easy non-candy class valentine idea: punch balloons!

I’ll be honest and say that over half of my daughter’s candy from Valentine’s Day gets thrown in the trash eventually. She gets so many treats that she doesn’t even want to eat them all! Don’t get me wrong, I love a good piece of candy now and then, but the amount of sweets passed around on this holiday is nothing short of a dentist’s dream. Last year we decided to pass out non-candy class valentines that would hopefully last longer than candy and would definitely be more healthy. We made Punch Balloon Class Valentines with custom stamped gift tags!

Non-candy punch balloon class valentines by Aly Dosdall

You can find punch balloons in bulk at party stores, craft stores, or on Amazon HERE. They come in different colors and sizes. We used smaller ones, but they come pretty large if you’re looking for something bigger.

To make the custom gift tags I used some plain white smooth cardstock and a coupol of handy tools from We R Memory Keepers–the Square Punch Board and the Tag Punch Board.

The Square Punch Board is one of the most underrated tools in the craft world. If you need to make multiple squares or rectangles anywhere between 3/4 inch squares and 3×4 inch rectagles, this is the tool for you! I’ve tested this and it actually goes faster than cutting multiple squares or rectangles with a paper trimmer. I’ve also had my PhD hubby do the math and this is like getting over SEVEN HUNDRED punches in one tool! No more digging around for all the different size square or rectangle punches, or trying to find space to store them. Just THIS ONE is all you need.

Anyway, off my Square Punch Board soapbox…😂

I punched twenty-six 2 1/2 x 3 inch rectangles in no time, and then used my Tag Punch Board to make perfectly even and centered tags with holes for tying onto the punch balloons.

Then I prepared my custom valentine tag sentiment with my Precision Press Advanced stamping tool along with the Typeset Stamping Block accessories, and stamped the same sentiment on all 26 tags in different colors.

I finished off the valentines by tying the tags onto the tops of the punch balloons with a length of twine.

Non-candy punch balloon class valentines with the Precision Press Advanced by Aly Dosdall

These non-candy valentines provided hours of fun for my daughter and her classmates. They were a big hit! Less sugar and lots of active fun? That’s a win-win for this mom for sure.