Valentine's Day Party Fun for Kids

Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to have a party. Invite family and friends to share the day with you at your home. When a party is on the agenda, everyone can contribute ideas to make it fun.

Plan ahead. To avoid a rush, gather all of the party supplies a week in advance. Let everyone brainstorm ideas until the big shopping day arrives. With list in hand, find games and items for everyone.

Dress each guest to celebrate at the party. For the girls, give them a candy necklace. Once the party is over, she can nibble at her necklace for a sweet treat. For the boys, try candy whistles. It’ll be the most delicious sound they’ve ever made.

Start with some games. How about a game of hearts for the card players in the group? Go online and Google card games to find a simple version of the game for kids and adults to play at parties.

Word games are fun at a party. Using the words, Happy Valentine’s Day, give kids two or three minutes to write down as many words as they can using those letters. The one with the most words wins a prize.

Prizes for games can be as simple as paper hearts that function as coupons. For example, create a coupon that can be traded in for a day with no chores or a five dollar gift from the store. The more prizes a person wins, the more coupons they can cash in. If you have invited people outside the family, have a separate prize basket with small prizes like teddy bears and candy.

Teach a craft. Kids love to make things so give them an opportunity to learn something new. Since spring comes right on the heels of winter, show them how to plant seeds in a flower pot. They can start their own herb garden that will grow indoors. Decorate the pots with hearts so kids will always remember the fun they had on Valentine’s Day.

If the weather is nice, the kids can take turns whacking a Valentine’s Day piñata. The piñata can be a cupid, a heart, or something else related to Valentine’s Day. Each child gets three chances to bust it open. After that, the older party guests get a crack at it.

Even if it is just the family, a Valentine’s Day party can bring lots of laughs and quality together time. Encourage old and young alike to participate for the most fun.

Chocolate "Stuffed with Love" Valentine's Day Cupcakes

Ingredients:

CupCakes

* 3 cups all purpose flour
* 2 cups sugar
* 2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups water
* 2/3 cup vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons vinegar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:

* 1 package ( 8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup Hershey's Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips or Mini Chips
* Red food coloring

Directions:

Prepare filling; set aside. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla; beat on medium speed 2 minutes or until well combined. Fill paper-lined muffin cups ( 2 1/2 inches in diameter) 2/3 full with batter. Spoon 1 level Tbsp filling into center of each cupcake. Bake 20-25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cake portion comes out clean. Cool. About 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes.

Filling Directions:

In small mixer bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, egg and salt; beat until smooth and creamy. Add 4-5 drops red food color to acheive your desired color. Stir in chocolate chips.

Valentine Card Ideas for Moms and Dads

When kids are first introduced to Valentine’s Day it is by their parents. They are told that it is a day to show those we love how we feel about them. Until they learn about Cupid and the type of love he represents, they cherish the love of friends and family above any other. Because of this Mom and Dad are at the top of their card lists. Here are some valentine card ideas for parents.

For the youngest kids, cards made of felt are easy to create. All you need are some pieces of felt, glue sticks, and foam letters. Children will need your help spelling out the love-filled message but even misspellings are an expression of love. Felt cards can be hand delivered without the need for an envelope.

What is one of the biggest canvases in the house? You guessed it, the refrigerator. Toy stores sell those magnetic letters and shapes that are used on the refrigerator to teach spelling and sentence formation. Let the kids create a card that can be enjoyed for more than just the holiday with tons of magnetic letters. Everyone that comes in the kitchen can see their testament of love for Mom and Dad.

Love is not just a word, it is a declaration. In medieval times, declarations were written on scrolls and read to everyone in the town. Kids can do the same for mom and dad. Pre-printed scrolls are available where kids can write in the name of mom and dad and sign their own name at the bottom.

If they want to make their own scrolls at home all they’ll need is a long sheet of paper, glue, and two paper towel rolls. The paper towel rolls will act like the rollers for the scroll. The kids can decorate the scroll card in any way with their own special message. The top and the bottom edges of the paper are then glued to a paper towel roll. After the glue dries, roll the scroll up and tie it closed with a decorative ribbon.

Through the ages, poems have always said what the heart was feeling. Kids learn how to construct poems in school. Encourage them to express their love with words. You’ll be tickled and brought to tears by some of the messages they come up with. Let them paste their poems into a homemade card or fold the poem in half and let it become the card all of it’s own.

Older kids can use the wonders of technology to create a unique card on the computer. Card programs allow the user to use any font, color, and style they want. The cards can be blank or come complete with sayings. On the back, the kids can even put their signature as the creator of the card just like a Hallmark.

Kids are always on the lookout for new ways to say something nice to their parents. These ideas will get them started. If you want a new twist on the Valentine’s Day card for kids to give to their parents, definitely try some of the ideas mentioned above.

Valentine's Day Card Ideas for Classmates

Stores make plenty of money from kids on Valentine’s Day. The teacher gives a list of names to each student and they address a card to each one and bring it to school on Valentine’s Day. Cards come in all shapes and sizes in the store, but they all have the same basic feel to them. Here are a few card ideas that will be different than the usual store bought cards.

Everyone loves getting mail. I visit the mailbox each day with expectation of what may be inside. Your kids can give their classmates the same feeling with a mailbox Valentine’s Day card.

Small craft boxes can be covered with white paper to resemble a mailbox. Kids can paste X’s and O’s and hearts to the outside. Inside the mailbox put a homemade card that says something that your child likes about each of them even if it is only the color of their shirt. Add a small treat inside the mailbox to put an even bigger smile on the children’s faces.

Stickers decorate cards just as well as drawings. Using scissors that create decorative edges, cut hearts and other shapes out of cardstock paper. The shapes can be pasted on a larger piece of cardstock and given that special touch using stickers. Be sure that your child doesn’t forget to write the name of each child on the card. He or she can even make one for their teacher.

Send each child in his class a teddy bear gram. Small Valentine’s bears can be purchased at the dollar store. They have bears with clear plastic slots on the front for a wallet size picture. Instead of a picture slip a folded Valentine’s Day message in the pocket. In addition to the friendly message, each child gets a teddy bear to love.

All kids like to get chocolate on Valentine’s Day. Wrap several candy kisses in aluminum foil and shape it like one giant chocolate kiss. Write a note for each classmate on a long slip of paper and roll it up. Attach one end of the paper to the top of the foil kiss. If you’re short on time or your child has a large class, the messages can all be the same to remove the need to uniquely address each giant kiss. Kids can write something cute on the paper and sign their name.

Traditional cards are okay for classmates, but if your child has an imaginative mind, let them exercise it with these ideas. Make Valentine’s Day in the classroom exciting and new.

Scissor-less Valentine's Day Crafts for Toddlers

Valentine’s Day is a wonderful holiday for crafts. Kids of all ages can get involved in the preparations and celebration. Toddlers are too young to use scissors safely on their own, but they can still participate in craft making with the family. Here are some ideas for Valentine’s Day crafts that don’t require the use of scissors by your young ones.

Toddlers like to paint.

They learn in preschool that painting is fun and safe. Give them some finger paints in red and white and have a good time decorating just about anything.

With finger paints you have to prepare the area so that the kids have a blast without your house looking like a construction zone. Dress the kids in play clothes so that they can get messy without ruining their good clothes.

They can use their little hands to make a heart shape out of their prints. You can get them to alternate red and white prints or they can mix white and red to make a batch of pink paint for more hearts. Guide their hands to write words like “I love you” on a piece of construction paper or a poster board.

Toddlers can give the gift of flowers that they have made by themselves.

Give your toddler a variety colors and sizes of tissue paper so that they can make unique bouquets for each of their valentines. The best thing about tissue paper is that it best resembles a flower when it is crumpled up. Kids love to rip and crumble things up. With this craft, they can do those things for fun. You can crumple with them and let out your inner child too.

Once the paper is sufficiently crumpled, put the sheets together. Show the kids how to wrap a pipe cleaner around the bundle of tissue paper sheets and fluff them up. In no time they will look like flowers. Since pipe cleaners may be hard to manage, it might be a better idea for parents to add the pipe cleaner and let the toddlers shape the flowers.

Toddlers can make foam Valentine's Day Cards.

Craft stores have all sorts of good things that toddlers can use for Valentine’s Day crafting. Foam shapes come pre-made. Kids just have to punch them out and apply them to whatever surface they need to. Instead of using glue, glue sticks are less messy and a toddler can learn to handle them much easier than a bottle of glue.

You can cut out some pictures of their face and place them in the center of the foam sheet. After they decorate with the shapes, the craft can be given to grandparents or other family members as a Valentine’s Day card that is unique and special.

Toddlers don’t have to use scissors to make crafts. Each of the above valentine crafts for toddlers required no scissor use and still they make excellent crafts that are fun and still allow them to be creative.

Valentine’s Day Crafts For Children

Kids love to create crafts and Valentine’s Day is no exception. Construction paper is a useful tool for making Valentine’s Day crafts that kids will enjoy creating and family members will enjoy receiving.

Start with a pad of construction paper. Make sure that you have a pad of white sheets, red sheets, and multicolored paper. The local office supply or craft store should have just what you need for the job.

Paper Hearts

The obvious first project is paper hearts. Kids can use safety scissors to cut out heart tracings. They can draw big and small hearts out of red and white sheets of construction paper. What I like to call alligator teeth scissors can be used to cut out some of the hearts and give them a unique edged design.

Red, white, and pink are the usual colors of Valentine’s Day but don’t object if the kids want to use other colors as well. They are being creative and creativity should be encouraged. A purple or green heart will be made with just as much love as a red one.

Happy Valentine's Day Banner

Kids can use large stencils to make letters that spell out Happy Valentine’s Day. Each letter is made out of construction paper and can be any color that the kids wish it to be. When they are done cutting out the letters they can glue them to a string of yarn and make a banner. Add a little glitter or stickers to make the letters stand out even more. You can display their handiwork in a doorway or on the living room wall.

Make Gifts

What else can kids use construction paper for? They can decorate other items for Valentine’s Day. Adding a few tiny pieces of red or pink construction paper to a vase or picture frame can turn it into a special gift with a love theme.

Love Buttons to Wear

Construction paper along with some love stamps can create feel-good buttons for the entire family to wear for Valentine’s Day. The kids can stamp to their hearts content and then cut out shapes around the designs to give to family and classmates. A piece of rolled tape or a small safety pin can fix the “love button” to any shirt or jacket.

Construction paper doesn’t cost much and it is a wonderful way for kids to have fun at Valentine’s Day. With simple items found around the house like construction paper, crayons, markers and scissors, crafts are easy to make at a moment’s notice.

Homemade Valentine's Day Decorations

With kids around, you don't need to spend a lot of money on decorations for Valentine's Day. Kids are full of great ideas so enlist their help to come up with homemade decorating tips to spread the love this Valentine's Day.

Start simple. Decorate the main rooms of your home. Give each kid a ball of ribbon in red, white, or pink and watch what they do. Ribbon can be wrapped around vases of flowers and draped above doorways. A pair of scissors can be run the length of the ribbon to create curls.

Cabinets and dressers can be made festive with small construction paper hearts. The kids can stick them all over - wherever they can find a good spot. If you sit still long enough, there may be a few attached to you. Bigger hearts can be cut out and displayed on the walls. If you are afraid that tape will strip the paint off of the walls, use a hole punch to create holes in the hearts. Make a loop through the hole with a piece of string and hang over a push pin or a small nail.

Instead of streamers, try a paper chain in alternating colors. Cut several pieces of construction paper into one inch wide strips. Interlock the paper and create a link chain. When the chain is long enough hang it up in the kitchen or family room as a banner to remind the entire family that it is Valentine's Day.

Kids can glue Popsicle sticks together to make coasters for the coffee table. Watercolor paints can be used to decorate the finished coaster with hearts and arrows. You can even add words like, "Happy Valentine's Day", "Love", etc. to the coasters. The same Popsicle sticks can be used to make a poster or a mobile that says "I Love You". The sticks are shaped and then painted bright red or pink. Once dry, mount them on poster board or attached to a heart-shaped hanger by pieces of yarn.

A cloth furniture cover can transform your living room into a Valentine's Day celebration room. Measure the length of the couch or chair so that the cover will fit. Spread it out on the floor and let the kids get started on the decorations. They can glue felt words and shapes to the cover along with the names of each family member. Every year at Valentine's Day you can bring out their handiwork and decorate the room.

Homemade Valentine's Day decorations are fun to make and display around the house. They don't have to be for just one season. Store them in airtight containers so they stay clean and intact for next year and years to come.