Tag Archives: Valentine’s Day

7 Green Valentine’s Day Ideas for Parents

Green Valentine's Day Ideas For Parents

Valentine’s Day is a fun time for parents to remind each other how much they care for one another. That makes it another holiday with the potential for a mess of stuff that will shortly be thrown out. Here are some more eco friendly options for Valentine’s day gifts for parents.

1. Fair Trade or organic chocolate.

Is this obvious or what? I don’t think much more needs to be said.

OK, so my preference is to make pomegranate truffles for my family. Whether you make your own chocolates or buy them, pay attention to the quality of the products you use. Fair Trade chocolate is a great way to go.

2. Fair Trade or organic flowers.

Of course, you could go with flowers from your garden, if you’re fortunate enough to have any at this time of year, but most people will have to buy flowers if that’s what they want to give for Valentine’s Day.

Think about drying any flowers you get, and using them as decorations. I have a huge jar full of every flower my husband has given me since we got married. We hung each bouquet upside down in a closet until the flowers dried completely. This way they remain a lovely and sentimental part of our home decor. If that’s not your thing, compost them.

Alternatively, choose potted flowers that can be added to the garden or grown indoors. I have a lovely miniature rose bush that my husband gave me a few years ago growing in our garden. He tried to sneak it in, but my youngest’s loud “WOW!” gave him away.

3. Serve organic wine.

Whatever your romantic dinner may be, select a bottle of organic wine. Look for the USDA organic seal.

4. Organic lingerie.

A nice piece of lingerie is such a classic gift for couples. Think about the materials it’s made of, but still have fun.

5. Eco friendly jewelry.

Most jewelry is pretty bad for the environment, and often bad for social issues as well. Just think about blood diamonds.

You can do better. Companies such as GreenKarat will take your old gold to make new jewelry. Others focus on ethical origins for their supplies.

6. Rethink the card.

You don’t have to buy a Valentine’s Day card to express your feelings for you. Instead, make your own. You can write poetry, a haiku or even just a few quick sentences to show how you feel. Print it up or say it out loud.

7. Plan a spa day.

Check out your local spas and find one that focuses on environmentally sound practices. You can go together or just give your loved one a day to relax. SpaFinder is an easy way to get a gift card that works at many spas. Check to see if the spa you’d prefer accepts gift cards from them.

4 Green Valentine’s Day Ideas for Kids

Kids love Valentine’s Day. Mine always want to give out valentines that include some candy and yes, sometimes I let them. It’s hard to make they always go against what all the other kids are doing. But there are some really wonderful projects kids can make for Valentine’s Day that are a bit more eco friendly and still fun.

Valentine's Day Ideas for Kids

Obviously, when you’re talking about valentines to hand out at school, you’re talking cheap. No one wants to spend a ton of money making somewhere over 20 cards per class. If your kids are like mine, they also don’t want to be the only ones giving out plain cards without treats. These days it’s pretty much expected. Fortunately, there are ways to keep things just that little bit more green.

Sadly, I can’t recommend homemade treats, as many schools have rules against such things.

1. Make homemade Valentine’s Day cards.

It’s really not easy to find classroom packs of Valentine’s Day cards made from recycled materials, but you may be able to make your own. Look around for any appropriate paper and cardstock you may have. There are plenty of printable Valentine’s cards available too. Add a crayon or so if it’s made to be colored in.

2. Make crayon hearts.

If you have a bunch of crayon pieces, melt them into heart shaped molds, and let your child include those with their Valentine cards instead of candy.

3. Add candy to your Valentine cards.

Rather than buy the cards with candy already attached, you can pick out your own candy and attach it yourself. Punch a hole or two through the card to make it easy to add a lollipop. There are all kinds of amazing ideas out there for lollipop Valentines.

4. Give pencils.

I don’t know why it is, but even kids too young to write love getting pencils. Put some heart decorations on them, and you have a really cute gift that kids might actually use.