If you’re looking for simple and affordable Valentine’s Day ideas for kids, you are in the right place!
During the season of love, these 21 Valentine’s Day ideas for kids can help your little ones feel extra special.
While we often focus on gifts, flowers, and chocolates for (and from!) our significant other, creating a few fun Valentine’s Day traditions for your kids is a great idea too!
“Valentine’s Day has turned into more than a day to celebrate romantic love, but for many, it has become a day to celebrate those we love, including our kids, parents, siblings and pets,” said Daren Blonski, in a 2020 report by The Street.
In this article you’ll find:
- 5 Valentine’s Day traditions for kids
- 5 ideas for Valentine’s Day activities for kids
- 6 ideas for Valentine’s Day gifts your kids will love
- 5 fun food ideas for Valentine’s Day
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Let’s jump right in, shall we?!
Traditions for Valentine’s Day
To get started, here are five Valentine’s Day ideas for kids that can become fun traditions year after year.
Valentine’s Day doors
Starting the first day of February, write a short sentiment on a paper heart and put it on your kids’ bedroom door.
Add a new paper heart with a new compliment or sweet message every day until Valentine’s Day.
If your kids share a room, write their names on the hearts meant for them so they’ll know who they’re for!
Not only does this help your kids feel extra special, but it also turns into a festive Valentine’s Day decoration as you add more hearts every day!
To help you start this special Valentine’s Day tradition, I’ve got an awesome free printable for you!
Valentine’s Day brunch
While you most likely will have plans with your partner for dinner on Valentine’s Day, creating a fun Valentine’s Day brunch or breakfast is a great way to start the day for your kids!
Be sure to check out more Valentine’s food ideas at the end of this article!
Valentine’s Day gift basket
Creating a simple Valentine’s Day gift basket is another sweet Valentine’s Day idea for kids!
To get your creative juices flowing, here are a few simple Valentine’s Day baskets from Instagram you can use for inspiration:
To make your own Valentine’s baskets for your kids, start with any of these awesome baskets or buckets available on Amazon:
These adorable gold wire baskets are perfect for stuffing with all the cute Valentine’s Day trinkets, clothes, and toys! And they conveniently come in a pack of two!
If you live in a place with a warm climate and will be heading outdoors soon, these cute heart-shaped sand buckets would be perfect to fill with outdoorsy items!
These sweet little upright rope baskets are a great option if you’re looking to put together a smaller basket for multiple genders. (They’re pretty enough you could use them for storage around the house after Valentine’s Day too!)
Valentine’s Day at home party
Putting together a Valentine’s Day party at home is another great Valentine’s Day tradition to start this year!
Believe me, hosting a simple family Valentine’s Day party doesn’t have to be complex.
Start by putting up a few pretty Valentine’s decorations, set aside time for the party, gather a few Valentine-themed snacks, and play some of our fun FREE Valentine Printable Games!
Here are a few cute Valentine’s Day decorations ideas:
These versatile and affordable heart garlands are eight feet long and can be hung from almost anywhere around your home to add a festive Valentine’s Day touch.
This pretty red lace table runner featuring hearts upon hearts would make an amazing backdrop for your Valentine’s Day party or brunch!
Valentine’s theme balloon garland
Balloon garlands are fun to put together, inexpensive, and make a huge impact! This fun set with red, pink, white, and small red foil heart balloons is perfect for your Valentine’s Day party at home. (If you don’t have a balloon pump already, I definitely recommend grabbing one!)
Related article: 65 Cute and Funny Valentine’s Jokes for Kids to Tell
Valentine’s Day activities for kids
Whether you have an at-home Valentine’s Day party or not, these five Valentine’s Day ideas for kids are easy activities to carry out.
Play Cupid, Cupid, Valentine
This is one of the simplest games you can play with your kids – and it’s totally free!
Have your kids sit in a large circle facing each other with plenty of space around them.
Then proceed to play duck, duck, goose, but change the words to cupid, cupid, Valentine!
Valentine’s stand up comedy
Grab a cute little joke book for kids and have them take turns reading the jokes out loud to each other!
We love the Laugh Out Loud series!
Related article: 65 Cute and Funny Valentine’s Jokes for Kids to Tell
Play “Heart” potato
Similar to the popular “Hot Potato” game, all you need for this game is a small stuffed animal and some music.
Have your kids sit in a circle, facing each other.
They’ll pass the stuffed animal to each other around the circle while music plays. When the music stops, the person holding the stuffed animal is out.
Continue playing music and passing the stuffed animal until only one person is left.
Valentine’s Day bingo
Do your kids love bingo like mine do?
If so, be sure print out your FREE Valentine’s Printable Games Bundle!
You’ll get eight free bingo boards and accompanying calling cards too.
Valentine’s printable games
Check out the
In one simple download, you’ll get more than 30 pages of fun Valentine’s printable games and activities for your kids:
- Word search game
- I Spy page
- First letter categories game
- 2 pages of matching game
- 4 different coloring pages
- Word unscramble
- 10 unique Bingo cards
These would be great to have on hand throughout February – or you could save them all for Valentine’s Day!
Valentine’s Day gifts for kids
You certainly don’t need to recreate Christmas, but giving your kids a small gift on Valentine’s Day can help them feel loved and appreciated!
Here are a few inexpensive and adorable ideas:
Gnomes at Night Cooperative Game
Gnomes at Night is one of my kids favorite board games – and my husband and I actually enjoy playing it too.
For 2-4 players, you get to work together to get your gnomes through a maze and collect all the treasure!
These bright and cheerful magnetic tiles are fun for all ages and stages!
This 100-piece set may have your kids building and creating for hours.
Boys and girls alike will enjoy making their own puppy stuffed animals!
You could also include some pink or red felt hearts to sew on to make them a little more Valentine’s themed.
Melissa & Doug Create Your Own Magnets
With hearts, butterflies, and flowers to choose from, your kids will love creating their own magnets!
They could even paint a heart magnet to give to their school teacher as a Valentine’s Day gift.
Baketivity Cinnamon Buns Baking Kit
If you have any aspiring chefs or bakers in your home, this baking kit is sure to be a wonderful gift!
You could wrap it with a tag that reads “For my Sweetest Valentine” – or something along those lines!
Race to the Finish wooden marble run
This classic toy has received a beautiful upgrade with a few brightly colored pieces that each perform a different function.
Adding a racing element makes it even more fun for the whole family!
Related article: The 41 Best Valentine’s Books for Kids You Need to Read This Year
Food for Valentine’s Day
Finally, creating a few special Valentine’s ‘s-themed dishes can be a great way to make this a memorable day.
Here are five Valentine’s Day ideas for kids that focus on easy, festive food:
Start the day with a fun breakfast of heart-shaped eggs and toast! (photo source: Clean and Scentsible)
For an amazingly simple and festive snack, try these heart-shaped apple cutouts! (photo source: Vintage Rose Garden)
These mini-heart pizzas are an awesome Valentine’s option for lunch or dinner! (photo source: Once Upon a Cutting Board)
Or if the weather’s decent, these heart-shaped hamburgers are a fun dinner idea too! (photo source: Chasing Supermom)
Or if the weather is colder, and soup and sandwiches are better for the menu, simply cut your sandwiches into heart shapes! (photo source: Make Myself at Home)
Final thoughts on fun Valentine’s Day ideas for kids:
This article is full of great Valentine’s Day ideas for kids, but please don’t feel for a second that you need to do them all!
Choosing one or two per category (traditions, games, gifts, and food) will be enough to help your kiddos feel loved and appreciated on Valentine’s Day this year!
Related articles about Valentine’s Day:
–65 Cute and Funny Valentine’s Jokes for Kids to Tell
–The 41 Best Valentine’s Books for Kids You Need to Read This Year
–21 Fun Valentine’s Day Movies to Watch with Your Kids This Year
Which of these cute Valentine’s Day ideas for kids do you like best?
