Kids Off The Couch - Please Be Our Valentine ♥

Please, pretty please, would you be willing to show us some love this Valentine's Day by filling out a survey? We can't promise chocolate or rainbows, but do vow to listen to everything you say and use your suggestions to do a better job for you in 2011. Don't you wish your significant other would promise as much!?

DIY VALENTINES: We've thrown a Valentine making party each year since the kids were in kindergarten and love how relaxed everyone becomes when cutting heart shapes with scissors and dreaming up silly love rhymes. Here's all you need to do: make a quick run to a craft store and stock up on scissors, paste, stickers, ribbon, glue and glitter. Pile supplies in the center of a big table (don't forget to cover the table with a cloth) and be sure to serve up something chocolate. You'll be surprised what gets discussed when the subject is love! Click here to read our Popcorn Adventurethat paired Cocteau's black and white classic Beauty and the Beast with a Valentine's Day party.

IF YOU LOVE THE MUPPETS: The Hammer is hosting a free screening of The Muppet Movie on Sunday (2/13) at 11:00 AM as part of their Family Flicks film series. Parking is $3 below the Museum. Head over to Yogurtland after the screening for a yummy treat.

IF YOU LOVE MUSIC: The 53rd Grammy Awards are taking place at Staples Center on Sunday night (2/13) and will air on CBS. With an incredible line up that includes Mick Jagger, Barbara Streisand, Bob Dylan and Dr. Dre parents can talk about some of their favorite artists -- and then, listen as the kids explain why they like Lady Gaga.

IF YOU LOVE FILM: The Aero Theater on Montana is hosting a fabulous film series this weekend called That Special Valentine's Day Weekend: Romancing the Screenwith romantic titles ranging from Casablanca to The Notebook.

IF YOU LOVE CHOCOLATE: Our favorite local candy man is Jonathan at Compartes Chocolatier. We have a weakness for the Sweet Sloops made in Maine at Harbor Sweets. And, one of our newest subscribers has a chocolate making company calledChocoveda. We haven't tried it yet, but sure want to!

IF YOU LOVE US: Don't forget to fill out the survey. It's only seven questions long and will be dropped into your in-box tomorrow!

Kids Off The Couch

If you like what we do, please tell a friend to sign up! info@kidsoffthecouch.com

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Kids Off The Couch Ticket Giveaway - LA Phil Presents Toyota Symphonies for Youth: Jazz and the Orchestra

February 19 & 26 at 11:00am at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Family Four Pack Ticket Giveaway

Getting kids to love music is as easy as switching on your iPod and sharing your favorite play list. Teaching them how music is created could take a lifetime, so get started with an excellent series of concerts, LA Phil Presents Toyota Symphonies for Youth. These popular shows always sell out early, because they provide a clever and entertaining deconstruction of how music is made by an orchestra. Kids are invited into Walt Disney Hall to hear short musical selections, and learn the basics of how a symphony produces its melodious harmonies -- how wind instruments differ from their brass and string counterparts, how styles of music vary, and how the conductor brings everything together. Adults will come away having learned something as well!

Where and When: Tickets are still available for February's shows LA Phil Presents Toyota Symphonies for Youth: Jazz and the Orchestra (2/19 and 2/26). Join the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conductor Joshua Weilerstein, and legendary jazz artist John Beasley in a musical celebration of the exuberance of jazz music. Book now for seats in April's series, LA Phil Presents Toyota Symphonies for Youth: The Hero Composer(4/23 and 430). Explore how the composer can be a hero in our lives.

Enter to Win: Kids Off the Couch subscribers are eligible to win a Family Four Pack for the February 26 concert. Please send us a note if you're able to attend the 11:00 AM show. Winners will be chosen by Tuesday, February 15. Don't forget to include your phone number so we can reach you if you are chosen!

Touring Walt Disney Hall: The Toyota Symphonies for Youth take place in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, giving families the chance to explore Frank Geary's beautiful and unusual building. Click here for a schedule of the official hour-long tours of the building, but we think most kids are best off just walking up to the rooftop garden, and then following the staircase that leads up and around the metallic wings of the building.

Other Treats: Our kids loved The Philharmonic Gets Dressed, a picture book about the members of an orchestra getting ready in their separate apartments before coming together at Carnegie Hall to make music. Click here for other books that will help you get ready for a trip to Disney Hall.

info@kidsoffthecouch.com