A Small Heart-Shaped Box
Can I ask you a question? When did Valentine’s Day get so…BIG???
When I was growing up, Valentine’s Day was completely my Dad’s holiday. He would come home from work with two small heart-shaped boxes of candy–one for me and one for my brother. And he would have one enormous box of candy for my Mom. Which was ironic, because she was so self-disciplined, she would eat a piece or two, and that was it. Meanwhile, my brother and I would polish off our boxes in no time flat and then help my Dad devour Mom’s box. I tried to get all of the soft, non fruity pieces first, leaving the hard caramel for my dad to chew.
Each year, I would carefully wrap an old shoe box with red and pink tissue paper and paste doilies all over it. I would cut a hole in the top for the valentines, and cart the box to school. We always had a contest which I never won. Everyone would go around the room and put their store-bought valentines into each classmate’s box. We never gave candy to each other, and we didn’t even really have a party.
Here I am, about thirty years later, looking at Valentine’s day through my kids’ eyes. For a week, there have been articles in the paper about how to prepare a Valentine’s meal–cut the steak into a heart shape! Use food coloring to dye your foods red! Whip up a delectable dessert! Classmates give candy bars and suckers along with character Valentines. People dress in red, or even buy outfits with hearts for their little girls to wear on this one day. And then there are the stuffed animals, the balloons, the flowers, and of course the never ending jewelry commercials where men are instructed exactly how to make their ladies feel loved. With diamonds, of course.
Meanwhile our country is supposedly facing a recession, people are losing their homes because they can’t afford their mortgage, and we’re all in debt up to our eyeballs. And I can’t help but think that a small heart-shaped box of candy is a good way to celebrate Valentine’s day. Nothing more.
February 14th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Valentine’s Day has become less of a holiday where you show the ones you love how much they are appreciated, and more of a holiday where people think they DESERVE special treatment because they’re loved. There’s a subtle difference, lol.
Anyhow, I hope your day is full of love & non-commercialism.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
February 14th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
We prefer Reese’s PB hearts in our house. Those and the Russel Stover strawberry cream hearts. Yummmmmmm…
Yeah we rail on the diamond stuff too…”Prove your love by spending yourself into debt!!” Always a winner.
February 16th, 2008 at 10:43 am
It is getting a little ridiculous, isn’t it? I was out and about
and thought it may be fun for my girls to get a flower–until I saw
the price of carnations and my eyes nearly popped out! Ummm, I think
they’ll get a flower in…ummm….March, or September when there isn’t
any sort of “buy flowers” holiday (or is there???)
We’ve tried to keep Valentine’s Day a fun and fairly homespun holiday.
The kids made their own valentines (okay, okay, I helped Peter print
them off the computer–he’s not a craft kid) and we made heart shaped
cookies. It was fun and not crazy-expensive.
I’m always up for a good excuse for a party in cold, cold February, so
I won’t shun Valentine’s Day, but I won’t spend hundreds of dollars
either.
February 16th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Oh Amanda, I think you are right on! It isn’t just Valentine’s Day…that attitude of “I deserve…” is such a part of our entire society, isn’t it??
Skerrib, I LOVE the PB hearts! Not so much on the strawberry ones. I’m a peanut butter fanatic, though.
Carla, The excuse for a February party is why we always have a Groundhog party!
It sounds like you all had fun celebrating Valentine’s Day, instead of buying Valentine’s Day. Take that, Hallmark!