An orange heart-shaped note on a door saying 'I love your dance moves!' next to a chrome door handle.

9 Valentine's Day Activities Our Kids Love

What do you do to make Valentine's Day special for your kids? Share your inspiration with fellow parents!

Let's crowdsource a list of special Valentine's activities, crafts, games or any other ideas to celebrate the day that our kids have loved.

From heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast to sweet Valentine gifts, here are some adorable ways to mark the day.


 
    Upparent

    Daily Heart Love Notes

    Kelly R said:  We filled our kids' bedroom doors with little heart-shaped notes, with one thing we love about the child written on each heart. My husband and I sat down and made a bunch of them in advance, and then attached one to the door each night in February leading up to Valentine's Day. The kids LOVED waking up to see the newly-added message each day!

    Anastasiia Ostapovych on Unsplash

    Valentine's Dessert for School

    On Valentine's Day, pack a special school dessert with a note that says "you're sweet!" Or, just leave a lovely post-it note in their lunch box that says the same. These are super simple, yet incredibly memorable and meaningful ways to show your kids love.

    Pancake Heart Breakfast

    Anything heart-shaped for breakfast can really start off Valentine's Day well. It's simple enough to drop heart-shaped pancakes on the skillet using a ladle - and they don't need to be perfect to hit the spot. Throw down some pink and red sprinkles, too!

    diycandy.com

    Origami Heart Bookmarks

    Shila said:  My kids love to fall asleep reading chapter books in bed at night, so I like to surprise them with a swap of special bookmarks now and then. You can make your own origami style, or simply write something meaningful on a piece of card stock.

    Valentine Movie Night

    Snuggle up with some sweet treats and watch a family movie about love or friendship. Lady and the Tramp, The Princess Bride, and Gnomeo and Juliet are all perfect family movie night picks for this fun Valentine's Day activity!

    princesspinkygirl.com

    Heart-Shaped Crayons

    This easy craft for kids transforms old broken crayons into sturdy heart-shaped ones perfect for small hands. It's a fun activity for Valentine's day!

    Read Valentine's Day Books

    Shila said:  To celebrate at home, I like to check-out a handful of Valentine's Day books from the library for my kids to browse and enjoy throughout the day. They are fun to read aloud and we enjoy capturing a wide variety of stories that express love. They make good Valentine's day gifts for kids, too!

    Monique Carrati on Unsplash

    Valentine's Day Chocolates

    Shila said:  Special occasions in my family are almost always marked with special desserts - and for Valentine's Day, we recommend chocolate candy boxes! There's no better excuse of a day to purchase that sampler box of chocolates and nibble on different bite-sized surprises throughout the day.

    Scratch-off Instant Lottery Tickets

    Shila said:  We like to pick up scratch-off instant lottery tickets and gift them to our kids throughout the year - and hallmark holidays are usually one of those occasions. It's such a treat for the kids to grab a coin and scratch to match a winning pattern! It's only a dollar or two to play a hand in "Lucky In Love" and it's such a fun Valentine activity for kids.

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Upparent collects community-submitted recommendations and reviews, and any ideas that are shared reflect the opinions of individual contributors.