Make your own pizza. The kids can choose the toppings and fix them up into little bowls so that they are easier to put on the pizza. Parents can shape the dough into a heart when it is ready for toppings. To get the entire family involved, each person can create a personal pizza for themselves with their favorite toppings. Add a salad and you have a perfect Valentine’s Day meal.

Anything that you can shape can become a Valentine’s Day meal centerpiece. Instead of a loaf pan, put that meatloaf into a heart shaped pan. Let the kids use ketchup to write a loving message on the meatloaf before you bake it.

Casseroles for dinner are typical but on Valentine’s Day, we can take some time to give it a unique touch. Parents can use kitchen shears to cut raw chicken breasts into heart like shapes for the casserole. Veggie casseroles are easier to shape and kids can do it with a butter knife.

For Valentine’s Day, the drinks are on the kids. Red Kool-Aid is a great choice. Let the kids mix it up. To avoid all of the sweetness, use Splenda instead of pure cane sugar. You can also make a Valentine’s Day punch. You can find many punch recipes online and in cookbooks at your local library. If your kids are really creative, they can use heart-shaped ice molds to fashion festive ice cubes to keep their drinks cool and refreshing.

This special dinner takes planning. You and your kids can grocery shop together the week before to find all the necessary ingredients and utensils to make Valentine’s Day a success. You may have to visit a few stores to find the ice molds or non-stick pans for the meals. While you’re at it, you may find some other things that could make your meal more festive on Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day takes on new meaning when you have kids. They see each event with new eyes and Valentine’s Day is no different. Take the opportunity to get them interested in cooking and begin new family traditions that they look forward to participating in together each year.

For the youngest kids, cards made of felt are easy to create. All you need are some pieces of felt, glue sticks, and foam letters. Children will need your help spelling out the love-filled message but even misspellings are an expression of love. Felt cards can be hand delivered without the need for an envelope.

What is one of the biggest canvases in the house? You guessed it, the refrigerator. Toy stores sell those magnetic letters and shapes that are used on the refrigerator to teach spelling and sentence formation. Let the kids create a card that can be enjoyed for more than just the holiday with tons of magnetic letters. Everyone that comes in the kitchen can see their testament of love for Mom and Dad.

Love is not just a word, it is a declaration. In medieval times, declarations were written on scrolls and read to everyone in the town. Kids can do the same for mom and dad. Pre-printed scrolls are available where kids can write in the name of mom and dad and sign their own name at the bottom.

If they want to make their own scrolls at home all they’ll need is a long sheet of paper, glue, and two paper towel rolls. The paper towel rolls will act like the rollers for the scroll. The kids can decorate the scroll card in any way with their own special message. The top and the bottom edges of the paper are then glued to a paper towel roll. After the glue dries, roll the scroll up and tie it closed with a decorative ribbon.

Through the ages, poems have always said what the heart was feeling. Kids learn how to construct poems in school. Encourage them to express their love with words. You’ll be tickled and brought to tears by some of the messages they come up with. Let them paste their poems into a homemade card or fold the poem in half and let it become the card all of it’s own.

Older kids can use the wonders of technology to create a unique card on the computer. Card programs allow the user to use any font, color, and style they want. The cards can be blank or come complete with sayings. On the back, the kids can even put their signature as the creator of the card just like a Hallmark.

Kids are always on the lookout for new ways to say something nice to their parents. These ideas will get them started. If you want a new twist on the Valentine’s Day card for kids to give to their parents, definitely try some of the ideas mentioned above.

Everyone loves getting mail. I visit the mailbox each day with expectation of what may be inside. Your kids can give their classmates the same feeling with a mailbox Valentine’s Day card.

Small craft boxes can be covered with white paper to resemble a mailbox. Kids can paste X’s and O’s and hearts to the outside. Inside the mailbox put a homemade card that says something that your child likes about each of them even if it is only the color of their shirt. Add a small treat inside the mailbox to put an even bigger smile on the children’s faces.

Stickers decorate cards just as well as drawings. Using scissors that create decorative edges, cut hearts and other shapes out of cardstock paper. The shapes can be pasted on a larger piece of cardstock and given that special touch using stickers. Be sure that your child doesn’t forget to write the name of each child on the card. He or she can even make one for their teacher.

Send each child in his class a teddy bear gram. Small Valentine’s bears can be purchased at the dollar store. They have bears with clear plastic slots on the front for a wallet size picture. Instead of a picture slip a folded Valentine’s Day message in the pocket. In addition to the friendly message, each child gets a teddy bear to love.

All kids like to get chocolate on Valentine’s Day. Wrap several candy kisses in aluminum foil and shape it like one giant chocolate kiss. Write a note for each classmate on a long slip of paper and roll it up. Attach one end of the paper to the top of the foil kiss. If you’re short on time or your child has a large class, the messages can all be the same to remove the need to uniquely address each giant kiss. Kids can write something cute on the paper and sign their name.

Traditional cards are okay for classmates, but if your child has an imaginative mind, let them exercise it with these ideas. Make Valentine’s Day in the classroom exciting and new.

Toddlers like to paint.  They learn in preschool that painting is fun and safe.  Give them some finger paints in red and white and have a good time decorating just about anything.

With finger paints you have to prepare the area so that the kids have a blast without your house looking like a construction zone.  Dress the kids in play clothes so that they can get messy without ruining their good clothes.

They can use their little hands to make a heart shape out of their prints.  You can get them to alternate red and white prints or they can mix white and red to make a batch of pink paint for more hearts.  Guide their hands to write words like “I love you” on a piece of construction paper or a poster board.

Toddlers can give the gift of flowers that they have made by themselves.  Give your toddler a variety colors and sizes of tissue paper so that they can make unique bouquets for each of their valentines.  The best thing about tissue paper is that it best resembles a flower when it is crumpled up.  Kids love to rip and crumble things up.  With this craft, they can do those things for fun.  You can crumple with them and let out your inner child too.

Once the paper is sufficiently crumpled, put the sheets together.  Show the kids how to wrap a pipe cleaner around the bundle of tissue paper sheets and fluff them up.  In no time they will look like flowers.  Since pipe cleaners may be hard to manage, it might be a better idea for parents to add the pipe cleaner and let the toddlers shape the flowers.

Craft stores have all sorts of good things that toddlers can use for Valentine’s Day crafting.  Foam shapes come pre-made.  Kids just have to punch them out and apply them to whatever surface they need to.  Instead of using glue, glue sticks are less messy and a toddler can learn to handle them much easier than a bottle of glue.

You can cut out some pictures of their face and place them in the center of the foam sheet.  After they decorate with the shapes, the craft can be given to grandparents or other family members as a Valentine’s Day card that is unique and special.

Toddlers don’t have to use scissors to make crafts.  Each of the above valentine crafts for toddlers required no scissor use and still they make excellent crafts that are fun and still allow them to be creative.

Start with a pad of construction paper.  Make sure that you have a pad of white sheets, red sheets, and multicolored paper.  The local office supply or craft store should have just what you need for the job.

The obvious first project is paper hearts.  Kids can use safety scissors to cut out heart tracings.  They can draw big and small hearts out of red and white sheets of construction paper.  What I like to call alligator teeth scissors can be used to cut out some of the hearts and give them a unique edged design.

Red, white, and pink are the usual colors of Valentine’s Day but don’t object if the kids want to use other colors as well.  They are being creative and creativity should be encouraged.  A purple or green heart will be made with just as much love as a red one.

Kids can use large stencils to make letters that spell out Happy Valentine’s Day.  Each letter is made out of construction paper and can be any color that the kids wish it to be.  When they are done cutting out the letters they can glue them to a string of yarn and make a banner.  Add a little glitter or stickers to make the letters stand out even more.  You can display their handiwork in a doorway or on the living room wall.

What else can kids use construction paper for?  They can decorate other items for Valentine’s Day.  Adding a few tiny pieces of red or pink construction paper to a vase or picture frame can turn it into a special gift with a love theme.

Construction paper along with some love stamps can create feel-good buttons for the entire family to wear for Valentine’s Day.  The kids can stamp to their hearts content and then cut out shapes around the designs to give to family and classmates.  A piece of rolled tape or a small safety pin can fix the “love button” to any shirt or jacket.

Construction paper doesn’t cost much and it is a wonderful way for kids to have fun at Valentine’s Day.  With simple items found around the house like construction paper, crayons, markers and scissors, crafts are easy to make at a moment’s notice.

Start simple.  Decorate the main rooms of your home.  Give each kid a ball of ribbon in red, white, or pink and watch what they do.  Ribbon can be wrapped around vases of flowers and draped above doorways.  A pair of scissors can be run the length of the ribbon to create curls.

Cabinets and dressers can be made festive with small construction paper hearts.  The kids can stick them all over – wherever they can find a good spot.  If you sit still long enough, there may be a few attached to you.  Bigger hearts can be cut out and displayed on the walls.  If you are afraid that tape will strip the paint off of the walls, use a hole punch to create holes in the hearts.  Make a loop through the hole with a piece of string and hang over a push pin or a small nail.

Instead of streamers, try a paper chain in alternating colors.  Cut several pieces of construction paper into one inch wide strips.  Interlock the paper and create a link chain.  When the chain is long enough hang it up in the kitchen or family room as a banner to remind the entire family that it is Valentine’s Day.

Kids can glue Popsicle sticks together to make coasters for the coffee table.  Watercolor paints can be used to decorate the finished coaster with hearts and arrows.  You can even add words like, Happy Valentine’s Day, Love, etc. to the coasters.  The same Popsicle sticks can be used to make a poster or a mobile that says I Love You.  The sticks are shaped and then painted bright red or pink.  Once dry, mount them on poster board or attached to a heart-shaped hanger by pieces of yarn.

A cloth furniture cover can transform your living room into a Valentine’s Day celebration room.  Measure the length of the couch or chair so that the cover will fit.  Spread it out on the floor and let the kids get started on the decorations.  They can glue felt words and shapes to the cover along with the names of each family member.  Every year at Valentine’s Day you can bring out their handiwork and decorate the room.

Decorations are fun to make and display around the house.  They don’t have to be for just one season.  Store them in airtight containers so they stay clean and intact for next year and years to come.

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You’ll Need

* Sticks (about 1/4 inch in diameter)
* Clippers
* An empty plastic peanut butter jar (or other empty jar)
* Thick rubber bands
* Raffia or ribbon
* Glue
* Pinecones (optional)

Directions:

Break or snip your sticks to about an inch longer than the jar. Put two rubber bands around the jar, one inch from the top and bottom. Now begin tucking the sticks under both rubber bands, placing them as close as possible to each other. Once you’ve surrounded the jar with sticks, slide the rubber bands together at the jar’s middle, then cover them with a decorative bow. Glue on a few pinecones, then fill the vase with flowers. For campers uninterested in flower arrangements, this vessel also makes a fine pencil holder!

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Create your very own log cabin, just like the one President Lincoln grew up in. This simple log cabin craft is perfect for President’s Day and save to make even for the youngest kids.

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You’ll Need

* Small milk carton – empty and clean
* Pretzel rods
* Chocolate Frosting

Directions:

To make this simple log cabin, use frosting to glue the pretzel rods along all sides of the milk carton. Glue them sideways along the triangle shaped top of the milk carton to form a roof.

Using pretzels and frosting makes this a fun edible craft that’s perfect for toddlers. They can safely nibble on their crafting supplies while making these cute log cabins.

You can cut windows and doors out of paper and glue them on with the frosting if desired.

If you are making this craft with your preschooler for President’s Day, you may also enjoy making this Washington Cherry Tree craft with your child.

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You’ll Need

* colored shells of Easter eggs
* glue
* construction paper
* old newspapers
natural-easter-egg-dye

Directions:

As you peel your Easter eggs, save the colorful shells in a plastic bag or container. Cover your child’s workarea with old newspapers for easy cleanup, then lay out the construction paper (or any sturdy paper for that matter).

Have her paste glue on small parts of the paper and then add small pieces of colored egg shell to make a mosaic. You can also look at pictures of mosaics online first and decide on a design she’d like to make. Draw a fine outline in pencil and have her paste the egg mosaic pieces.

If you are still looking for a fun way to color your Easter eggs in the first place, try using this natural Easter egg dye.

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Stop Feeding Your Kids Junk! – Skip the fast food and frozen TV dinners…Find out how easy it is to cook a home-cooked meal each night by planning it ahead of time. Grab your free Menu Planning Basics report at www.MenuPlanningCentral.com – and watch for the menu pack offer after you sign up.

You’ll Need

* old-fashioned round clothes pin
* tempura paint (white or brown)
* 2 wiggly eyes
* markers

Directions:

Lay out some old newspaper to protect the work area. Hand your child a brush and ask her to paint the entire cothespin in either white or brown (or any color you’d like the rabbit to be for that matter).

After the paint has dried, hold the clothes pin upside down. The round part will be the bunny’s face, the long parts sticking up are the ears.

Glue on the eyes, and use the markers to paint a nose, whiskers and bunny teeth.

Your kids will also have a great time making this cute Easter bunny mask.

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