It is the day after Valentine’s Day. The flowers may need water, the trash can may be full of candy papers and cut out hearts may be littering the craft table or floor. The aftermath isn’t limited to your home, however. Store employees are hard at work moving and Valentine’s Day products to other shelves and putting them on clearance in the process. If you can take some time to get to the stores, you’ll be rewarded with reduced and sale prices on some great items.
What can you do with old Valentine’s Day products? Here are some ideas.
Stuffed Animals
Two years ago, my kids cleaned up with stuffed animal monsters that sung and danced to a popular song. Each good-sized monster cost a mere $1, simply because they were pink and part of the Valentine’s stock. The monsters are still going strong in our house, where the kids till set them off and dance to them, especially during clean up time.
If you find any cute stuffed animals on clearance, snap them up and then save them for birthdays, holidays or toys drives.
Chocolate
Ah, chocolate. Yum, yum. Look for clearance Valentine’s Day chocolate that is relatively plain so you can use it for your baking. Chop up chocolate bars or hearts for use in muffins or pancakes, to make truffles, or to melt for dipping fruit and pretzels. Chocolate freezes well, as long as you wrap it in freezer paper or store it in a freezer bag.
Don’t forget to grab some favorite candy, too, for movie nights, lunchbox snacks and more.
Decorations
Sort through the clearance Valentine’s decorations and get rewarded with discounted materials for crafting, Christmas ornaments, supplies for classroom parties, items for birthday party goodie bags and more. Look at the decorations in a new way. Pretty much anything that does not specifically say “Happy Valentine’s Day” on it is far game to get repurposed for something else.