Preschool Non-Candy Valentines: Twistable Crayons + Free Printable

At my house, we have approximately 17 tons of candy leftover from all of the various holidays. With Valentine’s Day class parties looming, I knew I wanted to do a non-candy treat for the preschooler’s class party. But other than candy, the only other options seem to be plastic tchotchkes, and who needs any more tiny plastic toys?

I opted to do a more practical Valentine’s treat: twistable crayons.

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When checking out the discount store for something else a few weeks ago, I spotted these packs of twistable crayons on the clearance rack for less than $1. For my older guy, these crayons were like currency in Kindergarten. Biggie was also known to trade crayons with his best buddies. They did so much coloring, these Twistables were a fun change. For preschoolers, many of whom can barely hold regular crayons without breaking or dropping them, these packs of twistable crayons seem like such a fun alternative to candy and toys.

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Since the personalized candy bag tag is so hot on the DIY circuit, I knew I wanted to do something along that vein. But, again, these packs of crayons were such a find because creating the Valentine card/tag would be so easy. 

 

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First, I measured the inner label in the crayon pack. I considered making a label that would cover both sides, but knew that would be redundant. I opted to create a tag just for the front. The front label measured about 2.5 x 4, which is just about the same size as a classic valentine’s day card. 

 

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Next, I headed to Picmonkey to create a “pun”ny card to slide over the front label. Since the crayons are all about color, I went with “You brighten my day, Valentine!” And as a play on the twistable crayon, I created a tag that says: “You’re a twist above the rest, Valentine!”

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Since Littles doesn’t write anything other than circles yet, I had big brother help me personalize the crayon packs with some name tags. We punched out red card stock and wrote the kids’ names in silver Sharpie and slipped it into the back. We closed the pack and sealed it with a decorative V-day-themed washi tape. Names are blurred out to protect the innocent <3

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Since my guy’s preschool class is rather small, as in less than 10 kids, buying one of those Valentines class packs with 25 cards would be a waste. So, I’m very happy with the way these crayon packs turned out. Instead of candy or tiny toys, we have crayons that my preschooler’s classmates will (hopefully) use again and again!

Hurray for practical goodies!

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And since Valentine’s Day is all about sharing the love, I thought I’d share the tags with you. I grouped the 12 tags together for you to download and print for your personal use. The tags are about 2.5 x 4 in. and would be perfect for a pack of crayons, markers or anything colorful!  p.s. I eyeballed measurements, so the layouts and sizes are wonky. Of course it is…

Enjoy this freebie! If you use this, I’d love to see how your projects turned out. Make sure to Pin or share on IG and tag me! I’m jenrab on all social media outlets.

Valentine’s Day Goodies: Vermont Nut-Free Chocolates

If I’m going to review something, then it might as well be delicious! Lucky us, we were sent a selection of very delicious chocolates and candies from Vermont Nut-Free Chocolates

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These were some of the most delicious gourmet chocolates I’ve ever had. They’re rich and smooth, with beautiful packaging to boot. And because we know so many friends with nut allergies, it’s great to know that a company such as Vermont Nut-Free Chocolates provides allergy friendly confections.

 

My favorites are a toss up between the Crispy Rice Chocolates and the Valentines Drops. The beautiful chocolates and candy that we were sent to review for Valentine’s Day are reasonably priced. I appreciate that they’re affordable, yet gourmet quality chocolates suitable for your Valentine or your little sweeties!

We had fun doing a little video in honor of these delicious chocolates. Check it out!

 

 

Beyond Valentine’s Day, Vermont Nut-Free Chocolates has an expansive selection of chocolates and other treats, perfect for those on the hunt for nut-free confections.

Vday Goodies for Girls

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, so I thought it’s a good a time as any to share some cute finds that channel lots of love, practicality and a whole lot of springtime, too.

A big fan of giving practical gifts in lieu of trinkets that will get sucked up by the vacuum, I wanted to spotlight a few of the many cool hot pink snack containers and bottles that are out right now.

  • Boon, always a forward-thinking baby gear company, makes a Snack Ball in a hot pink.
  • And the Kid Easy Squeeze Chopsticks from Fred, are an inspiration from a friend and reader whose boys love eating with chopsticks.  Utensils with little dudes on them=cute and practical gift ideas that will go beyond Valentine’s Day.
  • As a writer, I always have a notebook and pen handy. I think this sparkly heart notepad from Children’s Place is another fun inexpensive gift idea that’s practical and encourages creativity. Pair the notebook with a few cutesy pencils and erasers, and you have a cheap gift bag that will go on to get good use in class.
  • And the cupcake necklace? I’ll have a batch of real ones to go along with that too, please!
  • Want to find out more info about the other products? You can click on each item to get info via ShopStyle.

Spread the Love (Birds) with Glug Collection

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, love is surely in the air.  Sure,  some people consider Valentine’s Day a Hallmark holiday, but it’s still a great excuse to spread a little extra love for the littlest sweethearts.

While perusing the web for some Valentine’s Day gift ideas, I actually came across a really sweet line of modern children’s clothing by Glug Collection.  The name, itself, is catchy and so are their designs.

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