The answer is a resounding NO!

For bigger holidays (Halloween, Christmas, Easter) I do more decorating, but for the smaller holidays (Valentine's Day, St. Patty's Day, Fourth of July) I only do a mantle and maybe a front door wreath.

This year, for Valentine's Day, I was inspired by Cristina's wonderful 2013 mantle (although this year's mantle is pretty kick butt too!) 
(This image isn't Pinnable.. please Pin from original source linked above)
I loved the simple bright red and bright white.  So I came up with my own red and white version:

And spray painting them ballet slipper pink (by Krylon.)  Here they are when they were still drying (which is why they are sitting on post it notes): 

The other project I incorporated was some paint chip art (re-using my paint chip heart garland) in some thrift store frames.

I picked up these two of these (admittedly) FUGLY frames at Savers, and I snapped them up because:
1. They were brand new.
2. They were a matched set.
3. They were only $2.  I figured I could just use the glass for something even if the frames themselves were useless. However, for this project I only used the frames and saved the glass for something else.


In order to make them more appropriate for the mantle, I painted them cherry red:

The garlands are just taped on with scotch tape:

I considered cutting it up and wiring the hearts to the wreath, but then my lazy gene kicked in and I so I decided just to wrap the garland around the wreath form. 

I added a silver bow that I forgot to put away with all the Christmas decorations..(I told you my lazy gene was in gear!)

I hung it on the front door.. and VOILA.  A free, easy and quick little wreath for Valentine's day.  The kind of project I can really stand behind.
 

You really do only need 3 things:


I use mini marshmallows since they melt faster and more evenly.  In this case I am using vanilla flavored cupcakes shaped like snowmen. I have heard that the flavored marshmallows  (chocolate/mint/pumpkin etc) also make wonderful 'frosting.' 


Then you will see them slowly start to melt. 

At the stage where they are just beginning to melt, but aren't running all over (usually about 4 minutes depending on baking temperature), remove them from the oven, and use the back of a spoon or a spatula to squish the marshmallow so the top of the marshmallow is spread evenly over the top of the cupcake:

The frosting is pretty sticky (like the melted marshmallow that you find in the center of a s'more) but still spreadable.  You DON'T want to see any browning.  That will give you a crusty, unspreadable marshmallow.

You want to take them out of the muffin tin as soon as you have the marshmallow spread where you want it.  If you leave it in the pan, the residual heat will cause it to continue to melt and run down the side of your cupcake.  

You can use the broiler or a torch to brown up the spread marshmallow (the same way you would treat a meringue) but I prefer mine un-toasted.

Cupcakes are definitely better with frosting, and frosting is best when it is easy!

For Valentine's Day this year I needed to come up with a candy-free card idea.  The preschool we attend wants to encourage healthy eating and discourage excessive sweets at the holidays, and so the quest was on for a kid-friendly, cute idea that didn't cost much.

I have seen personalized valentine's puzzles before and thought they were the perfect thing for little kids, but at $15 each I knew I needed my own DIY version.

I was able to score these bagged 24 piece puzzles at the discount store for $1.99 each. 

Next, I needed to personalize them.  So, with the help of my assistant, and using a leftover wall paint sample (which also included a primer) we first covered the old image from the puzzle:
Once the pieces were dry, I reassembled the mini-puzzles and used rubber stamps to personalize them:
and an alphabet set and block (similar to this and this) which I used to personalize the message (Although you could decorate them a multitude of ways, with more paint, with permanent marker, with stencils etc.) :

Once the ink was dry I dissembled the puzzles and put them in some translucent vellum envelopes I received from Jam Paper.
On the outside of the envelope I used a "Happy Valentine's Day" rubber stamp and added the message in black marker:

At the top of the envelope I punched two holes and added a baker's twine bow:

They turned out adorable. Especially since you can see through the envelope to the individual pieces.  The kids should have fun putting them together to decipher the message, and my total investment was only $7: $6 for the puzzles, and $1 for the twine. (If I had to purchase the envelopes it would have been about $7 more.) That is still less than the cost of a single personalized puzzle.