My stats are telling me that a lot of you are searching my site for Valentine’s Day ideas, so I thought I’d pull together a mother-lode of kid-friendly Valentine activities for toddlers, preschoolers, and any other hands-on kids (grown-ups are welcome too).
My 4-year old sort of tricked me into buying her a pack of store-bought unicorn cards yesterday. Well, in her defense, we just came away from an epic dentist visit and I was willing to give her just about anything she wanted. And I’ll admit, the cards are pretty stinkin’ cute.
How do you feel about store-bought Valentine cards?
As much as I’m gung-ho for the homemade stuff and would love to bash store-bought cards, she and my 2-year old spent hours decorating these darned unicorns while telling unicorn stories. So I throw my arms up in the air and say to you: Do not feel bad about yourself if you buy store bought cards. If your child is having fun and thinking about others, then that’s a great thing!
However, if you’re so inclined to roll up your sleeves and make something, here are a few ideas to get you started…
Cards
Deconstructed Valentines, Tinkerlab
Self-serve Valentines Station, Tinkerlab
Cards from the Heart: Cut heart shapes from your child’s artwork, The Golden Gleam
Stained Glass Valentines: Peephole cards and tissue paper, Creative Family Fun
5 ways to make Valentines Cards, Mama Pea Pod
Set up a Valentine Writing Center, Growing Book by Book
Gifts
Heart Blotto T-shirt, The Chocolate Muffin Tree (photo above)
How to Make a Heart Doily T-shirt, The Artful Parent
Make a Jar of Hearts for Dad, The Outlaw Mom
DIY Valentine Heart Puzzle, Allyou
Valentine Heart Gift Bag, Nurturestore
Child-sewn Felt Hearts, MamaSmiles
Heart-shaped Birdseed Cakes, Little Wonders’ Days
Heart Mobile, Rainy Day Mum
Homemade Heart Soaps, Sunhats and Wellie Boots
Magazine Tree of Hearts, Putti’s World
Crafts and Decorations
Valentine’s Day Garland, Kiwi Crate
Heart Snowflakes, Let Kids Create
Child-made String of Hearts Garland, Hands on as we Grow
Owl-shaped Valentine Craft, This Simple Home
Activities
Valentine Play Dough Station, Tinkerlab
Valentine Sensory Bin, The Iowa Farmer’s Wife
Lacing Valentine Card, The Outlaw Mom
Valentine’s Art Journal, Mommy Labs
Heart-shaped Pizza: toddler-style, Growing a Jeweled Rose
Valentine’s Day Sensory Box with pink rice, Pink and Green Mama
Simple Word-matching Game, The Homeschool Den
Treats
Valentine Snack with Toast, cream cheese, and sprinkles. Looks just like a cookie!, Tinkerlab
Sweetheart S’mores with heart marshmallows, graham crackers, peanut butter, and strawberries. A Mom with a Lesson Plan
Stained-glass Cookies: So pretty!, The Outlaw Mom
Do you have a favorite Valentine’s Day craft, treat, homemade card, or gift idea?
If so, feel free to share it in a comment. I’d love to hear about it!
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great selection of activities – today we’re making Stained glass cookies I found them in my cookie book and thought they would be great I hadn’t realised that Outlaw Mom had done them before will be able to link through to her as the recipe looks slightly different.
Thank you for including ours as well
Those stained glass cookies look amazing! Mmm. I can’t wait to try them myself.
Fun! Thank you for all the great ideas!
I just love this holiday, Jessica. It’s way too much fun. Thanks for the nice comment
What a great idea and awesome list.
Thanks for the including me!
But of course, Jill! Thanks for writing such great stuff.
What a great collection of ideas. I need to make some Valentine playdough. The last batch we made was gingerbread for the holidays. Thanks for the inspiration.
We are in the same exact boat. Our playdough smells like pumpkin pie, so ours might predate your batch
What a fun list of Valentine ideas!! Thank you for incuding my ‘Magazine Tree of Hearts’
Love all the great Valentine ideas!! I needed some Valentine inspiration! Thanks for including our sensory bin!
Thank you! I scroll right down to treats first then slowly up with all the fun ideas. Going to try the stained glass cookies tomorrow. Much thanks!
Ha! Sheau — next time I’ll remember to move the treats to the top! Very funny.
What a great collection! Thank you for including our heart shaped owl valentine!
Hi Annette! You’re so welcome, and thank you for the nice comment. Happy Valentine’s Day.
This is such a fun round up of Valentine ideas. Thanks for including our heart shaped birdseed cakes. Have a lovely weekend!
Kelly — they’re way too cute. I’m a huge fan of working with natural materials and doing good for the environment, and I just love these.
Love this round-up! I am definitely trying the play-doh station AND the heart-toast idea! Genius!
I posted about these cute handmade Valentine’s Day cards my preschooler and I made together last year: http://www.multiplerealitiesblog.com/2013/01/hand-made-valentines-created-with-a-preschooler-toddler-art-valentines-day-craft.html
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
Hi Jennifer! Thanks for sharing your Valentine card post — how inspiring. I love how you made it so easy for your daughter to make so many all at once…without losing steam. Brilliant. And the washing station is a lovely, and smart, touch. Happy Valentine’s Day!
{ 4 trackbacks }