We made some simple Valentine’s Day goody bags for our daughter’s classmates. First we wandered the aisles at Target—checking The Dollar Spot, the Valentine’s candy section, and the kid’s party aisle—to see what was left. In The Dollar Spot we found a set of 20 small clear bags for $1. They were perfect, so we grabbed them.
Next we explored the party aisle, which has kid-friendly bulk items like stickers, markers, and glow sticks. After looking at several options, we considered washable marker packs that were priced at $2 for 4 (so 16 markers for $8), but our daughter Clara wasn’t very excited about them. Then in the Valentine’s section, among candy hearts and lollipops, we spotted a red-and-white striped box of crayons. The store had marked down a box containing 24 crayon sets to just $3, which felt like a great deal.
With the clear bags and the crayon box coming to only $4 total, we kept looking for another inexpensive item to include. We found small spiral notebooks sold in sets of 8 for $1.50. Adding those felt right because a tiny notebook and crayons make an easy, compact activity set for kids—one I even keep in my purse for restaurants or doctor’s visits.
We asked Clara what she thought about the idea, and her enthusiastic “I want to draw in the notebook with the crayons now” convinced us it was a winner. After spending $7 in total, we headed home with our finds and opened everything up to assemble the goody bags.
We put one pack of crayons and one notebook into each clear bag. Clara was an eager and quick helper—so much so that many of our photos were blurry—but she did a great job making sure each bag contained exactly one crayon set and one notebook.
We already had square labels on hand, which we decided to use to seal the bags and show who they were from. Late that evening, after Clara was in bed, we brainstormed a Valentine-ish label that tied into crayons and notebooks. After discarding a few silly lines, we settled on a playful rhyme: “Crayons are red and yellow and blue, preschool is fun because of you!”
One sheet of the square labels was all we needed. We printed the design on the labels, then peeled and stuck one to the back of each bag to hold it closed. The labels added a nice personal touch and kept everything neat.
Once the bags were assembled, they looked sweet and simple—just the kind of little gift that’s easy for preschoolers to enjoy. Clara was excited to hand them out to her friends and insisted on keeping one for herself. After all, she does love her crayons.
If you want more kid-friendly Valentine’s ideas, printable games or simple crafts like a love-bug project make great additions to goody bags and are easy to DIY at home.