Valentine’s Day is coming up quickly, and it’s the perfect time to change up your craft or activity game a bit and come up with something new. We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite Valentine’s Day crafts for kids to make to help inspire you. We know that it can be hard to develop new, exciting, holiday-themed crafts that don’t take all day or leave your kitchen table covered in glue and glitter, so we’re here to help.
Preschoolers love to be able to make something on their own, without help. They want to show what they can do on their own. They’re big kids. And the truth is, they can do a lot more than we may initially realize. When given the opportunity, directions, and tools that are their size, young children can do so much. The best part is while they’re having fun creating a craft project, they’re also learning skills that will help them when they’re ready to start school.
Make a heart-shaped sun catcher
This is a fun and super easy project that’s bright, colorful, and sure to be a hit. Plus, bonus – no glue or glitter! All you’ll need for this craft is some colorful construction paper, tissue paper, clear contact paper, string, a paper punch, ribbon, and scissors.
Have your child cut pieces of tissue paper into small squares (approx. 1”). Let your child decide if they want to use multiple colors or stick to just one color.
Next, have them cut out (or you may need to help) a heart-shaped outline. You’ll want the heart to be about 1” wide, and you’ll want to leave space inside. Cut 2.
Get out your contact paper and place one of the heart outlines on the contact paper (sticky side up, towards the tissue paper).
Now have your child place the tissue paper squares on the contact paper.
Place the second heart outline on top of the tissue paper and cover with clear contact paper again (sticky side down, towards the tissue paper).
Trim around the edges of your heart outline, and you have a heart suncatcher. You can use a paper punch to add a small hole & some ribbon to hang it up.
Paint a heart picture
This project has the potential to be a bit messier but a lot of fun. You’ll need craft paper or a canvas, painter’s tape, washable paint, paint brushes or sponges, a smock, and a drop cloth to catch any spills (or paint outside if the weather is nice enough and spray any drips away with the hose when done.
Use your painter’s tape to outline your design. You can choose to do one heart or multiple hearts, whatever you and your child want to make.
Pour several paint colors onto a plate, paint cups, or palette for your child to use. If your little one is younger and still working on holding a paintbrush, you can always let them use their fingers instead. It will still be beautiful. Encourage them to use just their fingertips.
Let your picture dry for several hours and remove the painter’s tape, and you have a beautiful Valentine’s picture your child made.
Color a heart picture
This is a super simple, quick, and easy holiday craft for your kiddos, but it still works great. Draw or print out a heart coloring page and get out your crayons, colored pencils, dot markers, whatever you have that your kids love to color with, and let them have fun. If you want to get out the glitter glue, stickers, whatever you have on hand, they can turn it into a mixed media heart.
It doesn’t have to be fancy or take a lot of time to create a moment that your kids will enjoy and a memory for you to treasure. We know that things can be challenging and want to remind you that sometimes, something as simple as coloring a heart picture with your kids is the perfect holiday craft for your family. Your kids want to spend quality time with you and do something together more than they want to make the fancy crafts you may see on social media.
