Ever wonder if Cupid is playing an early April Fool’s joke placing the day most associated with love just weeks after the financially taxing gift giving holiday season.  Between preparing to plunge into filing your income taxes, and rebounding from stretching holiday dollars, the notion of spending money and energy on Valentine’s Day leaves many feeling woozy.

Feeling pressured to find yet another perfect gift for all the valentines in your life puts a strain on the most loving of hearts.  Instead of boxes of candy, why not test out some creative and inexpensive options for your family to say ‘I love you’ and ‘Be mine’ this Valentine’s Day.

For kids to give :

Hearts in the wind. With the cap screwed tightly on, decorate a rinsed out 2 liter bottle by gluing paper filled with loving messages or drawings and attach crepe paper streamers, weather retardant fabric strips, etc. to trail off the large end.  Cut a long, spiral piece of colored paper or affix many tails or varying lengths to your wind sock by helping your child poke small holes in the base of the bottle.  Using fishing line or festively colored string and yarn, tie the wind sock tails to the bottle and this valentine is ready to hang on a branch, porch or balcony.

                Cryptic messages of love. With adult supervision, childrenca visitwww.puzzlemaker.com to create valentine themed word searches, crossword puzzles and other fun games for siblings, teachers, coaches and extended family members.  Frame the puzzle in a construction paper or craft foam mat for a unique card your child can proudly bestow upon loved ones.

A helping heart. Help your children understand a gift doesn’t necessarily need to be purchased from a store and let their imaginative and creative energies flow.  The offer to walk his aunt’s dog on Valentine’s Day, or help you shop for the family’s groceries teaches them to give straight from the heart.

A collage of love. Give them various sized heart shaped cookies cutters to trace hearts onto school, sports, or candid pictures.  Select a variety of shots taken with loved ones, pets, or by themselves to be cut and decoupaged onto a serving tray, the under side of a glass platter, or flower pot filled with African violets.  This valentine looks great on a counter or desk and gathers all the subjects of love together while it minimizes the usage of space. 

To give kids:

Value pack of valentines. A coupon book to ‘get out of chores free’ is wildly popular among young valentine recipients.  The chance to turn in his ‘Mom makes your bed’ or ‘One free hour of TV’ coupon gives kids a fun way to make some independent choices while also knowing your gave him a gift from the heart.  Make sure to pre-determine an expiration date, replacement policy and terms of doubling coupons in order to avoid conflict with your savvy young ‘shopper’. 

A healthy heart. Cutting fruit in the shape of hearts or the letters for LOVE to serve a Valentine’s Day breakfast in bed.  Layers of french toast cut with varying sized heart shaped cookie cutters and topped with strawberries starts everyone’s day with the feeling of love.  You’ll feel good about starting his valentine’s day off on a healthy note and your child will appreciate being treated to a heart-felt treat!

Send ‘em searching. Hide clues or messages of love around the house for your family to find throughout the day.  Start the day off with a smile as he pops open the medicine cabinet and finds a simple love note tacked on the toothpaste.  Give younger kids a love scroll in their backpack or lunchbox.  Squirt mustard onto his sandwich in the shape of a heart or use honey to spell ‘Be mine’ on toast. 

To do together. Hearts blowing in the wind – You can purchase a small plastic gardening pot, fishing line, and modeling clay that is baked in the oven (with adult supervision).  Have the kids make different sized hearts or spell LOVE and paint the clay after it’s baked and add them to the chime.  Turn a pot that your kids decorated with phrases or drawings of love upside down and drill a few small holes into the sides and one at the top.  Tying the fishing line to bells, homemade chimes or shells creates a delightful valentine that grandparents and extended family members love to listen to.

The King and Queen of hearts. Use craft foam, card stock or construction paper to make crowns for your family.  Fashioning ‘gems’, sayings of love, and royal names such as ‘Sir Zachary – King of Hearts’, your family can enjoy a light-hearted evening together showing off the Valentine head gear.

Your four legged love. Pet supply centers have do-it-yourself machines that create on the spot pet tags.  While making a new heart ID tag, select an inexpensive new red collar to match the tag.  Another option is using scraps of themed fabric cut with pinking or decorative shears into a large triangle to make a quick new bandanna for your furry friend.  Remember small children may require assistance when putting the bandanna on to avoid injury to both your child and your pet.