I must admit, I'm thrilled my kids no longer give out Valentine's Day cards at school.
It's not that I didn't think it was adorable. I loved picking out the perfect perforated cards every year. I remember Scooby-Doo, Barbie, Bratz, Spider-Man, Yu-Gi-Oh! and many others. Some even came with those temporary tattoos for a little added fun. Sadly, for me, the mommy competition killed the the fun of putting together these cute Valentines. Seriously, do we need to attach THAT MUCH candy to an envelope that's half the size of a church donation card? And who has time for handmade ones?
Kids remember the kids with the good cards. That is the CANDY cards. And so the pressure for BETTER cards and candy begins. I started feeling cheap and withdrawn from the holiday because of the pressure. Which mom will go overboard? Will they talk about me behind my back because my kids' cards are plain. The tension was especially high when I was the moms editor at work.
Forget spending just $2 for cards that will be in the trash soon after. Plan on $10 per class for that extra candy. While I never went full-scale competitive, I caved into the kid pressure because I didn't want to look totally bad. I had no time to go fancy, but I did stick miniature chocolates a few times on those tiny cards. Who wants a lollipop? OK, not me! So there would be no way one of my children would offer a disappointing candy.
I'm sure not all moms see it as a competition. And maybe some moms just add the candy for fun. But when all it's supposed to be is a card exchange, adding candy creates mommy stress.
Why have that much candy coming home on Valentine's Day anyway? Don't we already have Halloween?
Cheers!
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