Even though we homeschool, my kids through the years have participated in Valentine exchanges. It was easy to find Valentines when the kids were younger. They didn’t really care what the cards said (especially if they couldn’t read yet), as long as they received them and any accompanying treats. As my kids have gotten older, it’s become more difficult to find age-appropriate cards to exchange. For example, it would be a little awkward for my 13-year-old son to hand his buddy a card with a llama on it that read, “You’re Llamazing!” Since I needed some this year, I decided to make my own Valentines to use with dollar store items.
What age do you consider to be “older kids?”
The cards are suitable for any age, but I was thinking upper elementary to middle school, or even high school (yes, my high school kids actually gave out Valentine treats this year to their Community Bible Study class).
Why pair the Valentines with dollar store items?
You can find some great deals on goodies at dollar stores. It’s true that you can buy cards with treats already included, but they do tend to be for younger kids. Also, the treats tend to be toys or pencils that older kids may not favor.
Since you can’t go wrong with edible goodies, that’s what I’ve chosen to accompany the cards. While some of the cards require specific edibles, others allow you more flexibility.
I shop at the Dollar Tree, and there you can find packs of six snack sized candy bars. There were Snickers, Milky Way, Baby Ruth, and Twix. I designed this card to be used with Snickers, but you can really use any chocolate candy.
For this card, you can use any snack in a cup.
I found quite an assortment of treats in cups. There were jello cups, and pudding cups in various flavors. If you want to go healthy, choose applesauce cups. On a side note, I took the picture intending to make a card using fruit roll-ups, but that didn’t materialize. Maybe next year!
I was bummed this year to not find microwave popcorn at my dollar store, but if you can find it, the packs can be used with this card:
If you can find M&Ms, you can use cards that I found at My chocolate moments.
How do you attach the dollar store items to the Valentines?
I honestly just make a loop of tape and either tape the treat to the front or back of the card.
For this one, you can buy a 5 pack of Extra gum at Dollar Tree. I would tape the gum pack to the front.
If you are curious about the size of the cards, here’s a shot of what they look like next to the snack item.
Those shortbread cookies were a steal! They were four packs (of six cookies each) for $1.25.
Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
If you are interested, I have a devotional titled Blessings Like Chocolate that describes, well, how blessings are like chocolate!
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