5 Valentine’s Day Activities for Kids

Pandemic aside, Valentine’s Day is still a huge holiday for younger children. It’s a time for them to learn to express their emotions, participate in acts of kindness, and, of course, eat plenty of candy. With that in mind, we have a list of five Valentine’s Day activities to do with your kids. Look them over and see which ones would be the best fit for your family.

Let your kids get creative with these Valentine’s Day activities

1. Make a heart map.

The heart map activity is a great idea for kids who love to do arts and crafts. It’s likely going to be the best fit for elementary-school-age children who can draw independently and are working on their writing skills. To do this activity, all you will need is a piece of construction paper and some drawing supplies.

The premise of this activity is simple: You’ll give each child a heart-shaped piece of paper and, with it, they will draw a map of their own heart. To get them started, simply ask them to draw and write about the things and people that they love the most.

When they’re done, ask them to explain all of the different aspects that went into their drawing.

2. Create a hugs and kisses jar.

Meanwhile, the hugs and kisses jar is one of those Valentine’s Day activities that makes a great gift, especially for those who live far away. And if you’re doing the activity with kids, it could be a sweet surprise to send grandparents or an aunt or uncle. However, as an aside, it’s also possible to do a more grownup version of this activity as a gift for a long-distance partner.

For this valentine’s day activity, you need a jar or container (a mason jar would work perfectly as long as you’re not planning on putting this gift in the mail,) some chocolate kisses, and a few strips of construction paper.

On each strip of construction paper, have your child write something that they love about the recipient. When they are done, stuff the strips of paper into the container and fill up the rest of the container with chocolate kisses. Once you seal it shut, you’re ready to give your jar to the recipient.

3. Do a kindness challenge.

The premise behind a kindness challenge is fairly simple. With this activity, you’re going to want to encourage your kids to do as many random acts of kindness as possible. Set up the challenge as lasting for a set number of days and have each child write out a list of the acts of kindness that they perform each day.

At the end of the challenge, you will want to reward your children for their hard work with a small surprise, such as cooking their favorite meal or getting a special treat for dessert. While you’re spending that celebratory time together, make sure that you praise them for all their hard work.

However, in addition to praise, this is a good opportunity to have a discussion about why it’s important to be kind. Start by asking your children how it felt to do kind things for others and explain that it’s important to be kind whenever possible.

4. Decorate a Valentines’ box.

If your child is still at the age where they routinely get lots of Valentine’s Day cards from classmates and other friends, it may be a good idea to make a Valentines’ box. As the name suggests, a Valentines’ box is meant to be a special place where they can store all their cards.

For this Valentine’s Day activity, you will need a shoebox, construction paper, heart-shaped stencils, and some art supplies. Start by wrapping the shoebox and its lid in construction paper. Then, using more construction paper, stencil several heart shapes and cut them out.

Let your child decorate the hearts however they see fit. When they are done, glue them onto the shoebox to give it a festive look.

5. Put together “I dig you” treat bags

The last Valentine’s Day activity we will cover in this post is making holiday-themed treat bags. Though your child will likely not be having a Valentine’s Day party at school this year, you can always drop this off on their friends’ doorsteps as a sweet surprise. Otherwise, it can just be a fun treat to surprise your kids with after dinner.

For this activity, you will need small plastic shovels, (you can find these at the dollar store or online), small cellophane bags, ribbon, and candy. In truth, you can fill the bags with any type of candy you would like. However, gummy worms are the star of the show.

In this instance, all you need to do is fill the bag about a third of the way with candy. Then, place the plastic shovel in the bag, close it up, and tie it shut with the ribbon. While you’re tying it shut, make sure to include a small tag that says, “I dig you” on each one.