Valentines Day For the Frugal Family

The first week of January while grocery shopping I passed by the Valentine's Day section at Walmart on my way to the clearance section. At first I kept walking, but after not finding much of anything we needed in clearance I decided to stop and look at the Valentine's Day stuff. It was all the same repetitive things we see every year. Overly priced candy, stuff animals, and cards. I grabbed a pack of My Little Pony cards for Brooklyn to give to her class. Then I started looking for a nut free candy to attach to the cards. I couldn't decide on the candy and just purchased the cards and our groceries. 

After giving it some hard thought I decided not to over do nor over spend on anything for Brooklyn's class, especially since her teacher has not yet announced how they will be celebrating it. But y'all know me... I need a list of ideas and to be extra prepared. Here is the list I came up with.

During the holidays last year I started looking for healthier and frugal food options that Brooklyn can take to school. I try to be extremely mindful of what I put in her lunch as she is already a high energy kid, so I keep her lunch balanced with healthy options, low sugar, and still something filling. When I sat down to make this list, I lead with the idea that the options needs to be T-K age fun, but not full of sugar. I feel bad for the teachers during the holidays. We sugar up these babies and send them on their way to school. I find that kids Brooklyn's age love to peel their own oranges... and I love their excitement about finding their independence. I also had to keep in mind that Brooklyn's school only allows store bought and sealed items... and I like that!!! 

I hope this list inspires you all to be mindful and creative with what you'll be buying for your kid's classes. 

Let's talk a little about how our family will celebrate this day of love. I hear all the time... that Kevin and I should go somewhere nice and celebrate this day together but that's not what we want. We do weekly walks, day dates, picnics, and more during the week. We enjoy those low key, non stressful types of dates. They are often spontaneous and sometimes adventurous, like a solo hike before Brooklyn gets out of school. So on this day we really enjoy just doing something as a family. Brooklyn and I will cook something special for dinner and then we will all bake and decorate cookies together. This is something we can easily manage, even on a week night. 

For our family, holidays are not stressful because we do not put pressure on ourselves to make them big or over the top. We simply enjoy a quiet and fun gatherings at home. Holiday hikes, bonfires, cooking or baking something special, exchanging a few small gifts and then using them together and making memories is what we enjoy most.

Please leave comments telling me how your family will be enjoying Valentines Day this year!