It might feel like you have only just put the Christmas decorations back in the loft, but Valentine’s Day is already here! Whether you have historically celebrated the great day of love, Valentine’s Day can be a great opportunity to reflect on the care your family have for one another, and the special bond you have with your little ones. Nothing says ‘I love you’ like a homemade gift, so we have put together a selection of ideas for fun crafts to get stuck into with your children. You might just love the crafts so much that they become family heirlooms to show them once they’re all grown up. Enjoy, and lots of love to you!
A simple Valentine’s card
For your smallest folk, a simple Valentine’s card to each other is a wonderful way to mark the occasion. You might like to offer children a selection of card, crayons, glitter, stickers and tissue paper and see what they come up with, or you could work together to make a heart-shaped/coloured collage to gift each other. For the heart option, work together to cut a card in a heart shape, and offer a selection of pink and red tissue paper pieces. Cut these into small 3cm square pieces and work together to scrunch them up into little balls. Once you have a good handful and enough to cover the heart, glue them on! This is wonderful for hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, while also creating a lovely effect.
A Valentine’s window decoration
In Waldorf/Steiner education, window displays using craft or tissue paper are a way to mark special events. We love borrowing from an assortment of educational traditions, and this activity is a special nod to that. A quick search online will find you a variety of ideas for heart-themed Waldorf window displays, such as this one from The Imagination Tree. Older children might like to try the origami fold for something really spectacular, while younger little ones might enjoy helping cut simple heart shapes out. PVA glue will typically attach the stars to the window and is usually easy to remove with warm soap and water once the day is over. You never know, you may love your display so much you leave it up for many months to come!
Air-drying clay ornaments
Have you ever used air-drying clay? A wonderful option for creating keepsakes, non-toxic clay lets little ones get truly hands-on and is a fantastic fine motor activity. Whether you choose a natural colour or ready-dyed pink or red clay, get your little ones working on a love-themed ornament to hang up in your windows, or in their bedrooms. You can use any play dough equipment you already have lying around to do this, just make sure you give them a clean in a bowl of warm soapy water quickly afterwards, and discard the water outside, as opposed to down your sink (make sure to do only use non-toxic clay so as to not damage the environment here).
Homemade chocolate truffles
Another winner, and a wonderful way to show someone you love them! Why not make some simple chocolate truffles, and give them to another family member? Perhaps to grandparents, aunts, or uncles. Here is a two ingredient vegan recipe for simple truffles. You could add a variety of toppings to the end of the recipe, such as cocoa powder or freeze dried fruit, or pipe on decorations with white chocolate! If you’re feeling particularly creative, you could even decorate a box for the treats to go in, using a blank box like this one from Hobbycraft, decorating with tissue paper, paint, stickers and more.
All our love!
We hope these cosy activities come in handy if you’re wondering how to mark Valentine’s Day with your children. We would love to see your creations, so please do tag us on social media if you give anything a go. Lots of love, the Eeny Meeny team x
Emily Hanson
Freelance Writer, Education and Play Specialist
