Be My Green Valentine

In California alone, roughly 5 million elementary age students will hand out 5 million glossy and glittery valentines to their classmates.
What Can You Do?

That's a lot of love, but it's also a lot of paper. Here are a few greener ways for young Kevin to tell young Jane that he thinks she's neat. Keep in mind that your child probably has between twenty and thirty classmates, so the secret is to make it simple.

Homemade baked treats are fun, inexpensive and widely appreciated. And no trees are harmed in the process.

For take-home valentines, look for printed cardstock you already have lying around at home, like poker decks or baseball cards, that can be reinvented with a little effort. Type up a simple greeting, like "Thanks for being a great friend! Happy Valentine's Day." Copy and paste it thirty times, print it up on a single sheet and cut the printout into fortune cookie size slips of paper. The greeting can then pasted onto a Queen of Hearts or below the grinning image of an unsung sports hero for a funky and original way to express appreciation. Have your child pass them out to his or her friends along with an organic lollipop from Yummy Earth ($7.99/70; yummyearth.com).

If a bit of time is on your side, spend a messy evening making homemade paper with the kids (for a recipe for plantable paper, see www.thriftyfun.com). Use a heart-shaped mold and all the kids will have to do when it's dry is fill out "to's" and "from's." Beautiful.