Valentine’s Day is all about showing the special people in your life how much you love them! But what do you do when your loved ones are far away? Be it a child away at college, a spouse on military deployment, an elderly family member living alone or anyone far away, sometimes the occasion calls for more than a simple card.
With just a bit of creativity and smart packaging, you can send a gift that’s sure to brighten anyone’s Valentine’s Day! Who wouldn’t want to receive a package like this in the mail?
Inside this adorable conversation heart box are sweet treats and festive goodies. Packaged tightly and neatly, nothing will wiggle around, ensuring all your snacks and gifts survive the journey in tact!
Ready to make one too? Let’s start with the conversation heart box!
Paint a large cardboard heart box (found at any craft store) with some acrylic paint using a foam brush. Pick any color that matches the traditional candy.
Depending on what color and type of paint you use, it may take several coats to get nice coverage on the brown box (my box took four coats of paint). Once the box is dry, add red letters to spell out any message you wish. I applied red vinyl letters cut with a die-cut machine; you can also use red letter stickers or a red marker. And that’s it! With just some paint and red letters, you have a jumbo-sized conversation heart box ready to fill!
Next, package up a few gifts your valentine will love.
Start with a plain glass jar (found at any craft store). This is a great size and has an air-tight lid, perfect for holding all sorts of treats.
I cut a “pun-ny” label from pink vinyl using a die-cut machine and adhered it to the lid using clear transfer tape. There are so many fun phrases to go with various candies; search around online for your perfect sentiment!
This is a pretty large jar and would have held four-plus bags of peanut M&Ms. To take up space inside the jar, insert a cardstock cylinder, then add candy around it. You still get the effect of a full jar without having to buy loads of candy.
Inside the paper cylinder is a perfect spot for a mini surprise love note or even a gift card!
So the candy doesn’t spill into the center cylinder during shipping, cover it with a cardstock circle that’s cut to fit snug inside the mouth of the jar.
I also tucked a plastic scooper filled with Hershey’s kisses into the box!
To keep the kisses from tumbling loose around the box, wrap the entire scoop with clear cellophane paper and tie it up with a pretty bow and hand-written tag.
The last item in the box is both functional and decorative! This simple and oh-so-charming heart garland acts as cushioning in the box and gives your recipient a decoration to hang and enjoy long after the edible goodies are gone.
This garland is so simple! Start by cutting down colored cardstock into 1″x6″ strips. I used double-sided, patterned cardstock to really vary the interest throughout the garland.
Next, staple two pink strips together at their ends.
Bend the strips backward and bring them together at the bottom to form a heart shape (below left). Before stapling, add two red strips of paper at the base of the pink heart (below right).
Secure the pink heart and attach the red with one staple (below left). Continue adding, bending and stapling paper strips to create a long chain of paper hearts!
Including this garland allows your valentine to have their own mini Valentine’s Day celebration wherever they may be!
Tuck the garland into the box around everything else. The garland bends and folds easily, making it the perfect packaging material to fill up the box and keep all your other gifts safe.
Add the final few gifts and be sure to pull some of the heart garland to the front so it can be seen as soon as the box is opened.
Valentine’s Day is a great holiday to get creative and really show someone you care. For under $10 and in an afternoon’s time, I was able to put together this “Valentine’s Day in a Box” for a very special someone I love. I cannot wait until it arrives on her doorstep and she unknowingly opens it up to discover this:
Need more Valentine’s Day craft projects or gift ideas to fill up a box for your distant sweetheart? This garland would also be perfect, and check out these ideas for him and her!