Families are invited to create handmade valentines for a community swap, organized by Hilltown Families.
Hilltown Families is in search of area families who would like to extend a token of friendship to others on Valentine’s Day.
For the past eight years, the local organization has organized a community-wide Handmade Valentine Swap that is a free event to all families in the region.
“Last year more than 1,500 handmade valentines were swapped, and we’re looking forward to having more families join in the fun again this year,” said Sienna Wildfield, founder and executive director of Hilltown Families.
Wildfield said the community tradition has grown from an intimate group of families to an extensive roster of participants living across western Massachusetts, from Williamstown to Monson.
“These handmade tokens of friendship and community push back against the commercialization of Valentine’s Day, while connecting and expanding an age old tradition,” she said.
Wildfield noted that the act of creating handmade valentines supports creative-free play, while receiving them generates excitement to make community connections and eliminates loneliness.
According to Wikipedia, Valentine’s Day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines“). Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.
“A handmade valentine swap gives local families an opportunity to be creative together while connecting with other families in western Massachusetts,” said Wildfield. “Through the swap, participants mail out handmade valentines to ten assigned addresses, and in return, each participant receives handmade valentines from ten other participants.”
The swap is intergenerational and cards can be made by any combination of child and adult, so if kids aren’t completely up to the task, or if an adult would like to make their own design, there’s flexibility, said Wildfield. The deadline to sign up is Jan. 30 by visiting the organization’s website.
On Feb. 1, participants will be emailed the names and addresses of those who will be receiving their valentines. Participants are requested to mail their valentines by Feb. 7.
For more information and to sign up to participate in the valentine swap, visit www.HilltownFamilies.org or send an email to [email protected].
Hilltown Families, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit, is an online grassroots communication network for families living throughout the four counties of western Massachusetts.
“Hilltown Families believes in creating resilient and sustainable communities by developing and strengthening a sense of place in our children and citizens through community based education and engagement,” said Wildfield.
