Valentine’s Day crafts capture the symbolism of the holiday in a creative outlet for children. The crafts work well at a Valentine’s party, in the classroom or at home to add a festive Valentine’s touch to the room. Although handmade Valentine cards are a classic children’s craft project, going beyond the paper heart cards to other craft ideas stirs up creativity while providing entertainment.
Heart Glasses
A pair of homemade heart-shaped glasses offers a wearable craft project for Valentine’s Day. The glasses are made from craft foam and pipe cleaners. Both materials are available at craft stores. Cut two hearts from the craft foam to create the part of the glasses that go in front of the eyes. Cut out an interior heart so that you can see through them, leaving behind a heart-shaped frame. Punch holes on both sides of the hearts. Pipe cleaners go through the holes to hold the hearts together and create the ear pieces that hold the glasses in place. The children can decorate the glasses with glitter, ribbon and other craft supplies.
Decorated Barrettes
A plain hair barrette becomes a Valentine’s adornment with a little embellishment. Hearts made from craft foam work well to decorate the barrettes. Ribbon is another option. Help the children hot-glue the embellishments onto one end of the barrette in the desired arrangement. This craft idea also works for plastic headbands. A red or pink silk flower and heart cutouts are options for decorating a headband.
Heart Puppet
A paper heart creates the base for a simple Valentine’s Day puppet for children. Cut the heart from poster board for more stability. The children decorate the hearts with faces to bring them to life. Strips of paper folded accordion-style make springy arms for the heart puppet. Cut two holes side by side near the bottom of the heart. The children place two fingers through the holes to create the heart’s legs and to make the heart move around as a puppet.
String of Hearts
Instead of an individual paper heart Valentine, string together several for a one-of-a-kind holiday greeting. Fold a long strip of paper accordion-style, and cut a heart from it–keep a small section intact on either side to keep the hearts connected. An alternative is to cut out individual hearts and glue them together to for a long string of hearts. Let the children write one letter of the Valentine message on each heart. If the message is longer, you may need to put a whole word on each heart.
