15 Yummy Ways to Upgrade Your Kid’s Valentine's Day Cards
Because food-filled bags are so much better than paper hearts!
Photo courtesy of Sugarfina
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and if you’re a parent you know exactly what that means — it’s time to break out the valentines for your kiddo's class exchange! Though paper valentines are still a great choice (bonus points if they feature hilarious food puns like this set from Etsy!), they often end up sitting in a pile on the kitchen table once the holiday is over. Luckily, brands and retailers nationwide are offering even more creative ways for your child to show their classmates and teachers just how much they mean to them this year. Best part of all — they’re all so versatile that even adults can give them out to their work besties, too. From candy-filled bags to festive boxes stocked with frosted cookies, here are some of our favorite food-themed valentines.
This adorable do-it-yourself card making kit from Cheryl's Cookies comes with everything your kiddo needs to make this year's classroom valentines the sweetest ones yet! Inside, they'll find 24 of the brand's fan-favorite cookies, in delicious kid-friendly flavors like red velvet, sprinkle unicorn, sugar and chocolate chocolate chip. The kit also comes with corresponding boxes that can be used to make transporting and delivering the treats as seamless and special as possible. If your child's class is on the smaller side, Cheryl's festive cookie cards also make a lovely choice.
Coming up with a funny or heartfelt Valentine's Day message is already taken care of for you and your little one thanks to these "love cups" from Reese's. Each fun-sized treat features a festive greeting printed directly on the wrapper.
Conversation hearts get a modern makeover in this whimsical candy bundle from Sugarfina. Inside each of the four included paper boxes, your child's classmates will find a flavored gummy or chocolate-based goodie, like strawberry hearts, birthday cake cookies, blueberry whales and berry ice cream cones. To personalize them some more, have your little one write their friend's names across the front or back of each box.
Your star student is sure to become the most pop-ular kid in their grade when they show up to class with this uniquely-shaped robot mailbox. Not only can they use it to collect their own valentines throughout the school day, but the mailbox also comes with 22 bags of The Popcorn Factory's best-selling butter-flavored popcorn, which your kiddo can gift to all of their friends.
If you're looking for an adult-friendly way to get in on the Valentine exchange fun with your co-workers this February, these Royal Riviera pears from Harry & David make a pear-fect choice. Each one comes adorned with a heart-shaped sticker and features heartwarming sayings like, "I'm Yours," "Be Mine" and "XOXO." They also make a yummy surprise for kids to find hidden in their lunchbox!
This 3-in-1 valentine is sure to be a hit with pint-sized foodies. Along with two adorable stuffed toys, it also comes with a heart-shaped greeting card, plus a one-ounce bag of fruit-flavored gummy candies. The brand also offers a s'mores, citrus and doughnut versions, if your kiddo wants to trade with their friends during recess.
Something tells us your kid and their friends won’t mind breaking these chocolaty hearts in two — after all, doing so is the only way they'll get to the cake's creamy filling! Like all the other finds on this list, these festively shaped desserts also feature "to" and "from" lines on their packaging, so kids can personalize each and every one in whatever way they like.
When it comes to edible bling, Ring Pops can't be beat. This Cupid-ready assortment features 21 individually wrapped pops in the brand's two most beloved, kid-friendly flavors: cherry and strawberry.
Cupcakes make every celebration better — it's just a fact, so go ahead and order these bite-sized ones for your kid's class. The bundle, which comes with 12 mini boxes of Baked by Melissa cupcakes, is a perfect way for little ones to share snacks safely. Each box also contains a different combination of kid-friendly flavors, like Marshmallow, Red Velvet and Strawberry, so all your kid's friends will feel extra-special when they open theirs.
One of the things we loved most about paper valentines when we were growing up was all the cutesy little messages that came along with them. If your little one is like that too, these Tootsie Pops will give them and their friends the best of both worlds. Not only does this limited-edition box come with 25 of the classic lollipops, but each one can also be inserted into cardboard "stands" that feature heartwarming greetings like, "BFF," "I'm a Sucker 4 U" and "You Rock!" There's even one for the teacher!
Is your kiddo obsessed with lollipops? Then this classroom exchange box from legendary candy brand DumDums is a must-have this Valentine's Day. We can't get enough of their adorable heart-shape, but something tells us it's the pops' unique flavor combos — Cherry Cotton Candy, Cherry Lemonade, Cherry Berry and Cherry Passionfruit — that'll turn kids into total suckers.
If your child and their friends spent the last few years shuffling back and forth between in-person and virtual school, they deserve to dig into a full-sized chocolate bar (or two)! This adorable exchange pack from Hershey's can help with that. The bars also fit perfectly inside a card envelope, in case you want to leave your own kiddo a fun surprise to find before school on Valentine's Tuesday.
These creative valentines from Etsy star-seller White Confetti Box are sure to make your little one's entire class melt. Each see-through box contains a coated wooden spoon that magically transforms into hot chocolate when placed in warm milk or water, plus a personalized label that contains a greeting and signature of your choosing. Though you can pick from 10 different designs total, we’re big fans of the mug-themed one pictured above!
When it comes to candy, it doesn't get any more fun than Fun Dip. The vintage treat from Lik-m-aid gets a 2023 upgrade in this Valentine's Day Exchange box. Kids won't be able to get enough of the "luv-a-ble" candy stick or the color-changing RazzApple dip. One reviewer even had this to say, "My son has used these for the last 5 years as his Valentines."
Nothing says friend-chip goals better than these snack bags from Frito Lay. With hilarious messages like "You're nacho average Valentine'' and "You're my purr-fect Valentine" printed across the front of each one, these bags are sure to be a hit with the whole class. The hardest part will be deciding which of your kid's friends gets the Doritos and which ones get the Cheetos.
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