These Valentine’s Day themed activities for kids keep it simple! Stick to the basics and get in the Valentine’s Day spirit with easy activities.
There is so much focus on candy and sweets with Valentine’s Day (and, well, with most holidays!) that I decided to create some fun activities for my kids instead.
Everything is just so…blah…this time of year in New York. The gray skies and frigid air means we’re always looking for ways to get our jitters out and exercise our body and brain indoors.
I always have activity bins and gross motor games available as winter boredom busters, but we wanted something a little more festive. These activities did the trick for sure!
Some of them are easier (and have less clean up) than others, so you can pick and choose to see which ones best suit your needs.
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Valentine’s Day Sensory Play
Sensory bins sometimes get a bad name because they can be really messy. But guess what?! They really don’t have to be!
Sensory play is hugely important for toddler development. We love creating themed sensory bins for holidays!
You don’t have to be dying your own rice and pasta to make a good sensory bin. You can really throw ANYTHING in them! The goal is to stimulate a variety of senses and give your child some open ended play. I try to put in things that are different textures, colors and shapes, and sometime that makes sound, too. Then I give my kids some bowls, scoops, spoons, magnets, etc. and let them explore!
Here are some suggestions:
- Pink/white/red pom poms
- Conversation hearts
- Doilies
- Buttons
- Felt pieces
- Tissue paper
- Pink/white/red feathers
- Valentine’s Day napkins
- Heart shaped cookie cutters
- Yarn
- Pipe cleaners
- Crinkled paper
If my toddler is having an especially cooperative day, I’ll bring out a muffin tin, different size bowls, or other kitchen objects that she can scoop and dump items into.
For younger children, you can try some edible sensory bin fillers. These are safe for tiny taste testers and really gives them a chance to stimulate all of their senses.
Sensory bins often seem kind of silly to adults, but they can really hold a child’s attention. It can be a great way to facilitate learning about shapes, sizes, colors, spatial recognition, textures, and really just all of their senses (hence the name!).
And science tells us that sensory play is amazing for brain development! Go science!
Check out this Valentine’s Day Sensory Bin that I wrote up for Linda at All About Baby Blog! I used things that both my 11 month old and 2 year old could play with, so it was a win-win-win in our house. It’s always nice when we can get a long stretch of time doing one activity!
Not into sensory bins? Try this loose parts play Valentine’s Day tray instead!
Decorate the House
I go all out for some holidays, but for Valentine’s Day we just did a simple craft and decorated the sliding back door.
I used different colored construction paper and cut out hearts of different sizes. I let her play with a glue stick and tape to apply feathers and pom poms. She used stickers and crayons to decorate as well, and then we placed them on the door using tape.
She loves to show them off, and is really proud of our creation! This took her about 45 minutes of really hard focus, especially since tape is not something she’s used to using.
Play Doh
Another hit at our house — who doesn’t love Play Doh? It’s one of our favorite screen-free activities.
I brought out the pinks, reds, white and purples with some heart shaped cookie cutters. She loves rolling it out and cutting shapes!
Make Valentine’s Day Cards
Not only is it a fun craft, but it teaches your kids that giving is fun!
Make some for your neighbors, daycare providers, teachers, family, or even the mail carrier!
You can get as creative as you want. The internet is loaded with cute sayings and puns you can try! When I’m trying to keep things mess-free, I stick with just stickers and crayons on construction paper.
If you’re a little more crafty than that, here’s a super cute post on DIY Valentine’s Day cards from fellow mom blogger Linda at All About Baby Blog. She used her child’s hand print to make a sweet card for dad! I love things like this because their little hands grow so quickly, and it makes a really sweet keepsake.
Read a Valentine’s Day Book
Reading is a common activity in our house because I can easily involve both children. Here are some of our favorites:
Happy Love Day, Daniel Tiger!
This is one of the only holiday books I leave out all year! It’s a really cute lift-the-flap book, and it teaches kindness and love. If your child likes Daniel Tiger, this is a great book!
Little Blue Truck’s Valentine
We are big Little Blue Truck Fans! This Valentine’s Day version is adorable.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse!
Mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie celebrates Valentine’s Day with his friends. This is a nice short read!
Make Valentine’s Day Cookies
This is another one that you can make as easy or difficult as you want!
In past years I’ve gone all out with the pretty, decorated sugar cookies that are worthy of Instagram fame.
However, now I have two kids and limited time. We made these cookies last week, and my daughter absolutely LOVED it. They are extremely simple cake mix cookies that don’t require a lot of time or effort to make.
There’s something fun about eating your colors, and since we took a baking hiatus after Christmas, she was overjoyed to make cookies again.
Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt
Send your kid on a search around the house to find some items on “theme!”
Look for hearts, things that say “love,” or even just red, pink and white objects! This is a great way to get their little legs moving.
Check out this post I did for Saving Mama’s Sanity – there’s a free Scavenger Hunt Printable Download within this post! Her blog is awesome, and I love doing guest posts for her!
Make Valentine’s Day Hot Chocolate Bombs
There’s nothing like a hot cup of cocoa to warm up your soul!
My 3 year old and I perfected this hot chocolate bomb recipe. It’s a scrumptious treat that takes less than 30 minutes to make! And my little tot could help every step of the way.
Coloring Pages
If you dig hard enough in any coloring book you own, I’m sure you’ll find a page that will work for the Valentine’s Day activity theme, or grab one of these from Amazon.
You could also download some Valentine’s Day coloring pages from my Kid’s Activity Vault! There are tons of free printables there for my readers to download.
I hope these Valentine’s Day activities inspired you to try something new with your kids this year!
What are some of your favorite Valentine’s Day activities?
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