Valentines Crafts for Toddlers and Kids

When I was younger I always remember how special my mom made all the small and big holidays. We always got a special treat or did something fun together. I continue this tradition with my own son and future children. But during this phase of toddlerhood, I have learned that when I have the perfect activities, crafts, or structured learning, it does not always go to plan. In fact, it never does. And I am perfectly okay with that. Toddlerhood is a beautiful time full of fun and laughter and a whole lot of going with the flow. These Valentines crafts for toddlers and kids are activities, and traditions that I have put together. They account for going with the flow and allow for toddlers to be toddlers. Hope you enjoy and get some inspiration of your own.

Valentines Day Crafts

Valentine Print Out

I made a super cute Valentines crafts for toddlers print out that any toddler or any aged child can use to create their own unique valentine. The printout has one large sheet that can be printed on one paper or a double printed one that can be cut in half to make two Valentines. I helped my son write who it was to and from. But he got to color (or in this case dot marker it) it the way he wanted. This one is fun, and simple. All you need to do is download the free pdf, print on regular paper or thicker cardstock, and have your child color. Use crayons, marker, colored pencils, dot marker, paint, or use anything else you/they would like to decorate. You can add in stickers on to this as well. I like this one because it is special and each valentine will be unique.

Paper Plate Heart Valentine

This paper plate heart Valentine idea is simple, easy, and turns out super cute! Also, it uses a lot of items you may already have at home, like white paper plates. The thin, white, inexpensive kind are perfect for this craft. With my toddler we colored one plate with crayons, painted another with red paint, used markers on another. I also had some heart shaped cookie cutters that I traced on top of the art work after my son was done creating.

Adding stickers is a fun addition here, or you can cut out the edges and write to and from on the plate, or “happy Valentines day”. You can leave as is or you can cut out hearts in the middle too. The possibilities are endless ont his one. I like the paper plate because it changes things up from normal paper and creates a unique look. Plus, this activity took up a lot of time with my toddler. Which is nice, because we are always looking for activities to fill our time!

Store Bought Valentines

Of course there is the option to use store bought Valentines. But since my son is only two, we had to assist on this activity. It also took up a lot of time because he used a marker to color in the “to” and “from” areas on the Valentines. Then he handed them to me and I put the heart sticker on and added in the stencil the box/kit came with. It was engaging because the valentine set was Dinosaur themed, which is something my son really loves. Target has some super cute Valentines, but we also found some cute ones at The Dollar tree. As my son gets older, we will be able to do these ones more and more.

Educational Valentines Day Activities

Reading Valentines Day Books

In my blog post about the best toddler books, ‘The Little Blue Truck’ books were noted as some our favorite books! The Valentines day book from the series is one of my absolute favorite Valentines day books. I love to read this book with my son. We love reading books together. About every four weeks we do a book and toy rotation (read more about it here). I just did a book rotation that is “love” or “Valentines day” themed. We do not have a lot of Valentines day books. But we do have a lot of books about Love, so I thought that would be a fun theme. My son, husband, and I are currently enjoying reading some of the books pictured here before Valentines day in a few weeks. This is a fun way to get the kiddos excited about an upcoming holiday.

DIY Counting Hearts Worksheet

This DIY Counting Hearts Worksheet, is another Valentines Day Crafts for toddlers (and kids) that you can make right now at home, with what you have on hand. All you need is paper and some markers (or crayons, or pencil, or whatever you have). I love the classic Crayola Markers (Amazon) and use them for these DIY worksheets. Basically I took different colors and drew hearts, starting at the top with 1 heart and moving down to 7 hearts. I tried to make the hearts look different in size or shape to make it more unique. See the picture above. You can also use heart stickers for this too.

To complete this page with my son, we sat together and counted the hearts. Again, he has to be in the mindset to want to do this. When he is not wanting to do an activity, I do not push it. We often return back to it later when he shows more interest. You can really make this activity your own by adding in gummies or toddler/child friendly candies. Use the candies to count out as you practice on the page. You can also go up to higher numbers based on what your child has learned up to, so far. Make it your own, and enjoy this activity and time with your kiddo.

Other Valentines Day Traditions

I love seeing all the amazing children’s Valentines day baskets on TikTok and Instagram. Wow! Parents are doing amazing and creative things to make holidays special and fun for their kiddos. Target dollar section has amazing little toys and treats to accomplish this, plus some cute Valentines crafts for toddlers and clothing. But recently I went to The Dollar Tree. They have so many cool toys, activities, and educational items plus coloring books, crayons, etc. You could totally do Valentines day basket for under 10-15 dollars from the dollar tree.

Stay Practical and True to you

This year and more often than not, I air on the practical side of things. My husband and I do our best to be intentional on what we bring into our house. We try to focus on experiences vs. material items. But we do buy the occasional non educational toy and that is definitely okay. I mostly love gifting my son books or pajamas. Plus we always get him a donut from our favorite local donut spot for Holiday’s and traditions.

This year for Valentines day, I got Luka this I Spy Valentines Book (Amazon). My son loves the “I Spy Books”. We spend a lot of time together going through books and enjoying what we can see and find. I love this because I used to love these books as a child as well. This one for Valentines day is a paperback that is geared more towards younger kids. So I know he will enjoy this.

I also got him a little Lollipop Kids Tongue Scraper (Amazon). Luka loves these because he loves lollipops. We add this into his tooth brushing routine to start to learn this practice when he is older. I did not find any Valentines pajamas that I liked for Luka this year. He was gifted a ton of pajamas for Christmas, so I opted not to get him any for this holiday anyway. But we do plan to pick up a donut from our favorite local donut shop, Bristol the day of. This is our family tradition that we enjoy together for birthdays, holidays, and special celebrations.

Valentines Day Crafts, Ideas, & Traditions Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed these Valentines crafts for toddlers (and kids too)! I love to keep it simple and use as much as I have already on hand. Take these ideas and run with them to make it your own. Each family has their own lifestyle, unique and beautiful traditions. That is something to honor and cherish, because at the of the day the memories and time spent in the present moment together is truly what matters. Especially on a holiday that is centered around love. Enjoy and sending so much love to you and your family.