This weekend my boys and I spent some torturous hours quality time together making valentines for their classmates. Like most things hand-made, valentines crafted of paper and glue have fallen out of favor. Most moms I know will probably head to the local pharmacy on February 12—during their lunch break—snag a box of 24 Sponge Bob or Hannah Montana cards and stay up 'til midnight doing their best impression of a 6-year-old's handwriting.

Ben there, done that.

Now that both my boys are in school, making valentines is not as easy as it once was. Coaxing a 4-year-old to write fourteen names on pink and red card stock and sign his own is truly painful a mother's joy. But with the help of some technology you probably have in your home, you can make semi-homemade valentines in a jiffy and minimize the writing for little ones (nod to Sandra Lee). A good printer or scanner is required for this project.

You will need:

White printer paper
Ruler
Black roller ball ink pen or fine tip black marker
Printer/scanner
Red and pink card stock or construction paper
Glue stick
Heart stickers of various sizes
Gel pen in silver or white for addressing cards

Directions:

1. Take a standard piece of 8.5 x 11 copier/printer paper and divide it with a ruler into four quadrants.
2. Have your child write his Valentine's Day message in one of the quadrants and sign his name.
3. Make 3 copies of this message. Cut and paste onto a single sheet (4-up). Another option is to scan the single message into a word processing program and cut and paste it electronically into MS Word.
4. Copy or print the master page to create the final number of valentines needed.
5. Cut the messages out and glue them onto pink (girls) or red (boys) card stock with glue stick.
6. Decorate the valentines with stickers.
7. Using the silver or white gel pen, have your child address the cards.
8. Fold cards and crease with ruler.
9. Clean up.
10. Drink a glass of wine.

For an even easier solution, download this MS Word template with four pages of card designs and one universal back page.