frugal valentine gifts for classmates

by Barb on February 5, 2013

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Frugal Valentine's Day Gifts for Kids

Every year, I look for fun and frugal ways to make gifts for Valentine’s Day for my children’s classmates. This year’s craft came out of my brain, probably thanks to an idea I saw somewhere online in the past few years. No matter! I’m claiming credit for the idea!

Frugal Valentine's Day Gifts for Kids

The idea started when I found a pack of 12 Valentine’s Day pencils at the local Dollar Tree for $1. (Note to self: pick up pencils at Christmas time for gifts.) I wasn’t sure what I would do with the pencils though I knew I needed a way to identify them as being from my son.

Inspiration came in Target. I found a package of 35 foam hearts for $5.00. They were big enough and sturdy enough to make it to school and home again.

Frugal Valentine's Day Gifts for Kids

We spent most of the crafting time punching the small pieces out of the preprinted design on the hearts. Imagine 3 people crowded around a small trash can punch little foam pieces out for about 10 minutes. Yes, that was us! We did it over the trash can to reduce the clean up time. Yeah, me!

Frugal Valentine's Day Gifts for Kids

Next, we cut 2 slits in the foam hearts. Before we fed the pencils through the slits, I wrote “Happy Valentine’s Day!” on the left front side of the heart and “From: my son’s name” on the right front side. Then we slid the pencils through the slits, and the craft was done.

Now I need to figure out what to do with the Valentine’s Day sticker boxes I found at the Dollar Tree for my other 2 children.

Total Cost per Gift: $.32

Because I love meeting new people and sharing, this post is linked to:

Creative Bloggers Carnival Hop, Better Mom Mondays LinkupMade by You Monday, Mom’s Monday Mingle, Penny Pinching Party, Frugal Tip Tuesday, Tackle It Tuesday, Monday Funday, Time to Shine, The Mommy Club, Works for Me Wednesday, Seasonal Celebration, Valentine Linky, Mom on a Time Out

Meet Barb

Barb Hoyer has written 2735 posts.

After working in the fundraising world for over ten years, Barb is an avid runner, writer, photographer, parent volunteer, and lover of dictionaries and thesauruses. Wife to an engineer and mom to 5 kids, Barb lives in the suburbs of Philly. Her idea of relaxation is an afternoon on the couch with a stack of books.

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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Little Sis February 5, 2013 at 10:55 am

Thanks for sharing this Barb! I have to admit I’m dreading the influx of candy that will accompany this day at school, but I’m glad to have a fresh idea for what my children can give.
Little Sis recently posted..Slow Cooker Burritos

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Barb February 6, 2013 at 5:17 pm

Thanks! I couldn’t believe how much red dye no. 40 was in the candy at the Dollar Tree. Ugh!

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Melinda@LookWhatMomFound...andDadtoo February 5, 2013 at 11:05 am

that is so much cuter than those standard branded valentines we’re used to
Melinda@LookWhatMomFound…andDadtoo recently posted..Save Money With Coupons At Checkout

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Stacy Uncorked February 5, 2013 at 12:22 pm

That is an awesome idea! I was thinking pencils for PN’s class this year instead of candy (since the school has put the kibosh on sweet treats). I love this idea! Now to make sure I get out of Target without having extra stuff “accidentally” find their way into my cart… ;)
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Barb February 6, 2013 at 5:15 pm

My other idea is similar and a bit more labor-intensive than this one. I swear I need to start making these at the beginning of January to get all 3 classes done.

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Jenn February 5, 2013 at 9:51 pm

Great idea!
Jenn recently posted..White Chocolate Raspberry Swirled Cake

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Rebecca February 13, 2013 at 10:47 am

This is a super idea Barb and I just wish you had published it earlier as I could have included it in my Awesome Valentine Craft Ideas post;-) Thank you for sharing your craft project with us and I hope very much to see you over at Seasonal Celebration today! Rebecca @Natural Mothers Network x
Rebecca recently posted..Celebrate Autumn with 12 Irresistible Pumpkin Recipes

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