Valentine's Day crafts for kids

Valentine's Day is a lovely chance for children to make something for the people they care about: friends, classmates, teachers and family. These Valentine's Day crafts for kids are simple, sweet and mostly made from paper, with free printable hearts to color and cut. You will also find easy Valentine's Day activities and games for home and the classroom.

Easy Valentine cards kids can make

1. Heart coloring cards. Color one of our heart coloring pages, cut it out and glue it onto a folded card.
2. Handprint heart card. Paint two handprints so the thumbs and fingertips meet to make a heart shape.
3. Fingerprint hearts. Press two fingerprints at an angle to make tiny hearts, then add arms and faces.
4. Pop-up heart card. Cut two slits in a folded card, push the tab forward and glue a heart onto it.
5. Doily card. Glue a paper doily onto red card and add a small heart in the middle.
6. "You're my favorite" cards. Write a sweet message and decorate with stickers.

Valentine crafts for kids

• Heart garland. Cut hearts in different sizes and colors, punch holes and thread them onto string.
• Paper plate heart. Cut a heart from a paper plate and decorate with tissue paper squares.
• Heart suncatcher. Fill a heart-shaped frame of card with contact paper and tissue paper scraps, then hang it in the window.
• Heart animals. Use hearts of different sizes to make a mouse, a bear, a cat or a bird.
• Love bugs. Paint stones red and add heart-shaped wings and googly eyes.
• Heart wreath. Glue paper hearts around a paper plate ring.
• Valentine mailbox. Decorate a shoebox with hearts and cut a slot in the lid for cards.
• Valentine coloring. Our Valentine's Day coloring pages have cards, hearts and sweet scenes.

Valentine's Day activities for kids

At home

• Heart hunt. Hide paper hearts around the house with small notes inside.
• Baking. Make heart-shaped cookies or pancakes.
• Kindness hearts. Write a kind act on each paper heart and do one each day in February. See how to teach kids kindness.
• Family love notes. Each person writes something they love about every other family member.

In the classroom

• Card exchange. Each child makes a card for every classmate, so no one is left out.
• Heart math. Count, sort and graph candy hearts by color.
• Heart patterns. Continue patterns of big and small, red and pink hearts.
• Valentine worksheets. Our Valentine's Day worksheets have counting, addition and word activities.
• Valentine games. Pass the heart, heart musical chairs and a Valentine bingo game.

Valentine crafts for toddlers

Choose big shapes and simple steps: sticking pre-cut hearts onto paper, painting with heart-shaped sponges, decorating with stickers and coloring big hearts with chunky crayons. Do the cutting in advance and let toddlers enjoy the gluing and painting.

Valentine crafts for older kids

Older children enjoy more detailed projects, such as origami hearts, friendship bracelets, embroidered felt hearts or a homemade Valentine's book. They can also design their own Valentine cards with jokes, puns and drawings for friends.

Tips for class card exchanges

Send home a class list a week before so children can write a card for everyone. Make cards over several days so it does not feel like a chore. Keep messages simple and friendly, and have children make an extra card or two for the teacher, the school staff or a neighbor.

Free Valentine printables

All of our heart pages and Valentine's Day pages print on US Letter or A4, free for home and classroom use. Use them as cards, decorations, bookmarks or gift tags. For a whole pack in one file, see the free coloring books.

Valentine's Day for every family

Valentine's Day is about love in all its forms: friends, family, pets and community. Encourage children to think about everyone they care about, such as grandparents, a favorite teacher, the school lunch staff or a neighbor who lives alone. A homemade card can make someone's day.

Valentine crafts for family and friends

Valentine's Day is not just about cards for classmates. Children can make something special for the important people in their lives.

• Grandparents: a framed handprint heart with the date on the back.
• Teachers: a colored heart page with "Thank you for helping me learn" written inside.
• Siblings: a coupon for a game of their choice or sharing a favorite toy.
• Neighbors: a paper heart left in the mailbox with a kind message.
• Pets: a heart collar tag drawn on card, just for fun.

Valentine snacks kids can make

Food crafts are a fun way to end the day. Cut sandwiches with a heart cookie cutter, make strawberry and banana skewers, decorate plain biscuits with pink icing, or arrange fruit in a heart shape on a plate. Children love serving what they made.

Learning through Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is full of chances to practise skills. Children can write names on cards (handwriting), count hearts (math), sort candy by color (graphing) and talk about feelings (social skills). Even the youngest can practise cutting along the lines of a heart.

Making Valentine crafts last

Write the child's name and the year on the back of every craft. Laminate a favorite card, or slip it into a clear sleeve, so it can come out again next February. Families who keep one card each year end up with a lovely record of how their children's writing and drawing have grown.

Frequently asked questions

What is an easy Valentine craft for preschoolers?

Fingerprint hearts and heart coloring cards are both easy. Preschoolers press fingerprints or color a printed heart, and an adult helps with folding and gluing the card.

How do I make Valentine cards for a whole class?

Use a simple design, such as a colored heart page cut into four small cards, and make a few each day in the week before. Write the class names on a list so no one is forgotten.

Are your Valentine coloring pages free?

Yes. All of our Valentine and heart pages are free to print for your family or classroom, and you never need an account.