It’s February, and I just cleaned out our “treat” cupboard and threw away the leftover Halloween candy. The week after Halloween, my kids are nonstop asking for something out of their Halloween bags, but after that first week, they kind of forget about them. Christmas rolls in, and so do some more treats…. agh! Those are quickly forgotten around here, too, though. By January we’ve forgotten what the “treat” cupboard is for (except for my secret stash of chocolate from Europe). Then Valentine’s Day rears its ugly head, and a whole new bag of crud comes home from school.
I never buy the classroom any Valentine’s cards that come with treats. I get the kids a nice recyclable paper card. But this year, I don’t even want to do that. Here are some ideas if you don’t feel like giving into the traditional school Valentine’s cards.
Seeds
So this idea came to me for Halloween treats, but since we don’t get any trick-or-treaters, I’ve never gotten to hand out seed packs. This is a perfect idea for a replacement for candy this Valentine’s day! Pick some easy-for-kids to grown seeds and they’ll be a big hit!
Trading Cards
I find these collectible cards from Bear all over our house. The kids love their fruit rolls, but they really love opening packs to see if they got an animal they don’t have. We routinely go through the collections to see which ones are missing. We even printed out the collection tracker sheet. We have quite a lot of duplicates. If you are in the same situation, why not use the duplicates as Valentine’s cards?
Better-for-you Candy
If you want to give out candy, luckily there are a lot of better-for-you options out there. Brands like Yum Earth and Lovely have organic options that leave out the artificial colors, flavors, and ingredients.
Handmade Cards
One year, my daughter hand-drew everyone in the class a picture to accompany her cards. You could also hand-make your own card and personalize it for each friend.
Get Crafty
After being unable to find a certain country music star-turned-mega-pop artist-themed Valentine’s cards/not wanting to buy a digital download on Etsy/not wanting to promote that singer anyway, my daughter has decided to craft something for the whole class. Making beaded bracelets was one idea. She is an amazing little crochet-er, making everyone adorable little octopi! Does your child know how to do something artistic? Maybe they could make something out of clay or pipe cleaners?
Go through the toy box
This one might not be very realistic, but if your kid has way too many of one thing and it’s time to declutter, perhaps it could be a cute Valentine’s idea. It seems like my son has hundreds of toy cars. I’m pretty sure I could give one to every kid in his class. But I also think he would not like that. But if your kid is ready to donate something like that, it could make a thrifty Valentine.
What non-traditional Valentine’s item have you given?
