Easy homemade valentines

Wood Sprite opted to hand out all store-bought valentines at her homeschool party this year. I was happy to oblige since they were only a buck, but I was also a little bummed that she didn’t want to make them with me. It turns out that she just didn’t want to spend the time to make 30. “I’ll make a couple but that’s it!” she warned.

She’s right, though. Making 30 valentines or more is a lot of work. We’ve made it work okay in the past by creating really easy valentines, though. Here are some fast DIY valentine ideas.

Finger painted hearts: Just cut out a bunch of hearts and finger paint them at once! We did this for Sprite’s first Valentine’s Day and it was a piece of cake, albeit messy because she was so young. Put down newspaper first! Then just sign the back, adding notes to special people like grandparents.

Handprint flowers: Trace your child’s hand to make a flower, then add on a chenille stem or make easy, quick leaves from construction paper scraps. This does take time to cut, so either cut them out together or just cut them in quick, easy squares. Grandparents especially like these personal gifts.

Treat messages: Buy a bunch of heart-shaped suckers. Cut out strips of paper and let your kids write messages on them or decorate them, then tape them or roll them onto the suckers. This is just as easy as sending store-bought valentines, but it adds a personal touch as well as a sweet element.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia