Roses are red, tulips are pink, and today’s Valentine boxes are more complex than you think!!
The pressure is on for building valentine boxes…
Do you remember as a kid, your Valentine boxes were just decorated with pretty papers and stickers and glitter wrapped around a shoebox with the hole in the top? If your mom was really crafty she might glue on a matchbox car and draw a road and you would instantly be the coolest kid in the class for the day, but for the most part you did the work yourself and you were proud of the finished project.
They were pretty fun to make, and show off to your friends. I remember using crepe paper one year. I ransacked my mom’s closet for an empty shoebox, and found the perfect one. I carefully began wrapping it in pink crepe paper, using my jar of paste, making sure the entire surface was covered. Then I took white paper doilies and glued one to each end, and lastly placed one on top. I thought it looked perfect!! I took it to school the next day and displayed it on my desk.
Kids’ individual personalities showed in their work. One girl had a box that looked like a rabbit, with ears. A boy had decorated his in Green Bay Packer colors of green and yellow, and taped a little plastic football helmet on top. My friend colored hers in tiger stripes and taped a picture of Tony the Tiger to the top. (Do kids today know who Tony the Tiger is?)
For some grades, I recall bringing a plain undecorated shoebox to school, and being given art time to decorate with materials provided by the teacher. That was fun because you could watch other kids decorate, and get ideas for what you wanted to do with yours. And, more importantly, the playing field was pretty level, so to speak. When we were all using the same materials, the boxes pretty much looked the same.
Now Valentines boxes seem to be more of a competition. I’m not sure where the line has been drawn between a fun creative project for kids and a real-feeling competition. The level of difficulty has definitely increased. The robots, monsters and unicorns the kids are bringing to school now are amazing, that’s for sure. I personally think parents should win an award for their creativity and the time they spend on their kids boxes.
I remember feeling the pressure every Valentine’s Day to help my daughters make awesome boxes. Occasionally their dad had to step in and help build something that would work. We made some pretty awesome boxes back in the day and I bet they would be nothing today. So why has something so innocent and simple as a box to hold Valentines become such a competitive item to create? How has a little shoebox decorated in hearts and doilies turned into a project that practically requires a degree in architecture or engineering? I’m not even sure kids today would know what a doily is.
The design, creating, and constructing of a box to hold love poems requires a lot of planning, ingenuity, and time. It could never be done the night before like we used to do. Love requires commitment, and so do love note boxes! Ha ha!
So all of you moms with little ones- start thinking NOW about how you can help them build their Valentines boxes someday. You may need all of this time to figure it out! #valentinepressure
Tami Loves…bringing the sweet and simple back to Valentine’s Day!
