Years ago, I bought Bob a small, pink ceramic piggy bank for his birthday.  The pig sits on our dresser, facing forward, waiting for a daily contribution. During the year we save up the jingly stuff and in February we empty our pig, turn the coins into bills at a Coin Star, and enclose the proceeds in our nine grandchildren's Valentines. The size of their present depends on the measure of our current financial success—the more money that comes in, the more money goes out. After all, the family should share in the good and the bad.

One year when I worked in downtown Seattle, I bought several packets of 1950's vintage Valentines from Ruby Montana's Pinto Pony on Second Avenue. She found boxes of them one year when she bought the contents of an abandoned warehouse. I love old greeting cards and was more than willing to pay her exorbitant price of $15.00 a packet. Marked clearly on the front was the original price—$.49.

When I was in grade school, February meant creating and constructing Valentine boxes. As these were the years before institutionalized kindness, there was no guarantee as to how many cards you would receive. I always had some trepidation in the days before the big event. Would there be any cards in my box? Would the boy who sat in front of me give me a Valentine? Would I get the ultimate—a big embossed Hallmark Valentine? You could count on a card from your teacher, but that was faint praise. The Valentine boxes were filled with great ceremony and at the end of the school day, we brought them to our desks and opened them. There were embarrassed hoots from the boys and delicate squeals from the girls. With no regard for "healthy treats", pink sugar cookies, little candy hearts—"Be mine", "Kiss Me"—, and of course, chocolate milk in cartons rounded out the celebration.

After my packet of Ruby Montana Valentines was gone, I had no luck finding small cards with any charm. The Littlest Mermaid, Shrek, and the Power Rangers just didn't say "Happy Valentine's Day" for me. I had better luck on the internet. One year I found Disney characters, one year I found Victorian reproductions, but this year was the best yet. http://7deadlysinners.typepad.com/sinners/ 

Here are my favorites from that collection:

I copied and pasted the images in a Word file so that I could print them and use them. Don't quite know how this will work, but if you're interested, here's the file: Vintage Valentines Word document