With Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, are you’re looking for a gift for your children or loved ones that’s not the traditional flowers and candy? We found great items—including initial necklaces that are great for tweens and teens, colored pencils your kids can plant in your garden, a heart-shaped backpack for the little fashionistas in your life, and a chewable, sensory-friendly necklace that is safe for your child with special needs.
Better Than a Bouquet
If your kids are fascinated with plants or you want to do a little good for the environment, Sprout Pencils are just the Valentine’s Day gift to give. Once you reach the end of these nontoxic, sustainably sourced and produced pencils, you can plant them and grow sunflowers, daisies, basil, thyme, and more. That’s right; the ends of these pencils have seeds in them. Once planted, the pencil stubs act as name markers, and they’re 100-percent biodegradable (available in graphite and color).
To Chew and To Hold
Children who have anxiety often get a sense of relief by chewing, and the Heart Chewlery Necklace by Chewigum is the perfect way to show a little Valentine’s Day love. Made from medical-grade, FDA-approved silicone, the heart has various thicknesses around the perimeter. Plus, the opening in the middle (perfect for little fingers to grab and squeeze) gives it a dual purpose: It supports oral sensory and tactile fidget needs.
Personalized Pendants
 |
 |
New York City-based jewelry designer, Alex Woo, makes the perfect gift for the mom or teen in your life: Little Autograph Letter and Little Letter necklaces. Moms will surely swoon over a necklace with their children’s initials on it, while tweens and teens will love that their first “real” jewelry is a personalized bauble. Little Letters come in sterling silver, gold, white gold with diamond, or mixed metal, while Little Autograph Letters come in sterling silver, gold, and a handful of colors.
A V-Day Accessory
Little fashionistas will love this heart-shaped backpack from Parkland Mfg’s Be Mine Collection. And we love that it’s a sustainable brand; the exteriors of all available bags and accessories are made from recycled plastic bottles. The Be Mine Collection, now available, also includes fanny packs and accessories pouches, all of which come in light pink and the pictured red with pink hearts.
