Class Valentines The Easy Way

Valentines for my children's classes this year took me sooo much effort. I mean, I had to park my car and walk half the length of the parking lot into Target. I had to walk from the front of Target to the opposite rear side and locate the Valentine's Day aisles. I had to spend a whole three minutes deciding which pre-made candy Valentines to choose. Then, as if all that wasn't enough, I had to walk back to the front of the store and pay. Whew! Wasn't that just so hard?

The dawn of Pinterest ushered in a massive barrage of "cutesy" ideas, projects, and plans for perfect everything. Perfect homes, perfect parties, perfect tablescapes, perfect teacher gifts, and perfect class Valentines. A great majority of us, myself included, bought into it. We decided that we needed to do everything little thing up to the standard of the magazine editorial's and full-time blogger's spreads. I mean, I have friends who try to craft and DIY every class party and get so anxious when they can't make it just how they want it or how they saw it on Pinterest.

What happened to the simple birthday parties of pre-Pinterest years? You know the ones I'm talking about. They consisted of cake, ice cream, chips and dip, and something to drink. You might have had balloons and streamers and a matching tablecloth, all bought in a themed package for your convenience. Kids just played together, ate, opened gifts, played a little more, and that was it. Piece of cake. Clean up was a breeze and you hadn't spent hundreds of dollars and hours and hours of time preparing for a two hour party.

I'm not saying that putting in extra time and effort on a party or class Valentines is wrong or bad. Not at all. I love to make things with my hands, to be creative and put something special together. What I am saying is that it's still okay NOT to do these things. That to put so much pressure on ourselves to make everything perfect and cutesy is not healthy. When you're getting anxious and stressing out about what you're sending to school with your child for their Valentine's Day party, or any other occasion for that matter, it's time to take a step back and simplify.

Sometimes, maybe you really don't have the extra time to devote to DIYing everything. Maybe mentally and emotionally you just don't have it in you spend so much time on a project. Maybe financially, you need to find ways to save money. Or maybe it's just not your thing. IT IS OKAY! Stop putting so much pressure on yourself.

My girls ready to bring their store-bought treats and Valentines to their classmates and I'm not even stressing. Ha!

In years past, I've made DIY Valentines for my kids' classes. I've made special treats for them to eat. But this year, I decided to simplify, to give myself a break. I need a break from the Pinterest-DIY-perfection-is-everything mindset. I'm a blogger who shares ideas to inspire others and I straight up bought pre-made Valentine's from Target. And the treats for their class parties? I bought....wait for it....something from the bakery at a local grocery store!

It's okay to give yourself a break from cutesy and perfect.

It's okay to buy pre-made items.

It's okay to not spend tons of time crafting DIY everything. 

It's okay to simplify. 

This is just a friendly reminder to cut yourself some slack sometimes. 

It's okay!