Materials for Making Classroom Valentine Boxes

Valentine's Day classroom parties call for valentine boxes or mailboxes. These special valentine boxes are most often decorated by students during class time for a special party on or near Valentine's Day. Classroom party fun includes giving paper valentines as mail delivery, one to another.

Decorating valentine boxes is a yearly event in most elementary classrooms in America, and it's an occasion for individual creativity. Valentine boxes can be masterfully created, or they can be a collection of amusing haphazard valentine symbols and decorations.

In any event, the classroom valentine box or mailbox is up for personal interpretation and has only a few givens. It must be a container able to hold valentines--which are made of paper with or without envelopes--and it must have a slot opening of at least 4 inches to allow for valentines to slip through.

What sort or materials can students use for the structure of the valentine box? Here's a list of what might be used for the actual container of the valentine box: a shoe box, laundry detergent box, postal service priority box, Styrofoam bait bucket, cereal box, tissue box, oatmeal container, coffee can, cocoa can, Chinese take-out box, or a large valentine candy heart box.

What sort of materials can students use for valentine box decorations? Once students have their box structure, they consider a theme and possible decorative materials. Usually, students find ways to decorate their boxes that include traditional valentine colors, such as pink, white, and red, and symbols, such as hearts or cupid.

The list of possible decorative material is lengthy and includes these options: tin foil, tissue paper flowers, pipe cleaners, stickers, contact paper, construction paper, napkins, candy hearts, heart cut-outs, decorative paper, ribbons, glitter, glue, dried flowers, beans, seeds, macaroni, yarn, fabric of velvet or silks, sequins, buttons, lace trim, peeled cardboard, butcher paper, wrapping paper, magazine pictures, brown bag, candy bar wrappers, doilies, paint, wall paper samples, paper towel tubes, wiggle eyes, wire, photographs, raffia, markers, scissors, felt, foamies, stamps, crayons, pipe cleaners, tape, shiny cellophane or gift wrap, recycled materials, popsicle sticks, and string.

Teachers and parents can use the above list of possible valentine boxes and decorative materials to provide options for students when making their classroom valentine box creations.