We put together simple, budget-friendly Valentine’s Day goody bags for our daughter’s preschool classmates, and it was so easy that I wanted to share the process and shopping tips. We started by browsing the aisles at Target, checking The Dollar Spot up front, the Valentine’s candy section, and the kids’ party aisle to see what was left. In The Dollar Spot we scored a set of 20 small clear treat bags for $1 — an instant yes.
Next we looked through the party aisle, where you can find sticker sheets, markers, glow sticks and other bulk kid items. We considered a pack of washable markers priced $2 for 4, which would have meant 16 markers for $8, but our daughter, Clara, wasn’t too excited about them. In the Valentine’s section, among heart candies and lollipops, we found a red-and-white striped box containing single crayon sets — the whole box of 24 crayon packs was marked down to $3. That sealed the deal.
Since the clear treat bags plus the box of crayons cost only $4, we kept shopping to see what else might fit. We found small spiral notebooks sold in sets of 8 for $1.50 per pack. For roughly $3 more we could tuck a striped crayon pack and a mini spiral notebook into each goody bag — a perfect combination for simple creative fun. I often keep a small notebook and crayons in my purse to entertain Clara at restaurants or at appointments, so that practical element helped convince us.
We came home excited and opened everything up. Clara was a great helper who wanted to start drawing right away, which spelled success to me — if a preschooler is eager to use the items now, chances are their classmates will be too.
Putting the bags together was quick: one small pack of crayons and one mini notebook in each clear bag. Clara helped fill them and was careful to place only one of each item per bag. She was so fast that some photos came out a bit blurry, but she did a great job assembling the gifts.
To finish the bags we used square labels we already had on hand to seal the tops and indicate who the treats were from. It was late — around 9:30 p.m. — and Clara was already in bed, so I brainstormed a Valentine-themed label line that referenced crayons and notebooks. After discarding a few silly drafts, I landed on a short rhyme that felt right for preschoolers: “Crayons are red and yellow and blue, preschool is fun because of you!”
One sheet of square labels was enough to make labels for all the bags. I printed the design and peeled each label off to seal the back of a bag. If you want to replicate this, you can create a simple label in any design program (even a free editor) and size it for square labels such as Avery 288. Choosing a friendly rounded font helps the message look playful and kid-appropriate, or you can handwrite labels if that’s easier.
And here’s how the completed goody bags looked — cheerful and simple. Clara couldn’t wait to hand them out to her friends, and she made sure there was one she could keep for herself. What can I say: the girl loves crayons.
If you’re planning your own kid-friendly Valentine’s goody bags, consider printable games or small crafts to tuck inside as extras. A free Valentine’s Bingo printable or a simple love-bug craft are both great, compact additions that kids enjoy. These bags are an inexpensive, practical, and fun way to celebrate with classmates — and they’re easy to assemble the same evening you buy the supplies.