2.12.2012

Easy, Fun Valentine Ideas with Toddlers

One of the things I enjoy most about the holidays is sharing them with my kids. I am enjoying celebrating the holidays so much more experiencing it through my little ones eyes. It brings a whole new level of excitement to the experience. Below are some of the Valentine activities we have done in the last few weeks in preparation for the big love day. Many of the ideas are so easy, they just take a few minutes but all of them have been enjoyed. Happy Heart Day!

1. Painting cut out paper hearts in Valentine's colors. Washable paints are always fun!
2. This idea came from Pinterest. We traced their little hands, had them color the cutouts and then make the "This Much" accordion. They made these two weeks ago and are still running around with them.
3. Decorating their Valentine Mailboxes. Mine are still too young to create their own mailboxes so I purchased foam ones at Michael's. I also saw them at Target. We used glitter pens and lots of stickers.
 4. Decorating Valentine Cookies. Sugar cookies, frosting and sprinkles. Always a hit!
 5. Making your own Valentine's. This is always a special activity and the receivers appreciate the gesture so much! My twins are just 2 so they colored (scribbled) all over the cards and then I added the hearts they painted earlier in the week to the front and wrote a message to each of their friends in the inside. We also added stickers.
 6. Snow globes. Another idea from Pinterest (best site ever!). They loved this project. You can add any small items you have to the jar. We did small plastic jewels, marbles, lots of glitter and Valentine themed figurines they picked out at Target. We used applesauce jars and super glued the lids closed.
 7. Heart shaped food. We have done melon, cantaloupe, sandwiches, quesadillas, cheese, cookies and apple slices. You can do anything. Just punch it out with a cookie cutter. They think it is so fun eating shaped foods!
8. Decorating foam hearts. I found the hearts at Michael's. You could do paper hearts too. They decorated them with stickers and we hung them above their craft table for festive decor.
9. Hand print hearts. I love these. So simple and sweet. We did these on plain paper and I mounted them on card stock and we sent them to their grandparents. Such a sweet keepsake showing how little their hands once were.
10. Cupid Kisses. We made these at Christmas with Rolos and they were delicious. This was another version with Hershey's chocolate hearts. The little ones helped me unwrap the chocolate and place the hearts on the cookie sheet. They sampled a few along the way! Oven at 275 degrees for three minutes on the top rack. Remove and push the M&M's into the chocolate. Put in the fridge to chill. Enjoy!
11. Last but not least - take them to mail their Valentine's at an official US Mailbox. My twins thought this was SO fun.

Happy Celebrating!

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