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18 Easy Valentine's Day Kids Crafts You Can Make With Stuff At Home
We swear they're actually easy.
by Shana Aborn and Kinsey Gidick
Updated:
Originally Published:
Breaking: As much as they may beg to differ, what your kid really wants this Valentine’s day isn’t presents, it's your presence. So get a jump on making them feel the love by sitting down with some art supplies and getting crafty. These 18 Valentine’s craft activities are easy enough for kids provided you’re there to give them a little glue stick supervision.
Some of these paper plate-based ideas might look familiar. Perhaps you made your own “Bee Mine” honey bee Valentine back in preschool. Others are new twists on the love-themed holiday. And yes, full disclosure, you’re likely going to need to hit up a Michaels or order some supplies online, unless you’re like my mom who kept a well stocked craft drawer in our home for the entirety of my childhood (#queen). That said, these require relatively few supplies so you shouldn’t have to spend a fortune to put them together.
And yes, your kids will likely make a mess. Paper will be cut, glitter may or may not be spilled, shirts will be stained, but isn’t that part of the fun? Sitting together, painting and gluing hearts, talking about what love means, and spending time together? Sounds like a recipe for all the feels to me.
1
Easy Valentine's Garland
You likely already have your holiday lights within arms reach so grab one of those strands and let your little ones adorn it with all manner of love-themed paraphanalia with this Pretty Life in the Suburbs concept. Think pint dollies, cut out hearts, old Valentine’s cards, really anything that spells love.
2
V-Day Necklaces
Retail craft and dollar stores (such as Michael's and the Dollar Tree) should have everything you need to make these bright, cheery necklaces, and your kids will want to wear them long past February 14. The Sunshine and Hurricanes blog notes that cutting the straws helps strengthen kids' fine motor skills. They add that this would make a fun classroom craft project for teachers, too.
3
Valentine Man
If your kids can fold paper, they'll find it a snap to put together this whimsical heart man, another fun craft from The Resourceful Mama. Blogger Kim notes that she used a craft punch to make the smaller hearts, but that heart stickers would work just as well.
4
Valentine's Slime
Slime may not scream love, but trust me, your kids will love it. This classic Elmer’s glue recipe from Burlap and Blue gets doctored up with heart shaped glitter confetti for a perfectly sticky approach to the holiday.
5
Cork Tree Painting
For a change from the heart theme, have your kids make a Valentine's Day tree painting that you can display long after the holiday. Sunshine Whispers suggested using V-Day colors as the "leaves" of the tree, with corks as the tools to dip into the paint. (Cork wedges can be bought at a craft store, if you don't happen to keep any stoppers from your bottles of vino.)
6
Party Hats
If your children can handle a stapler, they'll enjoy helping you put together these Valentine's party hats, suitable for a school party or for the family to wear at dinner. Best of all, note bloggers Michelle and Kim: almost no mess to clean up after!
7
Heart Tree
Who says trees have to be limited to Christmas? Craft blogger Rachel of I Heart Crafty Things certainly doesn't think so. She was inspired to make these colorful decorations right after New Year's, when she found she had extra party hats left. Find out how she made the trees here.
8
Love Bugs
Flat wooden sticks can be used for a lot more than just examining a sore throat. With some imagination, glue and craft supplies, they can be used as the foundation for these too-adorable Valentine's critters, courtesy of Sunshine Whispers. Blogger Sara suggested going a step further and attaching a magnetic strip to the back for an instant fridge decoration.
9
Love You To Pieces
For once, you can tell your child that it's okay to tear up paper. In fact, that's the whole point of this craft from the Spit Up and Sit Ups site, which calls for lots of shredded tissue paper to fill up a heart outline.
10
Love Monster Box
This not-too-scary Valentine monster box will keep your child's cards and treats safe from intruders. The Giggles Galore site shows you how.
11
Bee Valentine Holder
Empty oatmeal boxes almost beg to be used for something. Instead of tossing yours in the recycling bin, use it to make this awesome "bee mine" Valentine box, courtesy of I Heart Crafty Things.
12
Fingerprint Message
Kids love finger painting, so they'll really be psyched at the idea of making this pretty dotted picture. Artsy-Fartsy Mama shows you how to make the keepsake.
13
Homemade Book
Only have eyes for someone? Say it with this hilarious little Valentine project. Handmade Charlotte does the heavy lifting by providing printable sheets that say “I only have eyes for you.” Then your kiddo can glue on googly eyes. Done and done.
14
Sewing Hearts
Sewing the inside of these paper-plate yarn hearts (again, courtesy of I Heart Crafty Things) helps strengthen fine motor skills in little hands. When your child sees the finished product, they might want to make more, so keep those supplies handy.
15
Rocking Heart
If your kids are into "heart rock" (get it?), they'll enjoy making this project. Easy Peasy and Fun blogger Andreja notes that the pebbles can either be left natural or colored with white acrylic spray. The design shown here is easy for younger children; older kids can try more intricate designs of their choice.
16
Love, Reinforced
Remember sticking those little reinforcement circles onto your torn notebook paper? From the blog I Can Teach My Child comes this reinforcement-filled heart, which is a lot more fun than patching up your English homework.
17
Cute As A Button
A perfect gift for grandparents or other relatives (especially if you insert a photo of your child or one of their drawings), this button picture frame from Craft Create Cook requires a little extra help from you because a hot-glue gun is involved, but the result is well worth it.
18
Friendship Jewelry
Another adorable necklace craft, this one from the Make and Takes blog. Your child can make one for themselves and another for their BFF; blogger Marie adds that they can also be used as key chains or bracelets.
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