Valentine’s Day Construction Paper Crafts
February 9, 2009
Kids love to create crafts and Valentine’s Day is no exception. Construction paper is a useful tool for making Valentine’s Day crafts that kids will enjoy creating and family members will enjoy receiving.
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.
Easy Valentine’s Day Decorations
February 9, 2009
With kids around, you don’t need to spend a lot of money on decorations for Valentine’s Day. They are full of ideas so enlist their help to come up with decorating tips to spread the love this Valentine’s Day.
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.
Make A Virtual Or Real Gingerbread House
December 17, 2008
I have two cute activites for you today that will make waiting for Santa a little easier for the kids. They are both gingerbread houses. One real one and one virtual one.
Let’s start with the real thing. My friends over at Menu Planning Central.com have put together a cute document on how to make a ginger bread house. It includes step by step instructions and photos. Keep in mind that it will take you several days to complete the whole thing, so you may want to start on it within the next day or so. The result is so yummy and cute though, it will be well worth the time and effort you and your kids put into it.
How To Make A Gingerbread House (PDF)
If you don’t feel quite that ambitious, but still want the kids to decorate a gingerbread house, check out this website. The kids will drag and drop candies onto a cute little house to turn it into a complete gingerbread landscape. Here’s a screenshot of one my daughter and I made last night. We had a lot of fun and there was no mess to clean up after 
Happy Holidays!
