Valentines for Your Kids???

My kids love getting a balloon on V-day or just a little beanie baby stuffed animal. Simple and sweet. I have no idea what to get my husband so I am of no help in that department! For the class, just little v-day cards. I took the kids to the dollar store to pick out their cards! CHEAP!

Here's a really cheap and easy thing to do for Valentine's for the class and friends. I got the idea from a magazine. I didn't want to do the hokey cards or candy this year, so I bought little baggies and a box of clementines (mandarines, tangerines). Then I put one in each bag and tied it with a little leaf tag (cut out w/construction paper and hole punch)that said: I'm glad we're friends, orange you? or Orange you glad it's Valentines Day? Or Be mine, Clementine! Then I had my kids write their name. The teacher said they were the most popular ones in class and everybody loved them!

We always had the valentines fairy when I grew up. similar to Santa but on a teeny tiny scale. And she ding dong dicthes things. Nothing more than 10 or 15 bucks per person. Last year I got my kids new raincoats at old navy b/c my kids love them (they have a big sale this weekend with many items under $10)

For my kids class for valentines I scrapbook (well in my former life) but I have a ton of stuff. So I turned my kid loose with some 1/4 sheets of paper I cut and my scraps drawer, paper punches and a glue stick. They are adorable. Not something I would have picked out myself but she was so proud. (they were very modern). She was having a party and we signed up to bring licorice and I thought that was plenty. we didn't add anything.

we are going to disneyworld this week and so I our fairy got the girls princess autograph books and "chocolate pennies" (gold chocolate coins). Something the "need" (ok not really a necessity but I was going to get them anyway so this is 2 birds, one stone).

So something small that they may need but it still on the fun side: a new coloring book, crayons, markers, whatever.

My husband and I had decided not to do gifts b/c of the trip but he broke the rule and did something any way. not too big though. My plan is to make him cinnamon rolls and I am sticking with it. Just make a special day out of it and it will be good.

Happy Valentines.

I've been getting my daughter cute valentine-ish PJ's for the past few years. They are festive but can be worn all year long and is also a neccesity.

Just a thought.

ROFL.... or at least commiseration! Me too!!! And we're dead broke until Thursday, AND just found out we're going to have 4 extra people tomorrow (inlaws) coming to stay the night. Aaaaaack.

It's too late for the class... but similarly on a super tight budget... here are some fun things I'm pulling out of the "OMG... what to do???" box for my kiddo tomorrow.

- Sharpie tattoos. Have done these before... sometimes it's the heart with the "mother" type from peter pan, other times it's a regular heart, or a bow and arrow... essentially it's whatever kiddo wants. Not on his face (although I'll do lipstick marks on his face and then "set" them with cornstarch)... but anywhere else is okay.

- Acryllic Paint tattoos (these wash off super easy at bathtime... I just happen to be out of acrylic paint right now, but have sharpies on hand)

- Baking (hmmm... what's in the cupboard, and what recipe can I find online that matches up with what I have in the cupboard?)

- Heart shaped pancakes for breakfasts... even better if you have any food coloring or red fruits that stain... the BATTER is pinky red, which kids like, even though the pancakes themselves turn regular brown.. the insides are pinkish.

- What do you love about "me" (aka kiddo, daddy, cousins, etc.) list. Sometimes we get very silly with these lists. One from last year was loving how stinky the dog's breath gets. NOT one of mine, but I honestly can't remember if it was kiddo's contribution or dads. Huh. A bad sign.

- Very silly, overly romantic (not sexy, just gushy) photographs. Yay digital cameras.

I don't buy for my children's classes. They brought valentine's for each child but no gifts. I made a small goody bag for each of my children. I did do candy, but you could just as easily buy books, a small stuffed animal, card game, etc. I get my husband a card, but no gift. We each have a birthday in the next few weeks as well as our anniversary so buying an additional gift at Valentine's Day ended years ago :-)!

Good luck,
K.

Depending on the finacial sit. it varies. I do make my girls pillows every year. just throw plillows. It started when I only had 1 kido and no money. I found some red material and an old pillow(used for stuffing) and sewed up a red heart shaped pillow. I've used all different kinds of material. When I have a little more money I'll buy them some nice jammies to go with the pillow. If you have a sewing machine it takes less than a hour to make a pillow. They love their pillows and there great to take for a long car ride, sleep over, etc. The husband is way harder. One year I bought him a small security safe, cut out a heart and told him it was my heart had he had to keep it safe. Good luck!

Happy Valentine's

I agree with Jane M. I don't like to spend money on cheap stuff that's going to end up in the landfill. And, I don't think that kids should be obligated to give stuff to each other, especailly for a playdate.

If your kids want to make something for friends, then that is a nice jesture. Fortunately, at my daughters' school Valentine's are optional and if you are going to bring them, they should be made by the kids. So, I just cut out squares of cardstock, let them trace a heart on it and color/decorate them however they want. They aren't fancy, but they are personal.

I'm a single mom and I am going to use Valentine's Day as an opportunity to make fodue with my daughters for dinner and talk about the things that we love about each other. Might be an idea for an easy way for you to combine celebrating "Love Day" with both hubby and kids and no need to buy trinkets. Maybe give hubby a pair of nice boxers and a meaningful card after the kids are in bed.

I vote for keeping it simple and using it as on opportunity to celebrate the people we love, and not a stressful day filled with things others have made us feel obligated to do.

Growing up Vday gifts always came from my dad. They were usually something small- like a stuffed animal or something. It was very special to me because I was my Dad's "Valentine." We are doing the same thing for my daughter now. My husband got her a stuffed animal this year for Vday.

I went to Dollar Tree and they had a lot of choices. I bought a heart shaped box for my hubby and am making brownies and then cut with a heart shaped cookie cutter. I got a card for 50 cents and it is awesome. They have kids stuff and candy-you name it. have fun!

My kids just do cards for there classmates unless I am involved in helping with their party which this year thankfully I am not. I do get small cute things for my kids... the valentine webkinz are so cute if your kids like that kind of thing (there is a love frog that comes with a minkinz or something so each child has one) walgreens (at least around here) has cute little webkinz puppies in valentine bags for 4 bucks. Can't go wrong there even if you don't use the code and let them play online. Also I give them cards that I make telling them each how special they are and how much I love them. Also girls are so easy there are tons of cute valentine jewlery hair things, pjs. Blanket and pillow sets are really cute from walmart this year if you are like me and don't need any more stuffed animals no matter how cute and soft they are. I also don't like to give candy. I have been trying to figure out my 11 year old son and was still clueless until tonight... we were at friends house for birthday party and my son found a little nerf gun ( I usually don't like nerf because he looses the "ammo" and then the dogs chew and eat them etc. But he loved that gun.... so I'm gonna try to find him one. I think it was a single shot thing so can't loose ammo too bad. You could get your 3 year old boy some legos (just a little set) or new book, board game for his level, etc. Just little gifts that let them know you are thinking about them.
I try to make valentines fun.... this year is gonna be a bit harder since it is on Sunday. Every food I make is heart shaped. Pancakes, grilled cheese (or even peanut butter sandwiches) etc. This gets alittle hard at supper time ... heart shaped pasta cut out of lasagna noodles, heart shaped pizza, chicken and biscuits isn't too bad with heart shaped biscuits. Snacks and deserts are pretty easy. I am gonna try to make each person (hubby and kids) there own heart box of candy (with mini cupcakes) I saw on familyfun magizine or bhg.com something like that was super cute. You decorate the cupcakes to look like the candy you get in those heart shaped boxes and you put them in there and give out. Don't worry about the play date- if it were actally on v-day that would be different.
Not sure what to tell you about hubby- i never know what to buy as a present for any of the men in my life...husband, dad, etc. So figure out some why to make it special for him without.... going shopping.
Don't stress out about this too much. Just make sure your kids know you love them, do something fun even if it is just heart shaped pancakes. Don't worry about the party and playdates. Find some way to let your husband know he is special and let the love flow!
Hope this helps, good luck :)

I come from a different country where Valentine's Day is meant for romance between adults. An annonymous card to someone you're interested in or dinner with your sweetheart. Now I have a child and I live in America, where it seems that "Hallmark" has gotten hold of another tradition (it's not a holiday in my book). Why all the red colored junk that is cheap, won't last and fill up landfills? I'm not sure how I'm going to handle all the classroom stuff when my child starts school, but really, to me it's become based on material things, not love. If you want to include your family, I would suggest an activity that would enable you to spend quality time together. It doesn't have to cost much, a picnic at the beach all bundled up in winter clothes. Christmas is stressful enough don't let this be. PS. I'm making a wonderful dinner for my husband and (hopefully) the baby will be in bed.

I went to the Dollar Tree & picked up Valintine Cards & Pencils for the kids classes (1 has 21 kids the other has 17 kids)... it cost me about $3.00 (1 box of 25 card & 2 12 packs for pencils) per kid. For the family I'm going to bake a Valintine cake for Sunday's dinner & give the kids (2, 4 & 5 yr) a little stuffed animal holding a heart (1.99 ea), a pez despenser (1.29 ea) and a family bag of mini candy bars to share. Hubby isn't really big on holidays & understands things are tight... so he is happy with a little extra attention & a few extra kisses.

We also left out Christmas tree up this year... the kids and I cut hearts out of colored paper, colored and decorated them and hung them on the tree. My grandma use to do it with me when I was younger (and my tree broke last year & she gave me her old tree... so it is the same tree she decorated for the different holidays w/ stuff we made for her). Is kinda nice carring on her way of decorating for the holidays w/ her old tree.

Happy Valintines to you... remember - sometime small things go farther then the expensive things do because they come more from the heart.

I think these holidays are all a bit overdone. My 8 yo made paper hearts and wrote each kids name on it for her class - that was it, no candy, etc. My 5 yo did the same thing, except I cut the hearts out of construction paper and we stuck a label on each one saying "happy valentines day! love Tessa" on each one (no names). I would blow off the class thing unless your kid is absolutely insisting on it. As for the playdate, why don't you bust out the scissors, paper and glue and have them make valentines for their families? That is all they need... they will be in a holiday mood, and it is better to give than to receive, right? I also got each of my kids a book and a new tube of novelty toothpaste (hello kitty or something). My husband gets nothing. (after all, the tradition is that he's supposed to get ME roses, right???) I would not stress about it, before you know it, you will be making St Paddy's day stuff, Easter stuff etc. If other families want to sugar up your kids and waster their money, that is their choice, you don't need to feed into the hype.

If you really feel that you need to do something for your family, why not get the kids involved. Make it a challenge to see how many things they can put hearts on or make into hearts throughout the day. You can use a cookie cutter to cut the breakfast toast and eggs into heart shapes, cut or fold the napkins into hearts, etc. It will be more fun if everyone is involved, and it won't be a burden on you - it will be more of a family sharing time.

I did valentines for my kids class treat bags that I put in smarties & candy bracelets,my son is in kindergarten as a roomparent I signed up to bring other items as well valentines for the boxes & the lil treat bags.
For the kids my son a $5.00 Batman movie t-shirt box of snack cakes,3 yr old 2 t-shirts box of snack cakes bath mermaid toy, baby 10 months pudding a pair of socks & sandals(summer will almost be here)

Last year I wrote my husband and two sons letters for Valentines Day. I wrote what I loved about them and what I appreciated most about them. Just a thought. I got a box a valentines for my son's preschool class at Walmart this year and will have him write theirs/his names on them and put a little treat with it.