Valentine’s Day
Photo By Sister72
Second to Halloween in candy and to Christmas in love, Valentine’s Day could quite possibly be my favorite holiday. It’s one of those days that just comes and goes; a split second in time to feel loved… or absolutely miserable. But when you’re a kid, any holiday is a good holiday, especially when it involves gifts, candy, and parties.
Why I loved It
I love a holiday that is all about loving others. It’s a good excuse to spread some love in the world! Even though I collected my elementary Valentine’s Day cards for a really long time (still have the collection!) it wasn’t about that for me, it was about giving the cards instead. When I was little I bought the themed ones, and it was all about picking out the right card. You didn’t want to send the wrong message after all! Once I got a little older, I started making my own, which I enjoyed much more because it was much more personal and fun.
The Right Card
Obviously you would save the “Will you be my Valentine?” and the “You’re fine, Valentine!” for the guys you really had a crush on. The weird guys would get the least suggestive ones so as not to get the wrong idea. The girls didn’t matter as much, but sometimes I would try to get a different type of card to give them so that they were more girlie– like Barbie.
Photo By Penguin & Fish
The best cards in elementary school came with stickers… or even better candy, glowed in the dark, were a tattoo, basically something other than just a card. I also enjoyed the cards that came with word searches, crosswords, and mazes though.
It was always interesting to see what the popular “gift” of the year was. Everyone would usually get the same theme of card or candy to give out. I remember one year I got a ton of the big cards you’d stick a lollipop in.
Mail Boxes
Photo By ninjapoodles
Decorating a box was also my favorite part. Basically I loved any excuse to be crafty. I would secretly compete with everyone to try to make the best box in the class. There was nothing like digging around for a shoebox, cutting up construction paper, and decking out your box. It just didn’t feel like Valentine’s day without a personalized, decorated box! The boxes made delivering cards fun cause you got to see what everyone else’s looked like. The trick was making your mail slot big enough to fit a wide variety of goodies.
Parties and Candy
In elementary school, the entirety of this day (or the closest day to it) was spent eating cupcakes, hanging out, and exchanging cards. At least that’s how I remember it. You wore a ton of pink and red and decked yourself out in hear. There were also lots of red and pink decorations.
Photo By jek in the box
There were always the candy hearts and the distinct heart shaped lollipops. Most of the candy was came in Valentine themed wrappers. Plus mom and dad were usually pretty awesome about getting you a stuffed animal or box of chocolates to make you feel good.
Valentine’s day was definitely something to look forward to because unlike when you’re older… everyone could feel loved even without that special someone.
My Favorite Memory
The best Valentine’s day memory I have is from the 5th grade when I was boy crazy in love with this guy that I had a super big crush on but he had no interest in dating me. I don’t think I ever had a crush after him that could really compare it to. Well I was really excited about giving him a Valentine, but when the magical day came… he didn’t come to school! I couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t there… it was the WORST Valentine’s day ever! How could he do such a thing to a love struck 10 year old? How was I supposed to show my undying love for him if he wasn’t there?
Well I survived… and I conjured up a scheme to match no other. I went through all of the candy hearts I had gotten at school that day and picked out the ones that had the best sayings on them. Then I cut out 2 hearts from construction paper, put the candy hearts in the middle of them, and sewed them up by using a hole puncher and some yarn. So basically it was a construction paper heart filled with candy hearts. The next day I learned that he had been sick, so I forgave him and gave him the gift I had made.
Photo By CarleyJane
He loved it so much! Or at least he pretended to. I can still remember the feeling I got from seeing his reaction. I’m pretty sure I wrote about it in my diary. Not like it really mattered since we never became boyfriend and girlfriend or whatever. It’s funny looking back on this because five years later we became pretty good friends. The moral of this story is that if you’re a guy, and I give you an awkwardly random present, pretend to love it because I probably have a silly crush on you.
Please share with us your favorite Valentine’s Day memories. Even if you don’t have anyone to be with on Valentine’s Day, I hope its a good one! I’ll be sending my love your way =]
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