Christmas may be over, but that doesn’t mean we’re in for a dreary stretch of winter! Valentine’s day is a fantastic holiday to make cute, colorful crafts that kids of all ages can enjoy. I’ve gathered together some of my favorite Valentine’s day crafts for kids. There’s plenty of variety here, and I’m sure you’ll find one that your family can fall in love with this Valentine’s day.
1. Cardboard Heart String Art (Ages 4 and up)
This is a simple, low prep craft even your younger kids can enjoy! All you need to do is get a piece of cardboard, cut it into the shape of a heart, then cut evenly spaced notches around the outside. That’s it for your prep work! Your children can then paint the heart, and after it’s dry, they can use thin pieces of colorful string to create designs. Younger kids may just wrap their string randomly, while older children can try and create beautiful patterns. You can learn more about this fun craft on Happy Hooligan’s blog.
2. Salt Dough Hearts (Ages 3 and up)
This craft is simple enough for a toddler (with adult supervision). It requires three basic ingredients: salt, flour, and water. That’s it! Simply mix your ingredients, roll out your dough and cut it using a cookie cutter. After the hearts bake, you can decorate them using colorful paints, sparkles, or a mod podge glaze. It’s the perfect craft for young kids that want to get involved. You can check out the complete instructions at Simply Being Mommy.
3. Heart-shaped Birdfeeder (Ages 3 and up)
Who says Valentine’s day crafts are only for decoration? This heart-shaped birdfeeder is quick to whip up, and your kids will have a blast sharing their Valentine’s day love with their feathered backyard friends. All you need is gelatin (Knox), birdseed, water, a string or wire for hanging, and a heart-shaped mold or cookie cutter. Bargain Hoot designed it as a wedding favor, but I definitely think this makes a great Valentine’s day craft!
4. Shaving Cream Hearts (Ages 2 and up)
Are you in the mood for a fun and messy valentines day craft? Then these shaving cream hearts are right up your alley! Your kids will love playing with the shaving cream because it’s a really neat tactile experience! The resulting hearts are definitely fridge-worthy! Head to Meaningful Mama’s site for complete directions.
5. Crystal Hearts (Ages 8 and up)
Sometimes a craft gives you the perfect opportunity to mix in a bit of science as well. With this craft, your older children can learn how saturated liquids work as you make a beautiful crystal heart using Borax, boiling water, and pipe cleaners. Little Bins and Little Hands has an excellent write-up on the science behind this craft if you want to use it as a STEM activity. Of course, you could do it with younger kids if you just want the pretty crystals!
6. Paper Towel Roses (Ages 6 and up)
Paper towel roses are simple, beautiful, and tons of fun! Using liquid watercolors and a medicine dropper, you drip paint all over a paper towel, turning it any color—or mix of colors—you desire. After the paper towel has dried, you cut it into two strips. Set a straw on a bit of an angle across the paper towel and roll it, pinching the bottom until you’ve created a beautiful heart! This craft requires good motor skills and hand-eye coordination, so if you’ve got a younger child that’s mastered these skills, feel free to let them give it a go. They might surprise you with a beautiful bouquet in return! Head on over to CBC Parents for the full instructions.
7. “Love You To Pieces” Puzzle Piece Heart Wreath (Ages 5 and up)
This puntastic craft is just too cute! Using some cardboard, paint, and a dollar store puzzle, you can create a simple heart-shaped wreath. It makes a great decoration or homemade Valentine’s day gift. Simply paint your puzzle pieces, cut out your heart-shaped wreath (The Soccer Mom Blog has a template on their website) and then glue the pieces down once they’ve dried. You can attach string to hang it, jazz it up with glitter or even add a cute photo or message to the center of your wreath.
8. Valentines Day M&M Butterflies (Ages 3 and up)
Here’s another multi-purpose valentines day craft. These M&M butterflies are super quick to put together, and they’re the perfect homemade treat for your kids to take to Valentine’s Day parties. You can whip up a batch of them in no time! All you need are some pipe cleaners, clothespins, M&M’s (or another small candy), googly eyes and a bit of paint. Crafty Morning has the full instructions on her blog for this simple, fun valentines day craft for kids.
9. Love Bugs (Ages 3 and up)
This might be one of the cutest Valentine’s Day crafts for kids on this list! Your kids can be as creative as they want in creating their little bugs; there’s no right or wrong way to do this one. All you need are some pom poms, googly eyes, foam and glue. One Creative Mommy has some ideas as to how to assemble them, but the sky’s the limit as to the cute and quirky bugs you can create. *note: if you’re doing this craft with toddlers, you’ll have to prep your wings and feet yourself, but they’ll have tons of fun sticking it all together!
10. Paper Heart Mobile (Ages 7 and up)
Heart mobiles are the perfect Valentine’s day decoration. Your kids need some pretty good scissor skills, which is why this one is for older kids (unless you feel like cutting all the hearts yourself). This Valentine’s day craft for kids couldn’t be easier! All you need to do is cut out hearts of different sizes and colors of constriction paper, tape them to a string and voila, you have a pretty heart mobile! To see the complete directions head on over to Buggy and Buddy’s blog.
There you have it, my friends, ten of the best Valentine’s day crafts for kids! Let me know in the comments which one was your favorite! I hope your children enjoy making these as much as mine did.
