How to Make the Dreaded School Valentines Easier than Ever! 🏫

Valentine’s Day is upon us y’all! For most people, this sacred day is all about bouquets of flowers, heart-shaped chocolate boxes, cute gifts, and romantic date nights. But, for parents, there is a little more to it: the valentines that your child has to hand out to all the other kids in his class. Don’t know where the tradition came from but it’s super wholesome, so we’re here for it! The issue is, these valentines are usually a bit of a stress for parents (no need to sugar coat it, let’s be real).

It’s 5 pm on a random Tuesday and little Timmy suddenly remembers that he needs 25 cards for his classmates tomorrow! So here you are, fighting for your life until 2 am, trying to DIY something for little Timmy, and hating every second of it. We don’t want that to happen. Ever. This is why we’ve come up with the best tips for you to slay your kid’s valentines this year and all the years to come! A little organization goes a long way to actually enjoy the fun that this tradition has to offer!

Valentine’s Day for Parents: The Ultimate Toolbox 🔧

Tip #1: Don’t Spend Hours Looking for the Perfect Cards, use Picta! 🙏🏻

Too much choice kills the choice, and all my fellow overthinkers know it. So, don’t scroll on the dozens of websites offering Valentine’s Day cards, that will likely come too late, and head over to Picta! Cute, trendy, customizable, with your favorite characters, and so much more, you’ll undoubtedly find your card crush amidst all our designs! And the best thing? They’ll be available for pickup same-day at your local Walgreens, so you’re sure to get them on time (even for those who are part of team procrastination). There is nothing better than a quick and easy solution to your problems! 😉

Tip #2: Don’t Leave Anyone out! 🤗

It has changed over the years but the commonly accepted rule nowadays is that, if you bring valentines to school, you make one for everyone. It's a long process and your kids probably don’t even love everyone in their class, we know. But, look at it this way, you don’t want to be the parent of the child who will only receive a few valentines whereas their classmates get one from everyone - this would break our hearts. So, Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to teach your little monsters a little inclusivity lesson and have them learn how to consider the feelings of their peers by giving a valentine to all the children in their class!

Tip #3: Some Little Penmanship Advice ✏️

In addition to being super wholesome and cute, writing out a card for everyone is great penmanship practice for your child. However, for younger kids who do not know how to read and for whom writing is a big challenge, no need to write the names of their classmates on the card! Since the teachers are likely to put out a little “Valentine mailbox” for each of the children, your little one only has to write out their own name and slip it in the mailboxes!

Tip #4: Be Aware of the Guidelines! 🤔

Because if it was too easy it wouldn’t be fun, each school has different guidelines when it comes to the organization of Valentine’s Day… And you better respect them if you don’t want to pick up a very angry child from school because all the valentines they prepared were confiscated! It is common to add a little thing with the card but some schools only allow non-food items, some don’t allow anything else at all, etc. So, make sure you know what the rules of the game are if you want to avoid nasty surprises!

Tip #5: Anticipation for the Win 🥇

Picta’s crazy fast service allows you to get your kid’s valentines at the last possible moment (so handy) BUT it is still highly recommended to anticipate! You don’t want to be running to your Walgreens after work on the 13th and end up taking care of the cards rather than letting your child do it because second-graders do not write fast! So, the best advice we can give you is to prepare the valentines the weekend before to make sure everything goes smoothly on the 14th! The experience will be 10 times more enjoyable for you and your little one!