A look back at a Valentine’s Day from simpler times.
Written by Faith-Ann G. English
As we grow into young adults, and eventually full-blown nine-to-five individuals, Valentine’s Day takes up a new meaning. People worry about buying flowers for their significant others, making reservations at overcrowded restaurants and the biggest concern: finding a Valentine. I want to go back to when we were kids, giggling after slipping our “Monster High” themed valentines into our crush’s decorated paper bag.
Caption: Examples of popular valentines, including “Monster High,” “Frozen” and “Marvel.” Credit: Google Images
My favorite memories from Valentine’s Day include cartoon character valentines, pink-frosted sugar cookies and crashing from sugar as soon as I stepped off the school bus. Other Vindi contributors and Cleveland State University (CSU) students shared their favorite memories as well.
“My fifth grade class had a competition to create our own valentine mailboxes,” Casey Couch, Vindi features editor, said. “Mine was the house from ‘Up.’”
Other students echoed similar memories of decorating and making mailboxes to keep their valentines and treats in. In fact, when asked about their favorite Valentine’s Day activity, almost everyone shared memories of decorating their mailboxes or doing crafts to decorate their classrooms.
“I was a big fan of the little mailboxes you got for cards, but honestly I think it was just because I really liked getting candy,” Thomas Ryan, a senior at CSU, said.
I think many of us can agree that getting candy as a kid for any holiday was always the highlight. Sweets like conversation hearts and boxes of chocolates with cute, fluffy animals. Classic candies with pink and red specialty wrappers and a spot to write, “to and from.”
“The Fun Dip candies were super nostalgic to me! For whatever reason, they’d only be super popular during [Valentine’s Day],” Ava Fuduric, Vindi managing editor, said.
I took a poll among some of my friends to find out other opinions about candy. Most people agree that Fun Dip is one of the best and most nostalgic candies of the Valentine’s season.
Many agree that Fun Dip is one of the best and most nostalgic candy. Fewer people are fans of conversation hearts, boxes of chocolates and classic candy, such as Hershey’s bars, Skittles, Reese’s cups and other popular year-round candy.
When asked about their favorite memories, some students shared some unique experiences.
“In fifth grade, a classmate brought in a chocolate fountain, and it was the coolest thing ever for us tiny fifth graders!” Britney Trautsch, a freshman at CSU, said.
Ryan agreed.
“I think the best card I received in middle school was a foot-long Perry the Platypus shaped card [that] was holding a sucker in his mouth. I think the weird size of it made it so interesting,” Ryan said.
Other students enjoyed the simpler memories like sending candy grams, doing arts and crafts and giving valentines to your best friends. Overall, many of us agree that Valentine’s Day as a kid was easier and looking back is nostalgic.
If you’re looking for Cupid’s nostalgia next year, here are a few tips:
Do a valentines exchange with your friends
Wait for your favorite candy to go on sale and share it with someone
Host a throwback party with all the best treats
Send a friend a surprise candy gram
Look for craft inspiration on Pinterest and decorate your room
No matter how old you are, you can still enjoy Fun Dip, character valentines and the joy of giving. Happy Valentine’s Day, kids!