Valentine's Day Crafts For Kids

Something that I just love to do on Valentine's Day is the crafts and treats we get to make with our kids. Kids just love making something that they can share with close family and friends. This year, choose a few projects to make with your children that they can then hand out to grandma, grandpa, daddy and of course their school or preschool friends. Here are some ideas for crafts with kids for Valentine's day.

Coffee Filter Roses

Take a basket shaped coffee filter and lay it flat on some paper or even better, wax paper. Give your child water colors in pink and red and let her color all over the coffee filter. Allow it to dry completely, and then fold it in half. Fold it one more time. You can cut some wavy lines on the top of the filter if you’d like. A green pipe cleaner works perfect for the stem, wrap it around the bottom of the folder coffee filter. The top part of the filter can now be separated to form into a flower shape. Take some green construction paper and cut out piece in the shape of leaves, these pieces can then be glued to the pipe cleaner. Now you've got a great long-lasting rose for your valentine.

Chocolate Lollipops

Take some good quality chocolate and melt it in a double boiler or in the microwave. Be careful that the chocolate doesn't overheat or it will burn. Once it is fully melted, transfer the chocolate over to a squirt bottle with a large opening. Spray some lollipop molds with cooking spray, then let the kids squeeze the melted chocolate in the mold. While the chocolate is still slightly soft, add a stick into it. Once the chocolate has cooled and hardened carefully lift the lollipops out of the mold and take some cello wrap to wrap around them. Tie a little bow at the end to keep the cello in place and your chocolate lollipops are ready to hand out.

Heart Shaped Cookies

Make a batch of your favorite sugar cookie dough. Add some red food coloring to it at the end to turn it bright red. Roll the dough out and let your kids cut it out with heart-shaped cookie cutters. Bake the cookies according to your recipe’s directions. Allow the cookies to cool completely. Mix some powdered sugar and milk to make a sticky paste. You can turn this glaze pink by adding a few drops of red food coloring. Use the back of a spoon or a pastry brush to spread the paste on the cooled cookies. Use sprinkles to decorate these special Valentine’s Day cookies even more. After the powdered sugar glaze is completely hardened, put the cookies on a plate or in a pretty bag and they are ready to hand out.

Homemade Treat Bags

One of our kid’s favorite Valentine’s Day gifts is a bag full of little goodies. The stores have plenty of goodies but it's always more fun to get into the kitchen and whip up something of your own. You'll just need some small paper bags, red paint, markers and some stickers. The kids will have fun decorating the bags. You can write the name of the person you're giving the bag to on for them. The kids can make cute ladybug bags by dipping their finger in red paint and making red prints all over the bag. Take a fine tipped black marker to draw a line through the middle of the fingerprint and some dots on each side. Add a small head, antennae and three legs on each side. Once the bags have been decorated and dry, then fill them up with some homemade cookies, some chocolate lollipops from above, and some small candies.

Heart Shaped Cards

Valentine's Day wouldn't be complete without cards. These heart shaped cards are really cute and very easy to make. Fold a piece of red or pink construction paper in two down the middle. Draw half a heart on one side. Cut out the heart making sure not to cut the fold. Now the heart can be decorate with cute little hearts, stickers, red or pink glitter. Make sure to help your kid write a special note inside, do this before adding all the decorations. There's nothing more special than a gift made with love.

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