Valentines Day is just around the corner and we just finished up a special something for the kid’s to take to school for their friends. With lots of new allergy related rules in schools I have decided that in lou of candy treats for Valentine’s Day that the kids and I could come up with some other inexpensive ideas that don’t involve food at all. We put together three great valentines for under .35 cents each, and another for the teachers under .75 cents each. Because my daughter has a slight straw obsession we choose crazy straws for her preschool friends, and my son choose bouncy balls for his kindergarten class. We also made some crayon and marker valentines for teachers and a few their friends.
The Crazy straw valentines turned out really cute and are one of my favorites.
Upon the discovery of these cute little pretzel bags made by “Way to Celebrate” at Walmart I came up with the perfect little valentine for her friends in preschool that cost a whopping .35 cents to create.
The Cost breakdown for these:
24 straws for $6.00
20 bags for $1.75
I was able to make 20 favors for about 35 cents each!
I simply printed out the phrase “I’m crazy for you Valentine” in red ink on white paper from my home computer. I cut them out so they were like a little card with a fold in the center. I added one crazy straw per pretzel bag and then stapled the little card over the top of the bag to close the bag.
They were very quick and simple to make, and I think her preschool classmates will love them. My little lady then used a package of little princess valentine cards to personalize them. She wrote her name, her friends names, and some decorations that we stapled to this simple crazy straw valentine. That way she was able to personalize them for her friends, and pick out which color of straw she thought her friends would like best.
For my son we decided on bouncy ball valentines. I have seen these ball favors all over Pinterest and couldn’t wait to make them with my son for his kindergarten class. What kid doesn’t love a brand new colorful bouncy ball, and I was anxious to see what the cost breakdown of maing these would be. I choose to use regular printer paper instead of card stock to save on cost and they turned out really fun and just adorable.
These valentines were also super easy to make and my son had fun adding the bouncy balls to each bag.
I found the clear party bags in Target’s party section for $2.00.
The bouncy balls also came from the Target party section and were $3.00 for 12.
I had the paper on hand so the total cost was about 35 cents each to make.
I printed out the “Have a Ball, happy Valentines Day” Tag online to add to the top of the bag. This free printable from Simply Designing made these super quick to put together. My son also personalized his bouncy ball valentines with some simple store bought cards that he enjoyed writing out himself and adding to the back of the package.
Last we decided that we should make a few simple valentines for the teachers and a few friends and cousins that might enjoy a Valentine from the kids. I feel like I hit the jackpot at Target’s party section because all of our valentines were created from things we found there. We grabbed a few party packs of crayons and markers to come up with our other valentines. I couldn’t decide on just one phrase, so we mixed them up a little. The pretzel bags were the absolute perfect size to fit the little packages of crayons and markers in and I love how they turned out.
The crayon packages had two different phrases. One being “Valentine you make each day colorful”, and the other being “Valentine you color my world”. They were made the same way as the above valentines by printing the phrases and stapling them to the top of the bags with the favors inside. 
The crayons came in a package of 8 for $2.00
The Pretzel bags came in a package of 20 for $1.75
Total Cost for the Crayon Valentine was about .35 cents each!
The markers were just a little bit more expensive to make, but my kids adore these sweet little markers. They are perfect to throw in a little bag for traveling, and make a great little gift for their friends. With the phrase “You have left marks on my heart” they are the perfect valentine for the kids to give to friends and family to show their love.
The markers came in a package of 4 for $2.00
the bags were about .10 cents each (package of 20 for $1.75)
Total cost for marker valentines was about 7o cents each
You can check out last years non-candy valentines too for more great ideas. Last year we used temporary tattoos, little race cars, and little toy cameras. A fun way to make Valentines Day special for the kids and their friends.