Life
The '90s were a magical and simpler time. Probably a huge reason I feel that way is because I was a child in the '90s, so I just didn't have any real problems to worry about. However, one source of stress that felt very real at the time was Valentine's Day. Would you get a Valentine from your crush? Should you give one to him or her? What about your friends? What about your class — do you only give Valentines to your friends, or to everybody in the class? What about the teacher? Would you get the gifts you wanted, because we all know which gifts '90s kids wanted for Valentine's Day?
Just reliving all the politics involved is stressing me out. Thank god I'm (sort of) an adult now and don't give Valentine's Day presents to anybody. Holidays are so much easier when you're single, not in school, and don't have to buy gifts for anybody. But anyway, back to those gifts I was talking about. Just like with any other holiday, there were certain coveted gifts all '90s kids hoped to receive on Valentine's Day. So strap on your seatbelts, '90s kids, because we're about to take a ride down memory lane.
1
Lisa Frank Valentines
Even though we might have already owned tons of Lisa Frank notebooks, pencils, stickers, and the like, getting a Lisa Frank Valentine was extra special. "I Pink You're Terrific" underneath one of the signature flamingos, "You're Purrrrfect" with a picture of a cat — it was all so corny but still so popular.
2
Conversation Hearts
It was pretty common to get one of those small boxes of conversation hearts on Valentine's Day, whether it was from your crush or your mom. Even though receiving one of these was pretty much a given, we still wanted them anyway.
3
A Ring Pop
As Brandi Neal already pointed out, Ring Pops were the best Valentine's Day gift an elementary school kid could ask for. Those kids walking around with a pop on every finger were so lucky.
4
A Mix Tape
Mix tapes were basically marriage proposals in the '90s. Okay, not literally, but you get the point — they were a big deal, and were not to be taken lightly. P.S. remember cassette tapes?
5
Wax Lips
Wax lips were so fun — before the days of Photoshop, this was how we could see what we'd look like with oversize lips. I got a pair of these once and kept them for way longer than what most people would consider sanitary. Whoops.
6
Lip Smackers
I miss the days when my lip balm was candy and soda flavored — the Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers were my favorite. One year for Valentine's Day I got a gigantic tube of it that was the size of about 10 regular tubes of lip balm put together (it was from my mom, but still, a great gift).
7
A Mini Heart-Shaped Box Of Chocolates
Maybe this was just me, I don't know, but I loved those mini boxes of chocolate I'd get on Valentine's Day. They came with four different chocolates in them and they'd often have a popular cartoon character on the front. It was actually pretty genius because I'd still get my candy fix, but it was way less than buying one of those giant heart boxes.
8
Peanuts Valentines
To be honest, I could make an entire separate article that was just limited to the types of Valentine's Day cards '90s kids loved. Nonetheless, the Peanuts characters deserve a special place on this list. The Peanuts were huge in the '90s, and I loved Snoopy, so when I got a Snoopy card, I was ecstatic.
9
A Picture Of Your Favorite Heartthrob
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, James Van Der Beek, any one of the Backstreet Boys or *NSYNC members — there were so many heartthrobs in the '90s that it was hard to pick your favorite. But on Valentine's Day, that was a good thing because a poster or picture of any one of those studs was sure to please.
10
Your Favorite TV Couple To Finally Get Together
OK so this one isn't a tangible gift, but it was one we were all secretly hoping would happen on Valentine's Day. Whether you were rooting for Ross and Rachel, Helga and Arnold, Doug and Patti, or any other couple on TV in the '90s, we all hoped our favorite couples would finally make it official during a Valentine's Day themed episode.
11
Pez
Is there any '90s candy more quintessential than Pez? Okay, technically the iconic dispenser was invented in the '50s and the candies themselves date back to 1927, but still. Even typing out the word "Pez" is really bringing me back. Wow, what a time. Anyway, every kid wanted a Pez dispenser on Valentine's Day — bonus points if it was Valentine's Day themed.
