VALENTINE’S GIFTS FOR KIDS
Growing up, one of my favorite memories was waking up to a silly stuffed animal and box of chocolates from my Dad on Valentine’s Day. I’m not even sure I could fully see the love at this moment until I was an adult. My first Valentine’s Day as a married woman was a tad bit disappointing because I woke up to a very typical day. No stuffed animal and chocolate were waiting for me on the breakfast table. No fault of Aaron’s; he had no idea that this had been a tradition in my life for 23 years before him.
As a parent now, I can imagine how his shopping went. On his way home, my dad probably ran into Walgreens and scored the last red elephant holding a heart that said “I love you” and the last box of chocolates on the shelf. That has been my life in parenting. I’m usually heading up to the drug store at 9:00 pm on February 13th only to find the worst candy and four stuffed animals to choose from – anyone else?
Spending money on a stuffed animal that is way overpriced and will be thrown away soon from a teenager seems frivolous, but for me, it is nostalgic. I remember the feeling, even as a teenager, of seeing something waiting just for me on the dining room table before I went to school. My dad was long gone to work, but I knew he thought of me that morning, and I felt loved.
Now, I’ve been trying to do this for my kids on special occasions. Starburst on the table the day of the Starr Test (Standardized test here in Texas), cookies with their initials on them for the first day of school, very over-priced stuffed animals on Valentine’s day!
Please don’t get the impression that I’m a crafty mom over here – good gracious! I have forgotten a lot of years to do anything on special days, and most times, I’m at the store the day before searching for anything red for Valentine’s Day. My point here is that my Dad made me feel loved with the smallest of gifts, and I’m trying to do that with my kids.
For Valentine’s Day, my kids are getting some cute pj’s, a very over-priced stuffed animal, some candy, and a card this year. Nothing fancy, but enough that says, “I love you, and I thought of you”.
I’ve included some ideas for Valentine’s day gifts for your kids here – just click the photo for the link to purchase!
* I need to note something here. I have never investigated this, and maybe I just don’t want to know, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it’s very likely that my mom actually bought these gifts and let my dad be the hero. That’s teamwork right there!
What are your go-to gifts for your kiddos??
