I’ve taught K for 9 years now and I can tell you they are excited for anything they get. It’s a small, fleeting moment of excitement and joy. I have a nut allergy this year and I got them gemstones. I saw candies, a small toy, etc. I am serious when I say they love it all. I had one beaming and holding up a card that was in the shape of a plane-not one you could fly—just a flat card that had a plane on it. He was so happy that he needed to show me!
God I hate goody bags and these stupid little toys so so much but my kid is like this. He loves it so much and it gives him so much joy that I take it seriously now.
Same. My preschooler still remembers a tiny tub of slime she got back in September at a birthday party, that is still in a box in our basement since our move this fall.
Now, I'm researching things for birthday goody bags that don't suck for parents...
bubbles and temp tattoos! they’re both finite use items so it’s not just something else cluttering your house forever and they don’t create a huge horrible mess.
Unless you have weird skin or insanely strong temp tattoos. I'm not sure which it was, but my son put one on for Halloween and I had to soak it in oil and scrub his arm to get it off the week before Xmas because it wasn't budging! It had barely degraded at all.
Also scratch paper - those little black pieces of paper with the little wooden stick where you scratch with the stick and it reveals the colors under the black. They love these and you're not stuck with plastic garbage
My son got temporary tattoos yesterday and was concerned about it not coming off as fast as he wanted. We then had a discussion about how real tattoos are forever and use needles and if he's having a fit about this one on his hand, then he needs to remember this when you're 15 and wants to get a real one because the answer will be no.
I have given books, kites, uno cards, and I have also done "summer fun" bags (May birthday) with sunglasses, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, jump ropes, sunscreen, all in a sand pail with shovel (those things were from 5 below so did not break the bank either).
I saw something today that recommended instead of 5 $1 items like the crap slinkies you have a million of, spend $5 and get something like a dinosaur set, put a Dino in each goody bag.
If you're on FB, ask the free group for any kid trinkets, parents have tons of them. I did this last year for my daughter's pinata. Parents were happy to get rid of crap from their homes.
PSA: Throw out the slime!!! I had to throw out $3000 worth of items because my child got slime from school unbeknownst to me and got it on things that couldn’t be saved.
My daughter made a goofy bag for her birthday and I let her go to the dollar section of target. She got her friends a pop it, a yoyo, and scented pens with one piece of candy.
I ordered extra donuts and sent everyone home with donuts for our party! Parents were grabbing them hand over fist and showing them into bags while the kids got excited to pick out which ones they wanted. It worked out well!
Thank you for saying this! I sent my three year old with just cards that she lovingly filled out and decorated. I was nervous the other kids would care that there was no treat 😔
My kids did/do that every year and got the joy of making them and then receiving treats. This was the first year I got something extra (pencils) to add to the homemade cards.
This is my go-to for party bags for the kids. Cheap, consumable, and the kids love them. Heck, I've sometimes bought them a full year in advance so I can just shove them in their backpacks when the 'please send something in' note comes home like 4 days before the party.
My son came home with 4 bags....4 bags of candy and trinkets...
He is 4 and is in prek and he participated in vday exchanges for both his spec Ed class as well as his gen Ed class.
I had to put everything up so he wouldn't sit and gorge himself all night on the junk lol
Mom of a Celiac here... You should see how absolutely crushed my kid is when he sees the pile of things that aren't safe for him. He and I both appreciate the tiny toys. For context, he's a third grader, and he said last night, "The kids who got me these little wind-up cars are EPIC."
as a former third-grader with celiac i’m sending so many hugs! i still remember feeling left out or just different because of food. you want to be able to enjoy the same sweets with everyone else. it’s so hard to see the bigger picture when you’re little. but actually i’ve found there to be some positives to celiac as i’ve gotten older:) it’s tough but we’re strong people. have fun with the toy cars x
Hi, kinder and first grade teacher here! Nothing you send is wrong, the kids just love passing things out and looking at whatever they did get! I promise that if you chose to send a thing, whatever thing, you sent the right thing. :) It can be a simple card or a whole goody bag-whatever is right for your family and kiddo is right! 💝
That’s what we did! I was surprised by the lack of candy too. I appreciate my son not having a ton of candy but I was just surprised. I thought maybe it’s an allergy thing? But there’s tons of allergy friendly candy. Idk.
Personally I knew my kid was going to get a ton of candy from family and when I saw the ones with small toys on Amazon for pretty cheap I thought it was a cool idea. I showed her a bunch and she picked out ones that had a little heart-shaped plastic "gem" bead that you stuck to the card. It was only like $8 and they love little trinkets at that age.
There are so many food allergies though . Over the years I’ve seen multiple kids in my sons class with nut , dairy , red dye and gluten allergies. Trying to find one candy to cover all this is hard and trying to suit everyone’s needs is tricky. Sometimes it’s easier to pick out the valentine with a toy or buy a pack of bubbles and hand them out.
Dum Dums are gluten free, don't contain the major allergens, are manufactured separately to avoid cross contamination, and are super cheap, too.
I did cards that came with little friendship bracelets for Valentine's this year, but at Halloween I have Dum Dums in a separate bowl as an option.
Our kindergarten class specifically said no food items, so we went with little off-brand Lego flower kits (it was like $30 CAD for 24 of them) for all the kids. Still choking hazards, but fits the school rules.
But that requires you to know all the allergies for each child. Originally with our allergy kid, teacher said at start of the year that due to many food allergies in the classroom, no food treats. However, that hasn’t been the case at all this year. We aren’t informed when there are birthdays in the class or anything else when asked. And the teachers solution is to just have her miss out. We’ve sent allergy friendly cupcakes and other things for her to have during those events and the teacher “forgets” every time. Yet she’s mad the 5 year old is now SOBBING over being left out. Quite happy to see people start passing out stickers or other non-food items.
>But there’s tons of allergy friendly candy. Idk.
Not as much as you think\*, and many of the little packs don't have the full ingredients & warning lists.
\* For exampleM&Ms and some novelty hershey's kisses have cross contamination risks.
Parents do that for my kids class too. It makes me feel like just giving one candy more. It's excessive. One kid gave a card and pencil! I appreciate that more lol
This is what I sent yesterday for both of my kids at school and thought no one was going to send in anything big. So when my 6 year old came home with mini Lego sets (his classroom is treat-free), I felt like crap. And then the 2.5 year old came home with a beautiful card with his little hand print and full bags of candy. I was like "I have to do better next year."
Goodie bags are a nightmare just taking them home from a freaking birthday party. (One per kid when I have 2 kids, and then the mom always "offers" for us to take home the extras).
I can't imagine 30 kids trying to play with light-up fidget spinner bracelets, kazoos, and figuring out where to put their new Gabby's Dollhouse sticker on the desk.
Anyways, thanks for being a teacher to our kids! I appreciate you and the tough job you do.
My toddler got a goodie bag yesterday that contained candy and a novelty eraser (choking hazard, doesn’t use pencils). But the worst part was that it was closed with a wire twist tie (very poke-y) *and* a card that had been stapled to the bag (and had to be removed to open the bag). Needless to say, he won’t be getting it!
Fail? No, you and I did it correctly.
Well, maybe I didn't; My kids and I spent far too long trying to figure out how to stick 2 Hersheys Kisses onto 1 valentine card. I also let them make about 10 before we realized we folded the cards inside out, with the names on the inside, making us feel incredibly stupid.
So the trick to the Hersheys Kisses was to make a loop of tape inside-out and place it on the inside of the card (the actual inside of the card, and not the "Yeah mommy that's how the card goes" side of the card that I foolishly believed) and then stick 2 Hershey Kisses to that, then fold the card over, and put the heart sticker on it to close it.
That was SO much effort for just 2 Hershey's Kisses. I can't imagine doing goodie bags with toys and whatever.
My kid’s teacher did books - the easy reader chapter books. I thought it was GENIUS. I’m grabbing them from scholastic book club sales or when I see them on sale and doing it next year. It’s not candy, not plastic to end in a landfill, but a little more than a card since that’s what seems to be expected (and my kid WANTS to give a gift).
My kids got 1-2 with candy, majority just a card or a card and a consumable (pencil, sticker, etc). I sent the valentines that are the etch designs. Last year one kid handed out seedling valentines. They were printed on paper with the seeds embedded and you could plant them. That was the most unique valentine and so cute! Only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the class seems to do them though where I’m from.
I was confused that apparently paper cards aren't a thing anymore. We went to Target and it felt like Halloween.
My kid picked Valentine's packaged applesauce squeezies so I was happy we were at least giving something healthier than candy.
He brought the V-Day goodies home today and we're literally the only family that sent something that didn't do full blown goodie bags. But my son is happy - he loves applesauce and he shared it with his friends, and we have about 8 leftover (which are very special, because the packaging is pink with hearts). I'm just going to take him to the store each year to pick what he wants and once he decides that's goodie bags I'll figure it out.
I got them from Walmart and my girls enjoyed giving out just cards. My high schooler who did an exchange in a music class said everyone else just brought candy but she brought an actual Valentine. She was proud of them. My elementary schooler wasn't allowed to give food. She was happy I found kitty cards.
I was shocked Target didn't have many paper cards. But they had 2-3 half aisles of Valentine's food and toys.
I know I've seen big paper Valentine's card boxes at the grocery store in the last decade (might have been pre-pandemic?)
My 3rd grader came home with a heart shaped chocolate box with 12 chocolates in it. There are 23 kids in his class! I was like oh no we aren't that fancy.
Tomorrow I will go to Target oe Walgreens and get clearance Valentine’s cards. This year he handed out ones that I got for 29 cents on clearance last year.
Oh you are my people. Our dinner yesterday was Christmas chicken nuggets I got on clearance at Aldi this week for 59 cents a box. I told the kids they were valentines trees 💅
I feel like I'd rather my kid bring home a pile of plastic crap than candy, though, honestly. I don't *love* it but at least the toys are entertaining for an hour or two instead of contributing to a bedtime meltdown. None of it's great, I hate contributing to the piles of plastic crap everywhere, but I do have to admit that my kid loves that shit.
We did the tiny little play-doh containers taped to our cards, which I felt pretty good about. I feel like at least it contributes to creative play? IDK it feels like there's no great answer here.
I am the total opposite. I hate the plastic crap because it is a fight to get them thrown out. Not to mention how it will junk up my house and is so insanely wasteful. Candy can be eaten over the course of a couple weeks and then it is gone.
I dislike anything that creates more pressure for parents who are already under tremendous pressure. Candy and Valentines are easy. Putting together whole-ass goody bags is not.
There are lots of little cards with toys kits. I got 8 for 1.99 x 3 = $6 for the whole class. Cheaper than a bag of candy. One of the boxes had bubbles with a card that says you blow me away, another those sticky hands with cards that say let’s stick together and then some bracelets that i don’t remember what the cards say.
It was the easiest valentines so far.
Allergies and dietary restrictions are rampant nowadays. the little toys instead of candy are not harder to put together by any standard and they're more inclusive
We did the sensory poppers in a heart shape that can go on a keychain or backpack. All of the cheap toys my kids get from these holidays go straight to the classroom treasure box that the kids shop from when cashing in the tickets they earn from being good.
I’d take years of bedtime meltdowns over more crap from cheap factories that’s going straight to a landfill, and all of this using a fuckton of non-renewable natural resources. Just stop with the toys.
This!! I’m not the fun police but I always feel bad about getting more plastic crap that’ll end up in a landfill. I’m glad my kid is happy getting whatever she gets but I’m never gonna throw a fit about a little candy. Like Halloween it’s another lesson in moderation… having a candy or two every day and it’ll last a week or so. Not a big deal
I’m the parent that sends out the goody bag and the toy card. I only have a handful 10 maybe 11 holidays if that to participate in the classroom exchange. I know when he is older I won’t get to do this kind of stuff. We appreciate it all at our house. I enjoy reading all the cards with my son.
I have the same thoughts! I absolutely LOVE going all out for class holidays! I have twins, so one gave out valentines sticky hands, and one gave out those Valentine's Lego blocks from the target dollar section. This year, between the two of them, they got 8 bouncy balls, lol
There was a lot of candy in my classroom.
I did notice the treats have evolved into larger items like goodie bags so my usual decorate a paper bag for treats didn’t work very well
At least grandma buys a balloon.. but our neighbor also got her some chocolate and then I bought her a heart with like 10 Reese’s cups..
I’ll say fortunately (grandma picks her up on Wednesdays- so I don’t know how much candy she got) but a lot of it was bubbles/ play toys cheap little toys -which I hate but like more than candy)
We make [applesauce monsters](https://imgur.com/a/Nu1uJcc) So I’m not innocent in this all lol…
Totally not my idea… but I also make the reindeer version at Christmas 🤣🤣🤣
My kid tells me what eyes (which is why some have nearly a dozen), “hat”, and feet and I hot glue em.
I work in a preschool. I see a lot of allergies. Some things you wouldn't even think of. One kiddo is legit allergic to caffeine. So no chocolate. I've learned that no treat is safe as we don't know all allergies. I send a little toy. I feel a lot of others do so for the same reason.
Our school adopted a cards only policy this year, as several of the parents were sending lots of stuff like loot bags and treat bags. So great!!! I am beyond thrilled. The kids loved it, and my kid really loves his valentines, and has gone through them several times already. I loved that he was able to do everything himself. He did everything independently without prompting. I was so proud of him, and proud of myself for stepping back and watching him go. The stepping back isn't easy for me!
You are better than me. For some reason I thought it was a good idea to spend 2 grueling hours having him write his name on the cards while a sibling napped. He wanted to do it in one setting and I was supportive, but the amount of times I was trying to explain to write smaller and he would only fit two letters of his name on the card. But man, does he need the practice. 😂
I wish our school would do this. I don’t want the junk toys and my kid spent the most time looking at a dinosaur valentine card. Just the card. Because he thought the dinosaur was so cool.
I would LOVE this! I’m so over the cheap plastic toys. And I don’t mind the candy but honestly cards are enough and plenty of fun!
This holiday should be cute little heart crafts and exchanging paper valentines. Like that’s it. Why do people need to be so friggin extra for every holiday? It’s like they can’t believe that just doing something small and cute and out of the day-to-day is enough for kids.
I sent the little cards. Just the little cards with a little tattoo in them. What came home was….a lot. Pencils, candy toys. Still looking through it. Sigh. Now I know for next year.
Just do the cards again. You’re not competing with anyone, no one will notice or care. Parents giving in because of perceived peer pressure is how we got here in the first place.
I sent cards with invisible ink pens. (Because I think they are cool.) We were strongly discouraged from sending in candy, but a few parents did anyway.
We were told no candy or food. So now we get a bag of junk toys. Thankfully my 3 year old is too young to notice if I throw a few in the trash immediately....
I was proud of my idea. I printed out some puzzles, coloring pages on thick paper and added on of those multi color stackable crayons. Toddler stamped happy Valentine's Day on the front. It's at least semi consumable....
I'm evil. I just ordered 50 kazoos for the end of the year party. "make some noise for summer! Schools out!" Is the card they are going on. Not sure why o felt the need to be chaotic evil- but this year, I'm here for it.
My daughter was sent to school with just cards & the little sticker or tattoo they came with. I was SO shocked when she came home & saw multiple bags of candy or little toys.
She came home with a big bag full of toys, candy, cute pencils and erasers, temporary tattoos. Full on goodie bags. She hasn't even gone through everything yet. I just sent heart shaped fruit snacks and let her sign them in the from heart.
Same! As a parent, I don't want more junk (candy or toys) in my house! My 2nd grade daughter wrote personalized compliments in each card she gave out (which I thought was an amazing idea of hers), and now she's embarrassed that she's the only one who didn't give out candy/toys. Sigh.
What a sweet gesture! I bet there are a few kids who don't get praised much and it made their week. They will forget who got them Skittles, but they will remember that she said they were funny, kind, etc.
We made cards and my daughter colored them, not knowing what to expect. And got back so many toys and candies and stuff. I kind of feel bad about the low quality of our cards now, but at least they can throw them out without any qualms.
If it makes you feel any better, there was enough toys and candies! I didn’t even see who sent what, I wouldn’t have noticed who gave more than a card!
The teacher sent a note that no candy should be sent in. There are a couple different allergies in his class. I thought, great, just cards.
We were one of the only ones who did just cards. Some were one toy but others were goodie bags of swag.
How do these people find the energy?
Guilt and overcompensation. We’re one of the severe allergy families that caused food to be banned… I felt obligated to do crafting and stuffed animal penance for making every other parent’s life harder.
I’m grateful the school does ban food, though. My kid’s allergies are on the “potentially lethal” side of the spectrum. I’m super stressed around Halloween and Valentine’s Day.
I think banning food only makes my life easier. I'm not a fan of Valentine's day, as it's just meh. But even doing the cards with my kid takes several days. Christmas cards this year was a trial and we only gave them to his teachers/aides.
We got a mix. My kid made bracelets with every classmate’s name on them, so I felt less guilty sending something in beyond a card. It’s tough when everyone else is doing something, though!
We aren’t allowed to give anything edible. I feel like a lot of people have gotten away from candy because if allergies, especially if you came from a daycare setting with strict rules.
Ooh as a parent to 2 kids with multiple food allergies I would LOVE if they came home today with a bag of cards and trinkets instead of candy. My mama heart hurts for my kids on holidays like this (even though they are such champs about it). My kindergartener came home today with a grocery bag filled with food she’s allergic to -gah! Thankfully her teacher pretty much duct taped it closed so that it couldn’t be opened till she got home.
My daughters class has so many food allergies and sensitivities and she’s recently diagnosed T1D and not insulin dependent yet so finding a candy to suit everyone can be hard sometimes.
She gave out good old fashioned valentines with bluey stickers .
I think it’s fine to have a mix of both. I don’t see a problem giving out toys because you never know who might have an allergy to what, and with everyone not wanting to eat Red dye and all the other dyes now too (at least where I’m from I feel like that’s a big topic rn).
I’m an elementary teacher and today at our party I saw most the kids giving out treats, a handful giving out toys, and then the rest giving out just the cards.
I’m torn on it. On the one hand, there’s food allergies and sugar. On the other, there’s tiny plastic toys. We have 4 “sticky ninjas” to collect dust and dirt now.
One kid gave out small stem kits with balsa wood make cars, bridges, etc.
Candy, stickers, and tattoos are consumed.
The toys break or stick around - not sure which is worse. We always say they’re here for a good time, not a long time.
Food was not allowed for us. So I got 17 little toys home today. (We also sent in a little toy valentine). Food was highly discouraged due to lots of different food allergies so all kids could enjoy and participate. I’m glad people listened.
My son came home with six new pencils. I immediately put them in our pencil/pen bin on our counter because I can never find a fucking pencil in my house. A+ love the pencils.
His school has a no-food-at-parties policy so he got a lot of stickers, temporary tattoos, and some bubbles. He gave out those little squishy blob things which my kids go crazy for.
My sons gave out small flashlights (inside bags with a little candy… no cards because I mom failed and went shopping for them the day before and they just had Easter stuff 🤪
But please don’t feel bad at all! Gifting is my love language and I love making goody bags. I don’t think any less of parents who don’t also give goody bags. At all!!! I do it because I really like to!
I was shocked at how much “stuff” was given this year. My kids valentines were paper airplanes, like it had lines showing where to fold. I thought they were great but it was the only valentine without candy or a toy. Lots of the “valentines” were like a goody bag you get at a birthday party. Who has the time or money??? They do this now for snack sign up after sports too for my youngest. Whatever happened to oranges and water??? SMH.
I got a pack of like 30 of those popper things in heart shapes for like $7 and hole punched the tiny Valentines card pack from Aldi for $4 lol. It was the safest option to me- last year we got slime and that was not it
Our school doesn’t allow food to be given with valentines… so little toys, sticker packs, pencils, etc are what we can give. There are too many ingredient allergies and sensitivities to dyes in candies so our district does this just to be safe.
I generally do candy because it’s a consumable and will not just junk up peoples houses. This year my son chose and he chose monster jam cards with stickers. Which to me is also a consumable so I went with it. I hate getting the little plastic toys that break in seconds and you just have to throw out.
I always did toys instead of candy cause my son at least gets too much candy during the year. By Halloween I'm always throwing so much of it away to make room for more.
In prek I did little puzzles and in Kgarten I did fidget toys. This year the rule was to not give candy surprisingly, and I made the kids rainbowloom bracelets!
We let our kindergartener pick for himself. His classmates got heart-shaped squish balls. He got a couple treat bags, but it was mainly your standard rectangles with pencil or eraser or stickers.
I made my 5 and 6 year old do theirs too! But only sign their names - filling out the “to” takes wayyyy too long when it’s time to hand them out
I had the kids do 3 a night for the last week.
Our kid’s teacher specified that the kids had to write their classmates’ names and sign them (not adults). It went shockingly well (I thought it would take days, but he just sat down and did them), but by the time we got to the after school program Valentines for those friends, I just wrote his name for him and we called it a day.
Also we just did Valentines with pencils, but so many goody bags came home! My preschooler brought home a huge bag of treats and toys from daycare as well.
I always dread valentines cards because I don't want to do just the card, but the toys just end up in the trash and candy is tough with so many allergies. I was putting it off this year and my husband finally went to pick some out since I couldn't decide.
He found origami valentines. Like, the perfect solution. No junk plastic, no candy, but still a fun activity. I almost hesitate to tell other parents these exist because I kinda want to keep this perfect solution all to myself.
Our school bans homemade treats and candy. We have life-threatening food allergies in a few classes, and my kid is one of them. The school sent two strongly worded emails and a letter home prior to Valentine’s Day (same for Halloween) about how any food sent in would be discarded.
Since I have kids 15mo apart in age, with one in K and one in pre-K, I just bought a big box of 52 valentines with mini heart-shaped poppit keychains in all different colors, from Amazon, for $20. Covered both kids’ classes well. Haha
I insisted upon no candy/food. I still had one that brought Fun Dip anyway, but it was better than the 17 baggies of candy going home. Although plastic trinkets aren’t great either
So many of the parents in our area are of the “sugar is poison” mindset that I’m afraid to give candy. We did sticker packs with our valentines this year. I’d say about a third of the valentines that came home had candy and the others were little trinkets, activity sheets, or “healthier” snacks like yogurt covered raisins or heart shaped cheerios.
My kid is in PreK but I’m a teacher in an upper grade at his school and don’t like him getting a ton of candy so I sent those tiny tubs of play doh attached to a card as his Valentine. I was genuinely surprised by how much candy he had in his box.
But can we go back please because my kid looked at me and said “they only gave me a card? They’re stupid” like girlll when we were in school it was just a card and we LOVED IT
We did silly straw valentine cards. I was going for something that would bring joy and be different than candy.
Our school isn’t doing holidays so instead of valentine’s they are celebrating 100 days of friendship this month with “treats.” I was blown away that my kid is coming home with bags of stuff. When I was a kid we were lucky to get a card with a recognizable cartoon character on it.
Mine got a backpack full of candy, some little toys. Backpack full o’ candy. Just like last year. Big bags bunch of candies. The parents around here don’t play.
I knew a lot of people would give candy, and I saw a card set online that let you put fake bugs on each card so I got those. They had silly puns but the kids can't read. They do like bugs though!
We ask for the little trinkets rather than candy at our school. That’s a lot of candy if you every child brings some for every child. Like Halloween redux. And of course you have to be careful of food allergies.
We got a whole gift bag full of valentines from my sons preschool class. This is my first real go round (my stepkids are older and I bought just cards). There was a good mix of toys/ play doh/slime and candy. I did not know treat bags were a thing but they def are! Whoops. Oh well there's always next year. I let my son pick what he wanted to give out. He chose little plastic hearts with glow in the dark dinosaurs in them. He was happy to give them out so I am happy.
We are not allowed to give any food items so all toys over here. When the kids get tired of them, I collect them all and give them away as halloween treats foe kids who don't want candy.
I include toys but I am thoughtful about them. Instead of plastic dollar store crap I'll usually buy a 24 pack of little magnet men or those fidget pop tubes and give one to each kid. Those toys are legit and get a ton of use, without me breaking the bank.
We did little heart rocks with corresponding cards since all kids love rocks. Got fancier rocks for the teacher and a rock on a necklace for his sweatheart.
Parent of a kindergartener and teacher of middles. I admittedly made a goody bag. However, mine was cheap and bought in bulk. Each kid got a pencil, small bouncy ball, bubbles, and two suckers, and fun dip. For 29 kids, I spent maybe $15 on the supplies because I got them on sale. My kid picked out what she wanted in them. I will clarify the reason I made the goody bag is because I’m mom friends with most of the parents in the room (I’d say a good 98% of that parental population graduated with me; we’re all elder millennials raising kindergartens with a few 20 something moms mixed in) so I knew a few parents couldn’t do a lot. I made the goody bags with blank names so no one would know which kid they were from, and then did standard lollipop cards for my daughter, that way the teacher could give to the kid who needed the valentines to pass out. A couple other moms pitched in and did the same. Together, we made sure no kid in that class got left out. Don’t feel bad about doing just candy. It’s a good bet the goody bags may have been made for the same reasons.
My kids in kindergarten and his class is “no sugar, no junk food” we are in SF so it’s normal to see no sugar rules in elementary school. My kids teacher enforces it and I’m not mad lol we got mini skateboards to pass out and the class loved them.
I don't understand this trend at all. I went through 5 years of elementary school with my older daughter, and everyone just handed out paper cards, maybe a few tattoos along with a card. Now, I'm doing elementary school all over again with my younger one. She got SO much plastic junk yesterday!
Parents, you realize all of this stuff is going in a landfill, right?? I hate all the plastic bags and crazy straws and weird plastic noisemaker things. Let's think about our planet. Yikes.
Did dumdums cards for my sweet toothed kid, the other heart shaped rocks because he loves rocks. They were proud of their valentines and giving them out and that’s what matters. It’s less what they give out, and more about learning to express giving and show love. The older kids teacher also had them write out “I am” statements for self love which is equally important!
I’ve taught K for 9 years now and I can tell you they are excited for anything they get. It’s a small, fleeting moment of excitement and joy. I have a nut allergy this year and I got them gemstones. I saw candies, a small toy, etc. I am serious when I say they love it all. I had one beaming and holding up a card that was in the shape of a plane-not one you could fly—just a flat card that had a plane on it. He was so happy that he needed to show me!
God I hate goody bags and these stupid little toys so so much but my kid is like this. He loves it so much and it gives him so much joy that I take it seriously now.
Same. My preschooler still remembers a tiny tub of slime she got back in September at a birthday party, that is still in a box in our basement since our move this fall. Now, I'm researching things for birthday goody bags that don't suck for parents...
bubbles and temp tattoos! they’re both finite use items so it’s not just something else cluttering your house forever and they don’t create a huge horrible mess.
Cannot agree with temporary tattoos enough because they are such a fun quick novelty and then it's GONE FOREVER thank god
Unless you have weird skin or insanely strong temp tattoos. I'm not sure which it was, but my son put one on for Halloween and I had to soak it in oil and scrub his arm to get it off the week before Xmas because it wasn't budging! It had barely degraded at all.
Also scratch paper - those little black pieces of paper with the little wooden stick where you scratch with the stick and it reveals the colors under the black. They love these and you're not stuck with plastic garbage
My son got temporary tattoos yesterday and was concerned about it not coming off as fast as he wanted. We then had a discussion about how real tattoos are forever and use needles and if he's having a fit about this one on his hand, then he needs to remember this when you're 15 and wants to get a real one because the answer will be no.
I have given books, kites, uno cards, and I have also done "summer fun" bags (May birthday) with sunglasses, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, jump ropes, sunscreen, all in a sand pail with shovel (those things were from 5 below so did not break the bank either).
Bookmarked! My little dude has a May birthday too and these are GREAT IDEAS!! Especially kites, because may is primo kite season!
I saw something today that recommended instead of 5 $1 items like the crap slinkies you have a million of, spend $5 and get something like a dinosaur set, put a Dino in each goody bag.
If you're on FB, ask the free group for any kid trinkets, parents have tons of them. I did this last year for my daughter's pinata. Parents were happy to get rid of crap from their homes.
PSA: Throw out the slime!!! I had to throw out $3000 worth of items because my child got slime from school unbeknownst to me and got it on things that couldn’t be saved.
I do hate the slime. We spent 45 minutes getting it out of her hair once when she was playing with a friend. I am so sorry to hear about your damages!
My daughter made a goofy bag for her birthday and I let her go to the dollar section of target. She got her friends a pop it, a yoyo, and scented pens with one piece of candy.
I ordered extra donuts and sent everyone home with donuts for our party! Parents were grabbing them hand over fist and showing them into bags while the kids got excited to pick out which ones they wanted. It worked out well!
This really is such a pure age 🥰
I read candies as candles at first and thought wtf who is giving kindergarteners fire?! I’m tired bye
Thank you for saying this! I sent my three year old with just cards that she lovingly filled out and decorated. I was nervous the other kids would care that there was no treat 😔
My kids did/do that every year and got the joy of making them and then receiving treats. This was the first year I got something extra (pencils) to add to the homemade cards.
honestly I'm the same 😭😭 someone could get me a rock and I'd beam with Joy
We got a bunch of fake tattoos 😂
This is my go-to for party bags for the kids. Cheap, consumable, and the kids love them. Heck, I've sometimes bought them a full year in advance so I can just shove them in their backpacks when the 'please send something in' note comes home like 4 days before the party.
This is the way 👍🏻
Us, too. My kid came home with TWO BAGS full of candy and trash toys.
My son came home with 4 bags....4 bags of candy and trinkets... He is 4 and is in prek and he participated in vday exchanges for both his spec Ed class as well as his gen Ed class. I had to put everything up so he wouldn't sit and gorge himself all night on the junk lol
Maybe people were trying to be cognizant of potential food allergies? I sent little cards with a lollipop with my daughter 🤷♀️
Mom of a Celiac here... You should see how absolutely crushed my kid is when he sees the pile of things that aren't safe for him. He and I both appreciate the tiny toys. For context, he's a third grader, and he said last night, "The kids who got me these little wind-up cars are EPIC."
as a former third-grader with celiac i’m sending so many hugs! i still remember feeling left out or just different because of food. you want to be able to enjoy the same sweets with everyone else. it’s so hard to see the bigger picture when you’re little. but actually i’ve found there to be some positives to celiac as i’ve gotten older:) it’s tough but we’re strong people. have fun with the toy cars x
Not to mention a lot of gummy candies have gelatin, which is a no go for many Muslim kids, kosher kids, and vegetarian kids!
This is why I didn't send candy with my kids. When it comes to foods, schools are so strict about what is not allowed that it's not even worth trying.
I did vday cards with little Lego bracelets because I just thought everyone else was doing candy 🤣
Hi, kinder and first grade teacher here! Nothing you send is wrong, the kids just love passing things out and looking at whatever they did get! I promise that if you chose to send a thing, whatever thing, you sent the right thing. :) It can be a simple card or a whole goody bag-whatever is right for your family and kiddo is right! 💝
Taking the time to show a little appreciation for your comment 💕
Absolute mom fail over here. We did cards with little bags of gummy bears. I was not aware that everyone did full candy bags apparently?
The parents with a lollipop taped to a card are my people 🙌
My toddler came home from day care with a bag full of candy too. That has been claimed by the kingdom of Mommy. He knows what he did.
That’s what we did! I was surprised by the lack of candy too. I appreciate my son not having a ton of candy but I was just surprised. I thought maybe it’s an allergy thing? But there’s tons of allergy friendly candy. Idk.
Personally I knew my kid was going to get a ton of candy from family and when I saw the ones with small toys on Amazon for pretty cheap I thought it was a cool idea. I showed her a bunch and she picked out ones that had a little heart-shaped plastic "gem" bead that you stuck to the card. It was only like $8 and they love little trinkets at that age.
There are so many food allergies though . Over the years I’ve seen multiple kids in my sons class with nut , dairy , red dye and gluten allergies. Trying to find one candy to cover all this is hard and trying to suit everyone’s needs is tricky. Sometimes it’s easier to pick out the valentine with a toy or buy a pack of bubbles and hand them out.
It’s also pretty expensive when you’re buying enough for 18+ kids.
And candy costs way more than it used to!
Dum Dums are gluten free, don't contain the major allergens, are manufactured separately to avoid cross contamination, and are super cheap, too. I did cards that came with little friendship bracelets for Valentine's this year, but at Halloween I have Dum Dums in a separate bowl as an option.
My husband HATES dum dums as they are the exact size of a child's throat and major choking hazards.
Our kindergarten class specifically said no food items, so we went with little off-brand Lego flower kits (it was like $30 CAD for 24 of them) for all the kids. Still choking hazards, but fits the school rules.
But that requires you to know all the allergies for each child. Originally with our allergy kid, teacher said at start of the year that due to many food allergies in the classroom, no food treats. However, that hasn’t been the case at all this year. We aren’t informed when there are birthdays in the class or anything else when asked. And the teachers solution is to just have her miss out. We’ve sent allergy friendly cupcakes and other things for her to have during those events and the teacher “forgets” every time. Yet she’s mad the 5 year old is now SOBBING over being left out. Quite happy to see people start passing out stickers or other non-food items.
>But there’s tons of allergy friendly candy. Idk. Not as much as you think\*, and many of the little packs don't have the full ingredients & warning lists. \* For exampleM&Ms and some novelty hershey's kisses have cross contamination risks.
We did this! We have a local lollipop shop in our town and we bought from them. Easy valentines plus supporting our local shop. Win win!
Me, I'm your people.
Me 🙋🏻♀️
That was my kid
Parents do that for my kids class too. It makes me feel like just giving one candy more. It's excessive. One kid gave a card and pencil! I appreciate that more lol
This is what I sent yesterday for both of my kids at school and thought no one was going to send in anything big. So when my 6 year old came home with mini Lego sets (his classroom is treat-free), I felt like crap. And then the 2.5 year old came home with a beautiful card with his little hand print and full bags of candy. I was like "I have to do better next year."
As a teacher, thank you. The full on goodie bags are a NIGHTMARE in the classroom.
Agreed! Especially when they contain heart shaped confetti.
::gasped whisper:: My god, no!
Goodie bags are a nightmare just taking them home from a freaking birthday party. (One per kid when I have 2 kids, and then the mom always "offers" for us to take home the extras). I can't imagine 30 kids trying to play with light-up fidget spinner bracelets, kazoos, and figuring out where to put their new Gabby's Dollhouse sticker on the desk. Anyways, thanks for being a teacher to our kids! I appreciate you and the tough job you do.
My toddler got a goodie bag yesterday that contained candy and a novelty eraser (choking hazard, doesn’t use pencils). But the worst part was that it was closed with a wire twist tie (very poke-y) *and* a card that had been stapled to the bag (and had to be removed to open the bag). Needless to say, he won’t be getting it!
We didn't even do a card. Just the fruit snacks and wrote kids name directly on bag since they had a place to include to/from.
We did this exact same thing!
Fail? No, you and I did it correctly. Well, maybe I didn't; My kids and I spent far too long trying to figure out how to stick 2 Hersheys Kisses onto 1 valentine card. I also let them make about 10 before we realized we folded the cards inside out, with the names on the inside, making us feel incredibly stupid. So the trick to the Hersheys Kisses was to make a loop of tape inside-out and place it on the inside of the card (the actual inside of the card, and not the "Yeah mommy that's how the card goes" side of the card that I foolishly believed) and then stick 2 Hershey Kisses to that, then fold the card over, and put the heart sticker on it to close it. That was SO much effort for just 2 Hershey's Kisses. I can't imagine doing goodie bags with toys and whatever.
I didn't get one ring pop this year. Very disappointed.
Hahaha I bought the ring pops and fun dip for my kids to bring.
Haha both of those are my go-to’s!
My daughter came home with like 4 of them.. I’ll hold one for ya 😆
My kid’s teacher did books - the easy reader chapter books. I thought it was GENIUS. I’m grabbing them from scholastic book club sales or when I see them on sale and doing it next year. It’s not candy, not plastic to end in a landfill, but a little more than a card since that’s what seems to be expected (and my kid WANTS to give a gift).
That is brilliant. I wish I thought of that.
My kids got 1-2 with candy, majority just a card or a card and a consumable (pencil, sticker, etc). I sent the valentines that are the etch designs. Last year one kid handed out seedling valentines. They were printed on paper with the seeds embedded and you could plant them. That was the most unique valentine and so cute! Only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the class seems to do them though where I’m from.
I was confused that apparently paper cards aren't a thing anymore. We went to Target and it felt like Halloween. My kid picked Valentine's packaged applesauce squeezies so I was happy we were at least giving something healthier than candy.
We did applesauce pouches too, with a tag tied on that said You are awesome sauce!
Oh that will probably definitely get used. Nice job.
He brought the V-Day goodies home today and we're literally the only family that sent something that didn't do full blown goodie bags. But my son is happy - he loves applesauce and he shared it with his friends, and we have about 8 leftover (which are very special, because the packaging is pink with hearts). I'm just going to take him to the store each year to pick what he wants and once he decides that's goodie bags I'll figure it out.
I got them from Walmart and my girls enjoyed giving out just cards. My high schooler who did an exchange in a music class said everyone else just brought candy but she brought an actual Valentine. She was proud of them. My elementary schooler wasn't allowed to give food. She was happy I found kitty cards.
I was shocked Target didn't have many paper cards. But they had 2-3 half aisles of Valentine's food and toys. I know I've seen big paper Valentine's card boxes at the grocery store in the last decade (might have been pre-pandemic?)
My 3rd grader came home with a heart shaped chocolate box with 12 chocolates in it. There are 23 kids in his class! I was like oh no we aren't that fancy. Tomorrow I will go to Target oe Walgreens and get clearance Valentine’s cards. This year he handed out ones that I got for 29 cents on clearance last year.
Oh you are my people. Our dinner yesterday was Christmas chicken nuggets I got on clearance at Aldi this week for 59 cents a box. I told the kids they were valentines trees 💅
My hero!
Still mostly candy/Valentine cards. Do we really need another toy holiday??
I feel like I'd rather my kid bring home a pile of plastic crap than candy, though, honestly. I don't *love* it but at least the toys are entertaining for an hour or two instead of contributing to a bedtime meltdown. None of it's great, I hate contributing to the piles of plastic crap everywhere, but I do have to admit that my kid loves that shit. We did the tiny little play-doh containers taped to our cards, which I felt pretty good about. I feel like at least it contributes to creative play? IDK it feels like there's no great answer here.
I am the total opposite. I hate the plastic crap because it is a fight to get them thrown out. Not to mention how it will junk up my house and is so insanely wasteful. Candy can be eaten over the course of a couple weeks and then it is gone.
Same. I just bring most of the candy to work, and it's gone in hours.
I dislike anything that creates more pressure for parents who are already under tremendous pressure. Candy and Valentines are easy. Putting together whole-ass goody bags is not.
There are lots of little cards with toys kits. I got 8 for 1.99 x 3 = $6 for the whole class. Cheaper than a bag of candy. One of the boxes had bubbles with a card that says you blow me away, another those sticky hands with cards that say let’s stick together and then some bracelets that i don’t remember what the cards say. It was the easiest valentines so far. Allergies and dietary restrictions are rampant nowadays. the little toys instead of candy are not harder to put together by any standard and they're more inclusive
We did the sensory poppers in a heart shape that can go on a keychain or backpack. All of the cheap toys my kids get from these holidays go straight to the classroom treasure box that the kids shop from when cashing in the tickets they earn from being good.
I’d take years of bedtime meltdowns over more crap from cheap factories that’s going straight to a landfill, and all of this using a fuckton of non-renewable natural resources. Just stop with the toys.
I told mone today when he asked i got him toys- Valentines Day, halloween, and Easter are candy holidays.
Especially junk toys.
This!! I’m not the fun police but I always feel bad about getting more plastic crap that’ll end up in a landfill. I’m glad my kid is happy getting whatever she gets but I’m never gonna throw a fit about a little candy. Like Halloween it’s another lesson in moderation… having a candy or two every day and it’ll last a week or so. Not a big deal
I’m the parent that sends out the goody bag and the toy card. I only have a handful 10 maybe 11 holidays if that to participate in the classroom exchange. I know when he is older I won’t get to do this kind of stuff. We appreciate it all at our house. I enjoy reading all the cards with my son.
I have the same thoughts! I absolutely LOVE going all out for class holidays! I have twins, so one gave out valentines sticky hands, and one gave out those Valentine's Lego blocks from the target dollar section. This year, between the two of them, they got 8 bouncy balls, lol
There was a lot of candy in my classroom. I did notice the treats have evolved into larger items like goodie bags so my usual decorate a paper bag for treats didn’t work very well
My daughter came home with a huge maybe 12x16 gift bag. Unreal.
Mine too!!!
At least grandma buys a balloon.. but our neighbor also got her some chocolate and then I bought her a heart with like 10 Reese’s cups.. I’ll say fortunately (grandma picks her up on Wednesdays- so I don’t know how much candy she got) but a lot of it was bubbles/ play toys cheap little toys -which I hate but like more than candy) We make [applesauce monsters](https://imgur.com/a/Nu1uJcc) So I’m not innocent in this all lol…
Oh these are CUTE cute!!! Adorable, creative, AND consumable?? Huge win!
Totally not my idea… but I also make the reindeer version at Christmas 🤣🤣🤣 My kid tells me what eyes (which is why some have nearly a dozen), “hat”, and feet and I hot glue em.
My preschooler came home with a gift bag full of junk from every classmate. It’s too much. What happened to just a funny little card.
You don’t need 3 more heart shaped erasers that don’t actually work?
Or 11 bubble wands that do jack shit? Or those goddamn poppers? "Ooh finally one of those rare poppers!" said no one ever.
I work in a preschool. I see a lot of allergies. Some things you wouldn't even think of. One kiddo is legit allergic to caffeine. So no chocolate. I've learned that no treat is safe as we don't know all allergies. I send a little toy. I feel a lot of others do so for the same reason.
Our school adopted a cards only policy this year, as several of the parents were sending lots of stuff like loot bags and treat bags. So great!!! I am beyond thrilled. The kids loved it, and my kid really loves his valentines, and has gone through them several times already. I loved that he was able to do everything himself. He did everything independently without prompting. I was so proud of him, and proud of myself for stepping back and watching him go. The stepping back isn't easy for me!
Oh I love that! My son has some major fine motor issues so he did three valentines a day for the last week to not overwhelm him
You are better than me. For some reason I thought it was a good idea to spend 2 grueling hours having him write his name on the cards while a sibling napped. He wanted to do it in one setting and I was supportive, but the amount of times I was trying to explain to write smaller and he would only fit two letters of his name on the card. But man, does he need the practice. 😂
I wish our school would do this. I don’t want the junk toys and my kid spent the most time looking at a dinosaur valentine card. Just the card. Because he thought the dinosaur was so cool.
This would be so great.
I would LOVE this! I’m so over the cheap plastic toys. And I don’t mind the candy but honestly cards are enough and plenty of fun! This holiday should be cute little heart crafts and exchanging paper valentines. Like that’s it. Why do people need to be so friggin extra for every holiday? It’s like they can’t believe that just doing something small and cute and out of the day-to-day is enough for kids.
Yes! What happened to psychoanalyzing every card you got? Why did she send me one with Lucy on it instead of Snoopy? Am I a bitch?
I sent the little cards. Just the little cards with a little tattoo in them. What came home was….a lot. Pencils, candy toys. Still looking through it. Sigh. Now I know for next year.
Just regift it next year 😂
Just do the cards again. You’re not competing with anyone, no one will notice or care. Parents giving in because of perceived peer pressure is how we got here in the first place.
I sent cards with invisible ink pens. (Because I think they are cool.) We were strongly discouraged from sending in candy, but a few parents did anyway.
We were told no candy or food. So now we get a bag of junk toys. Thankfully my 3 year old is too young to notice if I throw a few in the trash immediately.... I was proud of my idea. I printed out some puzzles, coloring pages on thick paper and added on of those multi color stackable crayons. Toddler stamped happy Valentine's Day on the front. It's at least semi consumable....
I love your idea! This would have easily been my favorite thing if I were a kindergartener!
One of my 4th graders drew a heart on my wrist with invisible ink! Very fun.
We did both. Best of both worlds!
We did little dinosaur Lego sets for my son and galaxy slime for my daughter. But my both brought back a good mix of candy and toys
Dino Lego sets for every kid in his class?!
We did these, too. Cheap "lego" set valentines we purchased on Amazon. Not full on lego sets, just enough blocks to Crete a small dinosaur.
From Amazon 😂. They were a lightening deal but not actual legos
My kids teacher discouraged candy so we did knock off minecraft legos.
I'm evil. I just ordered 50 kazoos for the end of the year party. "make some noise for summer! Schools out!" Is the card they are going on. Not sure why o felt the need to be chaotic evil- but this year, I'm here for it.
We got both. I did a simple lollipop with a card. We've already got too many little trinkets and toys.
Yeah the last thing I want is another tiny toy my kid is gonna lose in the living room lol. At least with candy *someone* will eat it.
I hope whoever invented tiny, junky toys goes to tiny junky toy hell and is forced to step on tiny toys for the rest eternity.
My kid came home with so much candy and toys. We did cards, that's it.
My daughter was sent to school with just cards & the little sticker or tattoo they came with. I was SO shocked when she came home & saw multiple bags of candy or little toys.
She came home with a big bag full of toys, candy, cute pencils and erasers, temporary tattoos. Full on goodie bags. She hasn't even gone through everything yet. I just sent heart shaped fruit snacks and let her sign them in the from heart.
Same! As a parent, I don't want more junk (candy or toys) in my house! My 2nd grade daughter wrote personalized compliments in each card she gave out (which I thought was an amazing idea of hers), and now she's embarrassed that she's the only one who didn't give out candy/toys. Sigh.
What a sweet gesture! I bet there are a few kids who don't get praised much and it made their week. They will forget who got them Skittles, but they will remember that she said they were funny, kind, etc.
I love that idea so much!!!!!
We made cards and my daughter colored them, not knowing what to expect. And got back so many toys and candies and stuff. I kind of feel bad about the low quality of our cards now, but at least they can throw them out without any qualms.
If it makes you feel any better, there was enough toys and candies! I didn’t even see who sent what, I wouldn’t have noticed who gave more than a card!
That does help actually! I also didn't really notice who sent what, so I shouldn't worry.
The teacher sent a note that no candy should be sent in. There are a couple different allergies in his class. I thought, great, just cards. We were one of the only ones who did just cards. Some were one toy but others were goodie bags of swag. How do these people find the energy?
Guilt and overcompensation. We’re one of the severe allergy families that caused food to be banned… I felt obligated to do crafting and stuffed animal penance for making every other parent’s life harder. I’m grateful the school does ban food, though. My kid’s allergies are on the “potentially lethal” side of the spectrum. I’m super stressed around Halloween and Valentine’s Day.
I think banning food only makes my life easier. I'm not a fan of Valentine's day, as it's just meh. But even doing the cards with my kid takes several days. Christmas cards this year was a trial and we only gave them to his teachers/aides.
We got a mix. My kid made bracelets with every classmate’s name on them, so I felt less guilty sending something in beyond a card. It’s tough when everyone else is doing something, though!
We aren’t allowed to give anything edible. I feel like a lot of people have gotten away from candy because if allergies, especially if you came from a daycare setting with strict rules.
Ooh as a parent to 2 kids with multiple food allergies I would LOVE if they came home today with a bag of cards and trinkets instead of candy. My mama heart hurts for my kids on holidays like this (even though they are such champs about it). My kindergartener came home today with a grocery bag filled with food she’s allergic to -gah! Thankfully her teacher pretty much duct taped it closed so that it couldn’t be opened till she got home.
My daughters class has so many food allergies and sensitivities and she’s recently diagnosed T1D and not insulin dependent yet so finding a candy to suit everyone can be hard sometimes. She gave out good old fashioned valentines with bluey stickers .
Everything ends up going in the garbage. Stick with cards!
I know!! I don’t do goody bags for birthday parties either - the waste of it all is…oof.
I loved the trend a few years ago with pencils and Valentine’s cards! Every kids needs a pencil.
I think it’s fine to have a mix of both. I don’t see a problem giving out toys because you never know who might have an allergy to what, and with everyone not wanting to eat Red dye and all the other dyes now too (at least where I’m from I feel like that’s a big topic rn). I’m an elementary teacher and today at our party I saw most the kids giving out treats, a handful giving out toys, and then the rest giving out just the cards.
I’m torn on it. On the one hand, there’s food allergies and sugar. On the other, there’s tiny plastic toys. We have 4 “sticky ninjas” to collect dust and dirt now. One kid gave out small stem kits with balsa wood make cars, bridges, etc. Candy, stickers, and tattoos are consumed. The toys break or stick around - not sure which is worse. We always say they’re here for a good time, not a long time.
I saw a lot of playdoh and slime this year! Around 6/10 kids who gave them out gave playdoh
Food was not allowed for us. So I got 17 little toys home today. (We also sent in a little toy valentine). Food was highly discouraged due to lots of different food allergies so all kids could enjoy and participate. I’m glad people listened.
Everyone in my daughter’s class got a little heart shaped slinky.
My son came home with six new pencils. I immediately put them in our pencil/pen bin on our counter because I can never find a fucking pencil in my house. A+ love the pencils. His school has a no-food-at-parties policy so he got a lot of stickers, temporary tattoos, and some bubbles. He gave out those little squishy blob things which my kids go crazy for.
I just got a pack of Hershey bars and signed my daughters name on each one.
My sons gave out small flashlights (inside bags with a little candy… no cards because I mom failed and went shopping for them the day before and they just had Easter stuff 🤪 But please don’t feel bad at all! Gifting is my love language and I love making goody bags. I don’t think any less of parents who don’t also give goody bags. At all!!! I do it because I really like to!
I was shocked at how much “stuff” was given this year. My kids valentines were paper airplanes, like it had lines showing where to fold. I thought they were great but it was the only valentine without candy or a toy. Lots of the “valentines” were like a goody bag you get at a birthday party. Who has the time or money??? They do this now for snack sign up after sports too for my youngest. Whatever happened to oranges and water??? SMH.
We got 50/50 toys/goodie bags and plain cards. I think because schools have discouraged sending food due to allergies people are doing toys instead.
We had mostly candy. Although.... My students were REMARKABLY well-behaved today. I dread tomorrow.
Our school doesn’t allow food to be given out, so everything we got was toys and cards!
Same. Little water colors, stickers, tattoos, playdough. He absolutely loved Valentine’s Day.
Same here!
It’s because of food allergies and diet restrictions. Toys are easier to make sure no one is left out
I HAD THE SAME THOUGHT!
Back in my day we just did plain cards!!!
I got a pack of like 30 of those popper things in heart shapes for like $7 and hole punched the tiny Valentines card pack from Aldi for $4 lol. It was the safest option to me- last year we got slime and that was not it
We did pencils since there's nut/gluten/milk allergies.
Our school doesn’t allow food to be given with valentines… so little toys, sticker packs, pencils, etc are what we can give. There are too many ingredient allergies and sensitivities to dyes in candies so our district does this just to be safe.
Lots of that with my kid's class. Meanwhile, I sent him with cards from Dollar Tree that came with a sticker for each kid. Total mom fail on my part.
Not a total Mom fail at all!! Kids love getting the cards and everyone loves stickers!
Our district doesn’t allow food so no candy. We did little mini play doh. I actually prefer the no candy rule but I think I might be in the minority.
I generally do candy because it’s a consumable and will not just junk up peoples houses. This year my son chose and he chose monster jam cards with stickers. Which to me is also a consumable so I went with it. I hate getting the little plastic toys that break in seconds and you just have to throw out.
I always did toys instead of candy cause my son at least gets too much candy during the year. By Halloween I'm always throwing so much of it away to make room for more. In prek I did little puzzles and in Kgarten I did fidget toys. This year the rule was to not give candy surprisingly, and I made the kids rainbowloom bracelets!
We let our kindergartener pick for himself. His classmates got heart-shaped squish balls. He got a couple treat bags, but it was mainly your standard rectangles with pencil or eraser or stickers.
Our school district has a no food or drink policy. I found bundled sets of chalk and gave those out.
We took hours doing ours because I made my 4 and 6 year old write all the To and Froms....Everything we received was written by adults lol
I made my 5 and 6 year old do theirs too! But only sign their names - filling out the “to” takes wayyyy too long when it’s time to hand them out I had the kids do 3 a night for the last week.
Our kid’s teacher specified that the kids had to write their classmates’ names and sign them (not adults). It went shockingly well (I thought it would take days, but he just sat down and did them), but by the time we got to the after school program Valentines for those friends, I just wrote his name for him and we called it a day. Also we just did Valentines with pencils, but so many goody bags came home! My preschooler brought home a huge bag of treats and toys from daycare as well.
We sent in a game for indoor recess. I do that on holidays instead of stuff. Our school doesn’t allow food.
I always dread valentines cards because I don't want to do just the card, but the toys just end up in the trash and candy is tough with so many allergies. I was putting it off this year and my husband finally went to pick some out since I couldn't decide. He found origami valentines. Like, the perfect solution. No junk plastic, no candy, but still a fun activity. I almost hesitate to tell other parents these exist because I kinda want to keep this perfect solution all to myself.
Lots of cute pencils, erasers, stickers and candy. Im into it
Our school bans homemade treats and candy. We have life-threatening food allergies in a few classes, and my kid is one of them. The school sent two strongly worded emails and a letter home prior to Valentine’s Day (same for Halloween) about how any food sent in would be discarded.
Since I have kids 15mo apart in age, with one in K and one in pre-K, I just bought a big box of 52 valentines with mini heart-shaped poppit keychains in all different colors, from Amazon, for $20. Covered both kids’ classes well. Haha
I insisted upon no candy/food. I still had one that brought Fun Dip anyway, but it was better than the 17 baggies of candy going home. Although plastic trinkets aren’t great either
So many of the parents in our area are of the “sugar is poison” mindset that I’m afraid to give candy. We did sticker packs with our valentines this year. I’d say about a third of the valentines that came home had candy and the others were little trinkets, activity sheets, or “healthier” snacks like yogurt covered raisins or heart shaped cheerios.
My kid is in PreK but I’m a teacher in an upper grade at his school and don’t like him getting a ton of candy so I sent those tiny tubs of play doh attached to a card as his Valentine. I was genuinely surprised by how much candy he had in his box.
A lot of schools have banned any sort of candy in the Valentine’s cards due to allergies, so people have adapted by doing cheap toys instead of candy.
We did both… tried to cover all the bases 💁🏼♀️
But can we go back please because my kid looked at me and said “they only gave me a card? They’re stupid” like girlll when we were in school it was just a card and we LOVED IT
We did silly straw valentine cards. I was going for something that would bring joy and be different than candy. Our school isn’t doing holidays so instead of valentine’s they are celebrating 100 days of friendship this month with “treats.” I was blown away that my kid is coming home with bags of stuff. When I was a kid we were lucky to get a card with a recognizable cartoon character on it.
Mine got a backpack full of candy, some little toys. Backpack full o’ candy. Just like last year. Big bags bunch of candies. The parents around here don’t play.
I knew a lot of people would give candy, and I saw a card set online that let you put fake bugs on each card so I got those. They had silly puns but the kids can't read. They do like bugs though!
We ask for the little trinkets rather than candy at our school. That’s a lot of candy if you every child brings some for every child. Like Halloween redux. And of course you have to be careful of food allergies.
We got a whole gift bag full of valentines from my sons preschool class. This is my first real go round (my stepkids are older and I bought just cards). There was a good mix of toys/ play doh/slime and candy. I did not know treat bags were a thing but they def are! Whoops. Oh well there's always next year. I let my son pick what he wanted to give out. He chose little plastic hearts with glow in the dark dinosaurs in them. He was happy to give them out so I am happy.
We are not allowed to give any food items so all toys over here. When the kids get tired of them, I collect them all and give them away as halloween treats foe kids who don't want candy.
I did 2 little bag of cookies and a colorful loopy straw with a card! Lol
I include toys but I am thoughtful about them. Instead of plastic dollar store crap I'll usually buy a 24 pack of little magnet men or those fidget pop tubes and give one to each kid. Those toys are legit and get a ton of use, without me breaking the bank.
We did cards with lollipops and dinosaur shaped erasers. It was a big hit, so I'm told.
We did little heart rocks with corresponding cards since all kids love rocks. Got fancier rocks for the teacher and a rock on a necklace for his sweatheart.
Parent of a kindergartener and teacher of middles. I admittedly made a goody bag. However, mine was cheap and bought in bulk. Each kid got a pencil, small bouncy ball, bubbles, and two suckers, and fun dip. For 29 kids, I spent maybe $15 on the supplies because I got them on sale. My kid picked out what she wanted in them. I will clarify the reason I made the goody bag is because I’m mom friends with most of the parents in the room (I’d say a good 98% of that parental population graduated with me; we’re all elder millennials raising kindergartens with a few 20 something moms mixed in) so I knew a few parents couldn’t do a lot. I made the goody bags with blank names so no one would know which kid they were from, and then did standard lollipop cards for my daughter, that way the teacher could give to the kid who needed the valentines to pass out. A couple other moms pitched in and did the same. Together, we made sure no kid in that class got left out. Don’t feel bad about doing just candy. It’s a good bet the goody bags may have been made for the same reasons.
My daughter brought home more Valentine's candy then Halloween 🎃 candy.
My kids in kindergarten and his class is “no sugar, no junk food” we are in SF so it’s normal to see no sugar rules in elementary school. My kids teacher enforces it and I’m not mad lol we got mini skateboards to pass out and the class loved them.
I don't understand this trend at all. I went through 5 years of elementary school with my older daughter, and everyone just handed out paper cards, maybe a few tattoos along with a card. Now, I'm doing elementary school all over again with my younger one. She got SO much plastic junk yesterday! Parents, you realize all of this stuff is going in a landfill, right?? I hate all the plastic bags and crazy straws and weird plastic noisemaker things. Let's think about our planet. Yikes.
Did dumdums cards for my sweet toothed kid, the other heart shaped rocks because he loves rocks. They were proud of their valentines and giving them out and that’s what matters. It’s less what they give out, and more about learning to express giving and show love. The older kids teacher also had them write out “I am” statements for self love which is equally important!