I would like to talk about my annoyance at over-achieving holiday craft moms, particularly when it comes to Valentine’s Day.
You see, YOU are making super cute Valentines for “your kid.” And I have to put “your kid” in parentheses because I don’t really think that you’re making these for your kid, as much as you’re making it to put on your blog… you’d be surprised at the things people do with their kids for the sake of a blog post. (We can talk about THAT later.)
But when I see you making overly cute Valentine’s, I assume that you:
- only have one kid AND
- that, that kid is in a small-ish class AND
- that your Valentine budget is much higher than mine.
You see, for MY children, I am willing to spend no more than $10 on ALL of their Valentines…. COMBINED. And really, I’m more comfortable in the $5 range, which is easily accomplished by going to the dollar store and saying, “Pick a box.”
And you see, THAT is how I am being KIND and THOUGHTFUL because if I wanted, I could go to the store myself and pick out really embarrassing Valentine’s for people to pass out, which I may have done in the past, because that is my right as a parent.
However, this year, I’m even going one step further, and letting my kids design their own Valentines. These, we will print out, 6 to a page, and then, my kids will cut them out themselves…. because I’m a giver, and also realistic.
All that aside, the number one reason I think it’s stupid to make fancy Valentines is because they get thrown IN THE GARBAGE.
You are spending time and money on something that other moms are not going to let your kids keep. There is going to be a class party, that might last 30 minutes, and then your sugar-riddled child will come home and the Valentines will be tossed that day.
It’s a harsh reality, I know, and yet, I feel like we need to discuss it.
I mean, you might as well just take the cash out of your wallet, and burn it, because IT’S THE SAME THING.
So while you are staying up late, cutting and gluing and assembling your fancy schmancy Valentine’s, just remember, that they are going to get thrown in the trash. And one more thing: YOUR child? Is going to love the generic, store-bought Valentine character card that we give ‘em.
