11 Valentine’s Day Favors That Won’t Go to Waste

Valentine’s Day is exciting for young kids, and they usually arrive home from school laden down with cards, candy and piles of pink plastic trinkets. Sadly, those plastic hearts, snap bracelets and balls usually end up in the trash. Like most parents, I feel bad about the waste, so whenever I look for Valentine’s Day favors, I try to stay away from the party-themed packs and look for cute kids’ stationery instead. Kids will be just as enamored by a rainbow pencil, a clever eraser or cool vinyl stickers. So, if you want to show a bit more love to the planet this year, consider some of these eco-friendly and useful gifts that kids will appreciate.

1. Reusable straws 

Kids love straws, but no one loves the plastic garbage they become. But never fear! You can sip your drink with peace of mind with these reusable, stainless steel straws. These straws are nice and soft on your teeth thanks to the multicolored silicone tips. The heart shape raises the cute factor and makes these the perfect Valentine’s Day favor.

2. Magnetic bookmarks

As kids get older, their books get longer. And while getting lost in a book you never want to put down is a wonderful thing, sometimes it is time for a break (or bedtime). These sweet Valentine’s Day bookmarks will keep your place and make you smile. This set comes with a total of 36 bookmarks with 6 different patterns. Valentine’s Day cards are also included in case your child wants to pass these out to friends. Perfect!  

3. Bloomin adorable seed hearts 

Encourage a love for gardening with these eco-friendly, heart-shaped seed papers. They are made with recycled paper and dyed with vegetable-based pigments. To use them, soak the paper overnight, then tear them up and plant them under a thin layer of soil. Water as needed until the seeds sprout. These sweet flowers will bring joy long after Valentine’s Day is over. 

4. Rainbow pencils

Surprisingly, these pencils are not made from wood or plastic — they’re crafted from tight rolls of recycled paper! Kids will love the pearl coating and gorgeous colorful shavings. Parents will love the fact that they are non-toxic and produced without chemicals.

5. Vinyl stickers to personalize their stuff

These gorgeous vinyl stickers are a great way for your kid to add some color to their water bottle, tablet, skateboard, backpack, etc. This pack comes with 100 cute stickers, so there’s plenty to go around for all of the friends at school. These stickers may even help stop your kid from losing yet another water bottle! 

6. Awesome erasers

Young kids will get a kick out of these clever erasers that come with a mini roller to clean up those pesky eraser rubbings. Each eraser comes with a cover featuring six adorable animal designs. 

7. Special sticky notes 

You can never have too many sticky notes, especially cute ones like these. Available in multiple colors, shapes and animal themes, these notes are sure to come in handy.

8. Washi tape

Kids can use washi tape to decorate their journals, create scrapbooks, wrap gifts, hang photos and more. It’s a fun and useful stationery item that will encourage creativity and bring some color and personality to their stuff.   

9. Multicolor pens

Black and blue pens are super boring but multicolor pens are always fun. This retractable ballpoint pen comes in six vivid colors to make homework a little more interesting.  

10. Origami fortune tellers 

Teach your kid about the art of origami and get them to work on their fine motor skills at the same time. This sweet fortune-telling set contains 28 sheets and will keep kids busy and playing together for ages. 

11. A decent pencil sharpener

These emoji sharpeners are cute and functional. Not only will they sharpen regular pencils, but they also work with larger coloring pencils. They come in an array of vibrant colors and are likely to last longer than that wonky sharpener from a party pack. 

Editor’s note: This article was published several years ago and most recently updated in February 2025 by ParentMap’s managing editor, Allison Sutcliffe, to include a few new useful Valentine’s gifts.

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