Skip to main content

Happy Box Day Mommas


 

Every year it comes and every year I cringe. The flyer comes out of the folder and the headline reads...

"It's that time! Create your own Valentine's Day box for our class party!"

When I was in school, we put stickers all over a Kleenex box or decorated a paper sack with crayons. Not anymore! In today's day and age, it's all about the show. You go big or go home! Parents are spending hours and dollars to create these Valentine's Day monstrosities. I actually love (no pun intended) Valentine's Day, but what I don't love is the added pressure that it puts on parents. 

I will say that I'm pretty darn proud of some of the Valentine's Day boxes I've whipped up for my kiddos over the past few years. Thinking back we've had everything from Harry Potter, to Disney, sports, Fortnite and donut themes. While I don't consider myself a crafty person, this is something I excel at (thanks to Pinterest, Hobby Lobby and Dollar Tree). However, it's the principal of it all. This is something that I have to schedule out to make sure that it gets done. This is another round of errands that I must run to gather supplies. This is something that will.....end up in the trash once the party is over. 

Yes I will post happy photos of my kids with their custom boxes to my social media, because darn it, that effort deserves to be shared. Yes I will go to my kids' classroom parties and enjoy being a part of it. The days leading up to the Valentine's Day parties though? They tend to stress me out. When you work full-time and have to find time to run the errands and do all of the things in preparation for these types of things, it can be overwhelming. And it's okay to admit that you feel this way. I certainly do.

Yes I am complaining, but I also know that someone has to say it and I can't be the only one who feels this way. When it's all said and done, I do love seeing my kids take pride in their boxes as they carry them into school. I also realize just how quickly the years are flying by and that there will come a time when they won't have Valentine's Day parties and life will become more serious for them. My son is already a middle schooler and doesn't require a box this year. That is one down, two to go and so much faster than I ever anticipated. 

We always come up with something great and when I look back on the photos year after year, the stress isn't what I remember. The smiles, the sticky fingers and the candy coated grins are what matter. All of this to say, we've got this moms. Make that box and attend that classroom party (if you are able). You can do it! By the way, here's a side note for anyone who is new to the land of Valentine's Day boxes. No matter how much effort you put into it, there will be another box bigger, brighter and better than yours, but that's okay. Give that mom a shoutout knowing she probably stayed up all night making it. Sneak a few pieces of candy (to pair with a glass of wine) as a reward for your efforts. They'll never know! 

Have a Happy Massive, Over-the-Top, Ridiculously Large, Sparkly, All About the Presentation Box Day! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What I Learned from Frugal January

While I don't believe in new year resolutions, I do believe in goals, aspirations and dreams. As a society, we're made to feel that with each new year, we must make resolutions, which more often than not, fade by March or set us up for failure. The feeling of failure is never good for the spirit, so a couple of years ago, I decided to stop giving in to that societal pressure. I have found that self-reflection is an excellent place to begin a new year and set realistic goals. This year, I started by challenging myself to what I named Frugal January. It's exactly what it sounds like. I challenged myself to only spend on necessities. I gave up runs to the coffee shop and trips to TJ Maxx. I gave up frivolous, careless and impulse-based spending, no matter how big or small it was. I asked myself one question with every single purchase decision, "do I really need this?" If I could live without it, I declined it. Did this cause me physical pain at times? Yes! There were...
Post a Comment
Read more

No One Prepared Me for This

This is the part of motherhood that I feel no one prepared me for. Perhaps you can't really be prepared at all. I didn't think it would happen as quickly as it did.  I'm talking about the day you wake up and your firstborn child is looking you in the eye and well on the way to surpassing your height. Can we not?  Seriously!  Sending Rhylan to middle school last year was a very tough concept to grasp. I've come to terms with being the mother of a middle schooler. I mean...what choice do I have? In doing so, I've had a front row seat to extraordinary growth (and I'm not just talking about physically). I've watched him overcome so much. Whether it was constant encounters with a bully (no one prepares you for that either), watching him navigate tough decisions, strengthening his sportsmanship or taking accountability... I'm constantly amazed by him. Last year was fifth grade. He seemed like a baby walking into that giant middle school. We're currently im...
Post a Comment
Read more

I Hate This.

It's taken me years to finally get the courage to address several areas of my own well-being. It all started with a trip to the doctor during the first week of January. I received so much insight into issues I've been experiencing and problems that I had been choosing to ignore. I've been on medications for over a month and I truly feel like a brand new version of me.  Growing up, medication was something that was frowned upon and feared in our household. Once I became a parent, my entire perspective shifted. I knew that I would do anything in my power to give my children relief from whatever they may be experiencing. From everyday colds, to the flu, ear infections and even a journey into Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis , we've overcome a lot....thanks to modern medicine. However, there is one particular person who was left behind in this journey.  Me.  How often have we kept ourselves on the back burner as moms? How many times have we made appointments for our kids, tak...
Post a Comment
Read more