What’s better than a Valentine’s Day card from a kid? It’s pretty much guaranteed to be sealed with a sloppy lick that makes the envelope just a touch bumpy (look for it!). It’s also likely that it was mailed with the kind of pride that makes the small sender simultaneously puffed up with pride and frozen from shyness. Which is an emotional state completely unique to children – and one that slays me every time I witness it. Don’t miss your kids’ pride-shy moment! If you send digital Valentines or perforated drug store–style love notes, you won’t have a chance of catching it. Here are five ways to include your kids in the process of creating one-of-a-kind Valentines that will brighten a cold February day for friends and family near and far.
1. Send Smooches Have your kids pucker up for a mini photo shoot. Start by having them blow air kisses to you, then have them blow them to the loved one who lives farthest away, then get silly and ask them to blow kisses to all the fairies in Neverland or all the aliens in outer space. Snap giggling photos along the way, then create a card that captures air kisses and delivers them to friends and family near and far. You can even have your kids help you seal the envelopes, making sure they’re secure so no smooches escape!
2. Mushy Mushy If your child is still eating baby food, snap a smiley photo during a meal – the messier the better. Go with the theme for your caption – “Everything’s better when it’s mushy!” or “Let’s get mushy!”
3. Sealed with a Lick Set the scene for a Valentine-making project where kids are allowed to go to town with glue sticks, glitter, candy hearts, paint and confetti – namely everything you usually keep on the highest shelf to avoid horrendous messes. Snap shots of the action along the way, including the process of stamping and sealing a few envelopes. If you have a dog, by all means try to get a photo of your child holding an envelope for Fido to lick. For the best results, let the action get a little madcap. Create a collage of smiling faces, spilled glue and lopsided hearts for your custom Mixbook Valentine. Then upload photos to create a collage on any Mixbook Valentine card template. When you’re sending them to friends and family members, tuck some of the handmade hearts inside, assuming the gallons of glue are dried by the time your Mixbook cards arrive.
4. Mustachioed & Lip-tastic This one’s simple: just upload an adorable photo of your family into the and use Mixbook’s Pucker Up card, then drag and drop lip and mustache stickers into place. Have a little fun by putting lips on the family dog and a mustache on the cat.
5. School Valentines The tradition of sharing Valentines in handmade mailboxes at school has been around a long time. And it’s a really sweet custom no matter how you slice it. But when half of them are Justin Bieber cards and the other half are Star Wars–themed they somehow don’t feel particularly personal. So this year, work with your child to create a custom school Valentine card that reflects their awesome spirit – not that of a pop star or a character from a movie. Here are a few of my favorites!
*My Heart Beeps, Heart Bulls Eye, Doily Hearts, Out of this World
Happy Mixbooking! Happy Valentine’s Day!
