The Great Valentine Dilemma

I kind of like having a touch of pink and red in the middle of a white winter, a little something sweet to eat, and a reason to do something out of the ordinary. However, Valentine's Day always presents a dilemma of some sort. Every year it seems that expecations in general are increased (thanks to the marketers and retailers who force themselves upon us) and I'm beginning to wonder if this holiday isn't a great stimulus for the economy in and of itself.

Although I like to think I'm pretty organized, I don't always plan ahead and have spent many a February 13th at the store rummaging through whatever Valentines are left. This year, I thought I'd avoid any hassles and be prepared in advance. Ha.

The older Jordan gets the more challenging this Valentine stuff becomes. He doesn't want to be the giver of anything too young-looking, anything based on a Disney movie, Transformers or superheroes. I always think the safe alternative at his age is sports. Since I couldn't find any Valentines with a basketball theme (which, I am sure, would have been his preference) I opted for these:

I thought they were cool. I mean, his pockets are always full of little paper objects that the kids at school make and play with. Little paper footballs they flick into a finger-made goal post, etc. So these Valentines sort of double up as the obligatory Valentine you can address and sign as well as a little game -- the type I thought 6th graders were really into. Apparently they're not that cool and Jordan had something else in mind. What? I don't know. But he had to open the box and evaluate everything before telling me that. Being the mean mom that I am, I'm making him keep those cards (I mean really, do the kids take that much notice?) and got this bag of licorice treats he can include to make up for the lameness of the cards.

On the other hand, I knew Jemma would love these cat & dog cards for her classmates. After getting them I realized that they're treat bags, with the card stuck on the front. That means we have to fill the bags and I know that the kids will already be swimming in candy. Thinking she could use Jordan's extra licorice twists as one thing, I went for these cute little heart stamps. She loved this idea at first, but then grew concerned that the boys might mistakenly think they were lip gloss.

Here's Jemma painstakingly addressing each of her treat bags. (We started this task really early - it's a long process for a preschooler to write each name and sign hers on 18 cards.)

Turns out that she was quite offended at the idea of putting licorice in the bags along with the stamps. She had candy hearts in mind. Of course! How could I not think to get candy hearts? She gave in and filled the bags with the licorice anyway, but she's not sealing them yet -- holding out for the hearts.

Luckily, the preschool is making their boxes in class as one of their art projects but Jordan has some pretty big ideas for what he wants his Valentine box to be. I'm afraid we're heading for a late-night, last-minute project with this one.