Lately, I need to check back over my old posts to make sure the issue I am about to whine about is not one I've written about already. I tend to complain about the same things all the time, and I don't wish to repeat myself.
So here goes....Is it me or has Valentine's Day gotten completely out of control? I went to the store today to get a few small bags of chocolate for my husband and daughter, along with Valentine cards for Ava to give her classmates. I found five aisles of Valentine's day crap, and I do mean crap. Huge stuffed animals; heart-shaped games, puzzles, and trinkets; and any kind of candy you can imagine with a special Valentine wrapping (meaning it costs more). There were also rows and rows of cards: Happy Valentine's Day to my husband, wife, boyfriend. girlfriend, Mom, Dad, son, daughter, grandparents, aunt, uncle, teacher, garbage man, hairdresser, mail carrier, doctor, lawyer, and accountant. As far as I am concerned you should get a card for your significant other, maybe your child, and that's it. The rest is nonsense.
Each year my daughter's class has a Valentine Party. They make a little mailbox out of a manila folder and decorate it. It's very cute and the kids enjoy getting their little notes from each other. Oh but that's not enough, you see. Disney, Nickelodean, and other manufacturers of children's media have jumped on the bandwagon and designed Valentines -emblazed with pictures of TV and cartoon characters - that kids can give to each other. Each one comes with a pencil or a lollipop, small toy or candy. So do this times 20 and your kid comes home with a whole pile of junk. Add to this the parents who feel to send in a small BAG for each child. Yes, a bag filled with more candy, pencils, erasers, little toys, bubbles, bracelets, you name it. Oh and then there's the party itself where he kids usually get a whole pile of treats and more stuff.
Is all this really necessary? I don't think so. I am not anti-fun; I think the kids should have their party and their treats, and be allowed to exchange cards. But it should be limited to cards, since they get enough treats at the party, and who needs a houseful of more small toys that no one will ever touch? It is all part of something I despise: excess. I hate when people (mostly helicopter parents) feel the need to micromanage and make sure their children's holidays are filled with more than they could ever want. I don't know if they are compensating for something else they lack, or if they felt deprived as children, or what. But I cannot stand that people overdo everything in an effort to create a perfect situation, as if there is such a thing. And what upsets me more is that many children have come to expect all this nonsense, and then moan "That's IT?" when someone gives them one piece of candy or a treat bag that has only 3 items in it. "You want somethin'? I'll give you somethin'..."
In any event, I will buy 2 Valentines cards: one for my husband and one for my daughter. I will buy them a bag of their favorite candy to share and that will be it. Enough is enough already. Maybe one day my daughter will tell her therapist I was a bad mother for not giving her a huge heart-shaped poofy pink bear for Valentine's Day, but I'll be dead by then so who cares? Oh and Happy Valentine's Day.
