What Do You Do with the Valentine's Day Cards Your Kids Bring Home from School?

A quick peek around Shine or on Pinterestand you'll see that kids and their parents are busy creating adorable Valentine's Day cards to hand out at school next week.

The Valentine's Day card process -- from deciding what to give out through purchasing, making, addressing and signing cards -- is time consuming and causes angst for many a parent and kid. (Understatement, right?) But when school Valentine's Day parties are over and classmates have brought their treats home, where will all of those personalized, handcrafted or cute store-bought Valentine cards end up?

If you've followed me here at Shine or on my personal blog, you already know I'm a memory keeper. I like holding on to school momentos because they are such telling snapshots of my kids' lives at places in time. While I don't save everything my kids bring home from school, I definitely save Valentine's Day cards.

As for the cards handed out by classmates, you and your kids can use or save them in a variety of ways:

-Use their favorite cards as bookmarks and recycle the rest.
-Use all of the cards (or just the favorites) to create a Valentine's Day collage on a large sheet of construction paper and tape it on your child's bedroom wall. At the end of the February, save the collage in your kid's memory box or recycle it. (If you're trying to scale back on collecting paper art, you could also snap a photo of the collage and include the image in a photo book.)
-Save the cards in a small paper lunch bag. Use the lunch bag as an "envelope" and slide the cards in. Fold the top over and seal it with a sticker or tape. Label the front with the name of your child and the year the cards were handed out. (You could also use a manila folder or envelope instead of the lunch bag, but many classes decorate paper lunch bags for their Valentine's Day parties and use them to collect their cards/treats.)
-Save all or just a few of the cards in your child's memory book.

And even if you decide to recycle those Valentine's Day cards, do save a copy of the card your child gives out out each year. It's sweet to look at their cards over time and reflect on changes in handwriting and personality.

Your turn: What do you do with the Valentine's Day cards your kid(s) bring home from school?

Share your kids' school photos and any other fun, embarrassing or incredible moments that you have captured on the Moments of Motherhood Flickr Group. While you are here take part in discussions with other moms.