With Valentine's Day just around the corner, and 2 little kids in Preschool, I got very excited over the thought of making V-day cards at home. Of course for those that don't really have the time nor the patience, there are several generic boxed cards that can be bought. They are pre-printed and you just have to write your child's name on the from line and who it's to on the "to" line.
Every year until about 3rd grade, decorating a card box, and writing cards out to classmates was about as fun as it got. In about third grade is when it started getting very weird with the pre-printed cards... What makes no sense to me, more now than ever before, is why there are cards printed for kids that have messages such "Be my valentine, Some bunny loves you, I'm Cuckoo for you, Bee mine..." Perhaps its the conservativeness that was passed down to me from my parents or maybe its just me, but personally, I'm not trying to teach my kids that there's a need to have a valentine or a "special friend." Friends are friends, and just that; I am however teaching my kids that they have to be nice and friendly with everyone, even kids that aren't nice to them. 
Some desis have a strict, say no to valentine's day rule. Religions don't necessarily have a "culture" per se, religions guide us. In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with taking part of celebrations that are harmless. It's the duty of parents to teach their kids how to find a balance between what is allowed and what should be avoided. There is only so much sheltering that can be done. If kids are kept extremely sheltered, in my opinion it kills their personality. The child may also face a risk of having awkward social skills. Commercial holidays such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc are nothing more than an excuse of letting people know you care about them. Please, find a balance that you and your family are comfortable in.
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| spoonful.com |
Anyways, going back to making cards, after running several searches on my phone, ipad, and laptop, I finally decided on creating Owl cards, with pencils for the kids. There are lots of ideas out there. You can make flower cards with lollipops, or butterfly cards. You can even print out cards or order personalized cards. There are directions and templates available on blogs for making the cards of your choice.
I went over to Michael's and bought some card paper, eyes, and valentine day themed pencils. The material can be bought from anywhere, including Walmart. The pencils can be bought from Dollar Tree or any dollar store, but since I was shopping with the baby and she wasn't a happy camper yesterday, I had to make a quick, one-store-stop, and Michael's is right around the corner from where we live.
The first thing I did was cut out the owls from the card paper. Then I cut 2 lines about an inch apart in the center towards the bottom of the owl. I used the scraps to cut out leafy shaped noses. If your kids are old enough, maybe 1st or 2nd grade, I am sure your kids will be excited to help you put the owl cards together! Unfortunately mine aren't old enough to help yet. The excitement was still there though.
Next, I worked on one card at a time. For next year, I'm going to pre-print the messages onto some valentines themed labels and that will help me save some time. That way the kids will be able to help too. So, going back to my cards, I glued on the eyes, and the nose. Next, I wrote the messages out. Lastly, I slid a pencil through the slits that were on the card. I made a total of 38 cards.
My messages were limited to the following:
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| ithappensinablink.com |
I went over to Michael's and bought some card paper, eyes, and valentine day themed pencils. The material can be bought from anywhere, including Walmart. The pencils can be bought from Dollar Tree or any dollar store, but since I was shopping with the baby and she wasn't a happy camper yesterday, I had to make a quick, one-store-stop, and Michael's is right around the corner from where we live.
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| Cut out |
The first thing I did was cut out the owls from the card paper. Then I cut 2 lines about an inch apart in the center towards the bottom of the owl. I used the scraps to cut out leafy shaped noses. If your kids are old enough, maybe 1st or 2nd grade, I am sure your kids will be excited to help you put the owl cards together! Unfortunately mine aren't old enough to help yet. The excitement was still there though.
Next, I worked on one card at a time. For next year, I'm going to pre-print the messages onto some valentines themed labels and that will help me save some time. That way the kids will be able to help too. So, going back to my cards, I glued on the eyes, and the nose. Next, I wrote the messages out. Lastly, I slid a pencil through the slits that were on the card. I made a total of 38 cards.
My messages were limited to the following:
- Owl always be your friend!
- I'll owl-ways be your friend!
- I'll be your friend, owl-ways!
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| Finished product |
Keep in mind, there are several other wordings you can choose from. I saw some owl cards with the following phrases, "You're a hoot," "Owl be your valentine," "Owl you need is love," "Whoo's my favorite valentine? You are!"
I think desis are natural hoarders; at least I am. I don't necessarily think I need intervention, although I am sure there are some that feel otherwise. In any case, hoarding proved to be a good thing; I was able to re-use the boxes from my Holiday cards to pack up and send these hand-made valentines day cards to the teachers.
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| Packed & ready to go! |
I was up until 3:30 am getting these done and packed. The kids had to take them in early so the teachers can sort all the cards. I'm working on 4.5 hours of sleep. We again had a dinner party to go to last night. By the way, the blotched spots you see on the cards were put on using MS Paint. I didn't want to make my kids unique names public. Making the cards was a lot of fun. I am actually going to do more crafty projects, once the semester ends. For now, OWL this Desi Girl needs is some sleep!!
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