If your kids are tired of the same rectangular, store-bought valentines, try one of these DIY Valentine’s Day ideas for kids this year and allow them to wow their entire class with a gift that will be sure to stand out! These DIY Valentine’s Day ideas for kids are easy to make and inexpensive, not to mention fun! Give one of these a try.
1 Friendship Bracelets
As far as DIY Valentine’s Day ideas for kids go, this is one of the easiest and most inexpensive, yet absolutely adorable ways to go! Have your child make simple friendship bracelets for all of the kids in their class. Pick out a few colors of embroidery thread which is usually somewhere around.50 cents at Wal-Mart or any craft store. You and your child can whip out a ton of these cute bracelets if you stick with a simple braid. Add a cute construction paper or card stock Valentine note and you’re all set!
2 Recycled Crayon Hearts
If your house is like mine and you have boxes of broken wax crayons lying around, you can actually get away with making these fun and useful Valentine’s gifts for basically free! If not, crayons are pretty cheap, so no worries about expensive materials. All you need to do to make these is peel the paper from your crayons and cut them up into little chunks. Take a silicone heart shaped (or any shape, really) ice cube tray or candy mold and fill it with your crayon bits. Place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes. You’ll have to peek at them every few minutes to make sure they don’t burn. As soon as you notice all of the chunks are melted, remove them from the oven. Let them cool (once they are cool to the touch you can pop them in the freezer). Pop each new crayon out of the mold and package it however you would like. Candy or jewelry packaging supplies at craft stores are exceptionally cheap, so check those out!
Looking for a fun way to keep your friends entertained at your next party? Consider creating your own fair games. These simple DIY projects will not only add an element of excitement and competition to your gathering, but also provide a refreshing twist on the usual party games!
3 School of Fish
I think this project is absolutely adorable. It can be done with Goldfish crackers for younger kids or Swedish fish candies for the older ones. Either way it’s a fun, tasty snack that is cost effective and cute! Use card stock to print the fishbowl with your Valentine message on it, and package your fish with the note in clear plastic packaging. Again, look in the candy packaging section at Wal-Mart or a craft store for packaging supplies.
4 Bubbles Bubbles Everywhere!
If you’d like to give a candy free Valentine’s gift, you can’t go wrong with bubbles! Kids love bubbles! Heck, I love bubbles and I’m pushing 30! You can find the thin tubes of bubbles in the wedding section of most stores that sell wedding items or you can find them cheaply at the dollar store…and sometimes if you buy in bulk they even give you a discount ;) Just affix your tag and you’re done!
5 Love Bugs
You can get bags of bugs in most toy aisles of any store and one or two bags should easily cover an entire class. Make jar shaped cards out of card stock or different colored construction paper and use glue dots to stick your bugs to them.
6 Glow Sticks
Glow sticks are a wonderful non-edible gift that works great for girls and boys alike. Create your paper tags and use a hole punch to allow the sticks to slide through the tags and you’re all done! You can find packages of glow sticks at Dollar Tree or Wal-Mart but you can also order them in bulk if you search online, give Amazon and eBay a try!
7 I Mustache You a Question
Stick on mustaches are a funny little gift that kids will love goofing around with. Buy a few sheets of adhesive felt and cut out different styles of mustaches. Leave the backing on the adhesive side and attach the whole thing to a cute card with a glue dot so that the adhesive is still usable when the kids get their gifts. They will have a ton of fun showing off their faux facial hair.
8 Kiss-Mouse
These wee Hershey's Kisses mice are quick and easy to make - and is there any child in the world who doesn't love stick-on googly eyes?
9 Rulers
No candy involved, and very little miss. Print the tags onto red or pink paper, then let the little one cuts the holes to slide the rulers in, and add the little glitter heart stickers.
10 Teddies
This idea is just like the goldfish in a bag, just with Teddy Grahams instead. Again, just print the message on cardstock, fill the baggies with bears, then staple the bags shut. So cute!
11 Minions
Turn Twinkies into Minions in just a few easy steps! Print and cut out the hearts, make the construction paper "eye," then use a marker to draw the smile. So cute!
12 Assemble-an-Olaf
Frozen-fever isn't going anywhere, so why not celebrate Valentine's Day with everyone's favorite snowman, who loves warm hugs? Print the labels on cardstock, stuff each baggie with Olaf-fixings, staple shut, and there you have it!
13 Paper Airplanes
These will be much easier, and much more fun, to bring to school unassembled, and let the kids fold them on their own. The printable is free, but why not let your little ones personalize them a bit, too?
14 Hooked on You Pail
The idea here is to give your little one a sweet treat in a cute container. Use a clear jar and fill it with gummy worms so they can be seen. Then, tape on a cute note that says, “I’m hooked on you.” Your child will feel special and will enjoy eating the tasty candy.
15 Coupon Booklet
Your kid has probably given you a homemade coupon book, but have you ever given them one? Things like no chores, an extra book at bedtime or a trip to the park all make great ideas of what to include in your book.
16 Silly Straw
Kids can’t enough of straws that have funky shapes so why not let them drink their morning milk out of one for Valentine’s Day? Turn the milk pink with red food coloring to make it extra special.
17 Love Themed Bookmarks
The great thing about a bookmark is that you can make your own on a plain sheet of paper or you can use fancy paper to make them. Every kid needs at least one bookmark when she reads and your kid will love this gift idea.
18 Play Dough with Tools
Little hands love playing with dough so you can bet your little one will love getting this gift on Valentine’s Day. Wrap the dough up with a bow and you’re good to go.
19 Best Friend Necklace
Remember these from when you were a kid? The little one in your life will love sharing one with you. A best friends keychain is a great alternative for little boys.
If you love crafty, DIY gifts and want to pass the love of the home-made down to your children, try some of these DIY Valentine’s ideas for kids and help them impress their entire class! What sort of DIY gifts do you and your kids make for Valentine’s Day?
This article was written in collaboration with editor Jennifer Knightstep.
Please rate this article
Feedback Junction
Where Thoughts and Opinions Converge