p>
<p>I’ve always been a mushy mom, lol…so V-Day was always right up there with all the other holidays. I missed my kids so much the year they went to college, that I sent up a huge box of silly stuff:) They loved it…I do it, but it isn’t elaborate or expensive. I actually just buy all the silly stuff they loved when they were little kids…and still do. It’s turning out that its more expensive to ship it, then what I buy them, so I think this year I’ll send them $$$ to go out for a nice dinner with their “honeys” :)</p>
<p>Worrywart - I don’t know that almond bark is actually white chocolate (many say there is no such thing as ‘white chocolate’). You find it in the baking aisle of the grocery. The package I used says “Bark Coating - Perfect for Candy Making!” on the front. It has 12 - 2 oz “chunks” in a plastic tray covered with a wrapper. The ingredients say it is made of sugar, oil, and nonfat milk. By the way, the package I found was 24 oz (1 1/2 lbs.) and I just went ahead and used the whole thing (with 3-3.5 oz pkgs of popcorn and 1 lb salted peanuts). Turned out excellent! Still just used 3 tablespoons of peanut butter.</p>
<p>Thanks for the explanation. I’ve never noticed anything like that in my local stores but I’ll take a closer look.</p>
<p>My D called yesterday and today. Yesterday she called to say she got her package and was so excited. She said “I love you mom and dad,” although she knows mom is really the preparer of the box of goodies. (I often ask my H to bring the box to the post office so that he is in compliance w/ the whole thing.)</p>
<p>Today she called because she was so excited to realize that the “Hannah Montana” pen we sent her lit up.</p>
<p>Obviously, Hannah Montana, a light up pen and other things in the box should be way to immature for an 18 yr. old college student. But it made her happy. She admits, to me anyway, she likes some HM songs. Silly things make her laugh. It helps w/ the stress of college.</p>
<p>I have a stack of silly cards ready to send our S: one from each parent, one from the dog, and one Sponge Bob card that I couldn’t resist. He still appreciates silly, too. His girlfriend will be visiting him next weekend, though, so I don’t think cards from the 'rents and the dog will be the highlight of Valentine’s Day.</p>
<p>ebeeee–
if you are still here-- I can relate, unfortunately!</p>
<p>As for the kids: food, food, or food always seems to be a good bet, at least for the boys. Making sure that some of it is chocolate can’t hurt either…</p>
<p>We reached a family agreement to buy a copy of the complete West Wing instead of the usual fancy Valentine’s Day candy 
Still sending some less expensive chocolate & cherry poptarts.</p>
<p>The deacons at our church send “kisses” to members away at college. What we do is buy big bags of hershey kisses during the holidays, use the silver ones then, and separate the red and green ones for Valentines and St. Patrick’s Day respectively…</p>
<p>Whoever said Popcorn Factory…thanks for the heads up!! Just ordered something for D. Using coupon code HRT5 takes $5 off any order til the end of Feb.</p>
<p>Do you do this even if your kid is in a relationship? My s is a freshman so this is new to me, and he has a girlfriend, which is also new to me. This was the boy that would take down his facebook and myspace pages every February 13th just to avoid all the valentines messages because he didn’t want to bother to respond. Not exactly a romantic! But, I do think he’s really infatuated right now, and they’re going to a semi-formal dance on Saturday–again, amazing because he loathes dressing up. So is it weird if I’m sending him something in these circumstances? I don’t want to be the overbearing mom who inserts herself where she doesn’t belong–at least not right now.:)</p>
<p>helenback, I think any college kid would welcome some sort of care package, food, a little check, whatever! I bet the new girlfriend would think it was sweet.</p>
<p>Thanks zipyourlips! I’m going to send something. This is uncharted territory for me because I’ve never seen him so attached to a girl before. The gf visited for a few days during Christmas and I had a startling thought. Though I obviously hope he doesn’t marry for many years, theoretically any girl he brings home from now on could end up being his spouse. Yikes!</p>
<p>My mother, who had a hard time showing her affection, sent me a valentine gift box with a cool embroidered tunic and homemade cookies my first year away at college. I never forgot it. </p>
<p>During my daughter’s undergrad years I always sent a box of cookies and an old movie…vintage Cary Grant, a John Hughes film - something along those lines.</p>
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<p>Morrismm, if you saw the contents of my daughter’s Christmas stocking you would think it was for a ten year old. She will be heading off to med school in the fall. ;)</p>