Conversations with Conversation Hearts

Chalky, pasty, and just downright nasty, the classic Conversation Hearts candy should be a runner up in the Guinness Book of World Records for “candy that tastes the least like candy.”  (Forgive me if you like them.)  However, Valentines Day just wouldn’t seem right to me without the cute, little, festive icons, so you can imagine how thrilled I was when Nestle came out with Wonka’s SweeTarts Hearts!  And yet, Grandma continues to send the annual package of the “old” kind of confections, and I’m not one who likes to waste things.  So what can you do with candy that no one wants to eat but that was sent from Grandma’s heart?

The name says it all.  Start a conversation!

Now you might think that the one- or two-word phrases these confections brandish are not enough to engage anyone in meaningful conversation.  Have you not talked with your children lately?  Try these suggestions!

1.  Gather your family together, sitting in a circle.  Put a bowl of Conversation Hearts in the center. Take turns drawing a candy.  When a person reads the phrase on the candy, they must turn it into a complete sentence.  Using the usual Conversation Hearts expressions, here are some examples:

Hug me when I’m sad.

Love ya when you’re giggling.

Be mine kitchen slave for a day!

Yes, you do need to take out the garbage.

I’m yours to snuggle and read with.

Kiss me goodnight.

We all know that "kids say the darndest things," and an activity such as this could open eyes and hearts.  (You might even want to take notes!)

2.  Put a twist on the game “I Spy” with the Conversation Hearts version “I Read.”  For example, if I were to pick up a candy that reads Hug Me, I might say, “I love it when _______ (name of child) does this when he wakes up in the morning.”  Clues would go on until the expression was guessed.  If I had a candy that read Be Mine, I’d say, “This is what I want for each one of you forever and ever and it’s why Daddy and I were married in the temple.”  You get the idea.

3.  Play a game of rhyming.  If Be Mine is drawn, you could say, “See twine.”  Hug Me could become, “Slug tree.” Since the pool of expressions is small, it will take creativity to keep going and will inevitably turn to lots of laughter.  Don’t forget to write your precious Valentine “poems” down!

4.  Give impromptu orations using Conversation Hearts and dice.  A person rolls the dice and then picks up the corresponding number of candy pieces.  Within a minute the person has to give a “speech” using each phrase he picked up. You could change this to telling (and/or writing) stories, also.  Additionally, you could draw topics to assign to the speech.  For instance, I roll a three, pick up three random candies, and draw a piece of paper that reads, “Trip to Paris.”  I then have one minute to make up a discourse on traveling to Paris, which must include whatever expressions were written on the Conversation Hearts I picked up.

5.  Last, but not least, have a Conversation Hearts scripture chase.  A candy is read aloud and family members race to find a scripture that includes one of the words on the candy.  Note that no verse of scripture may be used twice, but you may want to allow synonyms such as embrace for Hug Me.

With your hands full of Conversation Hearts, you can have your home full of conversation, and bring your family together in love and learning.