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Valentine's crafts for children - 6 Ideas

Valentine’s Day provides a great opportunity to celebrate friendships and to discuss why it is important to work together. It gives children the chance to talk about their feelings, and to make gifts to take home to their family or friends. With Christmas behind us, it's the perfect time to make a keepsake, a card, or decorations that the children are excited to take home.

Posted on Tuesday 09th February 2016

Here is a lovely collection of Valentine craft ideas for your nursery or school. All are suitable for toddlers to teens, so no one misses out on the fun!

Sensory Love Potion Bags

Valentine potion by Lottie Makes

This idea is a great way to incorporate sensory learning with messy play and crafts. Here the children fill a simple zip-lock sandwich bag with cheap, clear shower gel – it creates a lovely smell! Then add glitter, various sequins, buttons and beads. Simply zip it up and lay flat to create a beautifully smelling, visually appealing, squidgy, tactile piece to explore. Children can move the buttons around within the squidgy liquid and draw simple shapes. We also filled some small bottles with the mixture for the children to take home as gifts.

Toilet Roll Holder Heart Dangly

Valentine craft by Lottie Makes

This simple craft uses painted and cut toilet roll tubes. It makes a lovely hanging gift, and provides an opportunity to practise fine motor skills by threading the string and beads. Personalise with glitter and different types of beads and buttons.

Decoupage Hanging Photo Frames

valentine craft frame

Who wouldn’t love to receive one of these? Simply decorate the frames with decoupage papers using watered down PVA glue and brushes. We cut the decoupage papers into small pieces. Once dry the children could add a photo of themselves, a pet, or a loved one – whatever they choose! – to make a wonderful, personal gift to take home.

Toilet Roll Love Bug

valentine craft by Lottie Makes
Create these beautiful toilet roll love bugs for a friend or place a bottom on the tube to make it into a pencil holder to give to a relative. They are simple to make using only toilet roll tubes, paint, wobbly eyes, pipe cleaners and coloured foam sheets.

Wire Flower

wire heart craft
These are ideal for older children. A unique and very creative gift. Our expert Paul Carney explains how to create these beautiful flowers. View the How to Blog here for this activity.

Felt Hearts

felting craft for valentines
Wet Felting is a basic felt making technique. These felt hearts make a lovely gift and help children to understand about the fibres, building layers and once finished can be embellished with embroidery, sequins and beads. View our felt making blog post here for directions on what to do.

Further Valentine activity ideas

“On the run up to Valentine’s Day we love to give each of the children a cardboard heart cut out and ask them – with or without support – to write about someone they love, and to state the reasons why. The children enjoy spending time on this and adding a picture. The hearts are then used to make bunting in the classroom or lobby, for all the parents to see. These love tokens make a wonderful read!

Alternatively, baking always goes down well and can cover many areas of the EYFS. Allowing children to measure out ingredients will help them to recognise their numbers they can to do the tasks; and take turns while writing the gift tags can support their fine motor skills, coordination and give them a sense of pride in their work.”

With thanks to Adele Crozier from Playful Learners and Beaulieu Park Day Nursery for her help in the creation of this article.

View more of our Valentine Craft ideas and inspiration on Pinterest.