Like many, I have fond childhood memories of Valentine’s Day and the exchange of those commercial, store-bought, cartoon cards everybody dropped into decorated paper bags. But as the years have passed, many of these valentines have more and more cheap, plastic add-ons. (I think the most ironic stack of valentine cards I ever saw were ones from the movie, Wall-E.) And the more I think about it, I feel like these store-bought valentines kind of miss the whole point. This article nails it, and estimates school kids in US exchange as many as 750 million. (This is not, by the way, including cards exchanged by teens and adults.) Understandably, schools don’t want kids to feel left out, so will require that everybody gets a valentine card for everybody. I like the thought behind that and I like the exchange of cards…but, like so many of our holiday traditions, much of the meaning has been sucked out and left an empty shell of obligatory tradition.
Also, with the unpredictable numbers of valentine cards “needed” by any one family vs. the numbers sold in packs, people often end up with more than they’re going to use. (Here are some “print as needed” valentine options, because despite my rant, I am a sucker for punny valentine cards…) Perhaps families/friends could also come together and share odds and ends cards to at least eliminate extra waste.
As someone whose love language is words, I do have a weakness for cards and hand-written notes. The thing is though, most of the classroom valentines passed out in schools are purchased by parents and quickly scribbled with a signature. And after the kids go through their stash and pick out the cheap candy, the cards often end up directly in the recycling (or trash). I don’t know what the solution is, but here are some thoughts:
–Or, perhaps, as the linked article above suggests, Valentine’s Day card exchanges should just bypass the Under 12 group.
Traditions are great, and many of us get very caught up in memories of how our own childhoods looked. But, times are changing, and it’s okay to shift to new traditions. Not just okay, it’s necessary. I think it’s wonderful to have a holiday that centers around LOVE, and despite this post, I actually really do love the idea of exchanging cards. But maybe by exchanging of 750 million cards in schools, the meaning has gotten a bit lost…