Like every other craft-loving-DIYing-Pinterest-obsessed-mother, I deal with my post-Christmas withdrawal symptoms by throwing myself fully into the next holiday on my radar: Valentines Day! And, as result, I usually spend the majority of January trolling through Pinterest trying to find uber cute V-day card ideas for my kids.
Yet however much I love crafting handmade cards, our family’s Valentine traditions have evolved in recent years. We just moved to Scottsdale last summer, but we originally hail from the Craft Mecca of Texas. This state probably single handedly determines if Michaels and Hobby Lobby are profitable (think craft closets, craft rooms, and even craft corridors!)
But last year our tradition changed. I had pinned a very cute froggy holding a heart that had some super adorable, universal V-day message, perfectly appropriate for a first grader.
The expected craft time was 15 minutes per valentine so with 21 kids in a class; I figured that in just under 6 hours and $60, my daughter and I could have these valentines completed.
I showed the idea to my daughter, eagerly anticipating her “OOHs!” and “AAhs!” Instead I was greeted by an unexpected response. In a quiet tone, my daughter grumbled
“I think I want to buy my cards this year.”
I tried to remain calm.
Perhaps she didn’t like adorable handmade frogs. I pulled up the pinned items on my iPad and she scrolled through them quickly and continued,
“I want to buy my cards at the store.”
To many crafty kinds of moms, these dirty words “store bought” are blasphemy, and to be honest, I was taken aback. I thought she liked our unique (ok, fine, copied craft from the internet), labor intensive V-day tradition? I had already lost my son to store-bought cards when I couldn’t craft up anymore superhero themed cards, but my daughter too? I thought we were in this together for the long haul!
So the next day, after school pickup-we grabbed some Icees and walked through the V-day aisle at Target. She picked out some cards with baby animals and candy to include with each card. I think the grand total for the excursion including Icees was $8.
We then arrived home, where she grabbed her class list and her sparkly gel pens and got to work on her cards. I sat and watched as she drew peace signs and hearts on the girl cards and smiley faces for the boys. She then taped a piece of candy on each one. It wasn’t very neat but she single-handedly did all the cards by herself. I was starting to see what this new tradition involved and a lot of it was independence. My baby is growing up.
The kids in her class received her store bought cards and I now have an extra $50 and 5 hours added back to my life. I guess it’s not a bad deal at all.
But, the best part really came on the morning of 2/14 when I woke up to a cuddly store bought puppy card that said in glittery pink script:
To: Mom I Love You XOXO.
Love your writing Marina! Welcome back. Cant wait to read more.
I could totally relate, love this article! I’m also a former Texan, living away from the state and the urge to craft still runs deep, haha! My middle school aged son is way too cool for Valentine’s and my elementary school daughter only wanted store bought cards with One Direction on them. She put them all together and taped on a candy bar and was done. Not quite the Valentine’s I once dreamed about making with my kids but she was happy.
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