I love Valentine’s Day. I have never had a significant other to share it with, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. Rather, I use the day to remind everyone that I love them, just like with Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, or Arbor Day. I do NOT however by into the Hallmark mafia. I much prefer to make my own valentines. Homemade is always better and sentiment beats price tag every time. To make your very own, one-of-a-kind valentines, here are some of my favorite tips!
1) First and foremost, you do not have to be Martha Stewart. It can be a quick note on a post-it or a massive two foot long card with moving parts and the works. It is the thought that counts. Most people do not expect to receive valentines after the fourth grade so it’s really nice to know that someone is thinking about you. You can send a text message with lots of emojis, or a snapchat, or you can carve a giant heart into freshly fallen snow. (I did that last week) As long as the sentiment is there, nothing else matters.
2) Use their favorite character, animal, sports team–anything personal. This is where you can go waaaaaaaay further than any store-bought card can. I always hated giving those cliche notes attached to candy in grade school because, what does it show other than that my mother made a list of all of my classmate’s names and I know how to write them? If they love a cartoon character you can print out a picture and trace it onto your card (just hold it up to the window for light). You can add a cute picture of their favorite animal, like one of kittens whose tails form a heart pattern. Or perhaps you can make your valentine on a ball from their favorite sport. If they love dessert your voud spell it out on cookies or cupcakes.
3) Use puns or inside jokes, or just a little something from the heart. Love is not exclusively a deeply romantic and fully committed emotion, it is a broad spectrum of affection and association. Sometimes love is best expressed in a pun about cheese or in the three simple words that sum up the universality of it all or sometimes in a 30 verse-long poem that you composed over the course of a year. I give all three and plenty other kinds of cards to all the people in my life whom I love.
4) Make it fun! Add colors, pop outs, anything to add a little oomf! I am an artsy-fartsy kind of person so this is my favorite part. Especially because it aids and abets in my procrastination of homework. There are so many different things you can do to spice things up (too many to list or link but simply google or pinterest Valentines Day Cards, you’ll see!). Glitter is always an option! A really easy thing is just drawing squiggly lines all over the place like confetti. Another easy thing is the fold the paper in half and cut out lines to make a pop out that you can attach hearts too, as seen here. If you have ink you can use two thumb prints overlapping to make hearts. Just go crazy.
5) When it doubt go with the classic: (my friends and I used to try and come up with the most profane version. Trust me, the variations are endless)
Rose are red
Violets are blue
Chocolate is sweet
And so are you!
Roses are red
Violets are blue
You make the world better
Just by being you!
Roses are red
Pizza sauce is, too
I ordered two pizzas
And one is for you!
(you don’t even have to rhyme)
Rose are red
Wine is too
Poems are hard
Wine!
As the Jesuits would say, “Go forth and set the world on fire!” Spread the love, spread it far and wide. I love when I get to make a fuss over other people, mostly because I don’t like people making a fuss over me, but also because I love having an outlet for all of my creative energy and passion. Focusing on giving to others makes any holiday a thousand times better. You could even get all your friends together and make cards with each other. Valentine’s Day is not about buying a piece of paper with some basic cliche printed on it, it’s about showing people that you love them. Love is not something you can buy, it can’t be package up or bought from a store. It comes straight from the heart in a million different personal ways. So, just get jiggy with it. There is no way to go wrong, everyone loves to get a homemade card on Valentine’s Day.