6 Fun Valentine's Day Recipes and Activities to Do With Kids

This recipe for two-ingredient watermelon gelato would be a perfectly simple (and easy to make) treat for Valentine's Day.

If you'd like to make an entire meal for you and your little Valentine, I also found a recipe for the cutest heart-shaped pizzas and these yummy fruit skewers. 

These hearts are absolutely adorable and look so simple to make that I would have absolutely no problem making them (you don't even need a sewing machine!). They would also make a super cute DIY Valentine that would last forever.

If you're feeling extra crafty, check out this tutorial for an sweet little felt heart garland, and if you're not DIY inclined, this super fun activity that involves STEM is really fun to do with kids (and it works).

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Pokeheart: A Pokemon Inspired Valentine

I created these pokeheart valentines for my son to give to his classmates after spotting it randomly on Pinterest one day, and thought I would share with you how I went about making them if you happen to be looking for a last minute Valentine's Day idea.

What you need:

Red construction paper

White construction paper

Black construction paper

Glue stick

Scissors

Hole punch

Paper cutter

Heart stencil

Using the heart stencil (I used a cookie cutter), I traced out the heart shape on both the red and white construction papers. By measuring the red heart on top of the white heart, I was able to figure out exactly where I wanted to cut my red heart in half -- all you need is the top part of the red heart. 

I then glued the top of the red heart onto the white heart (which I kept whole for ease of gluing), using the glue stick, and then trimmed down any part of the red heart that could be seen sticking out from beneath the red part that had just been glued on.

The black construction paper was cut into a 1/4 inch strip (roughly 1 centimeter), and then measured for the length that would be needed to cover the middle of the heart where the white and red paper joined. I made sure it was a bit longer than the edges of the heart, and then just used my scissors to trim it up to the edge once it was glued on.

The white circle for the middle piece was hole-punched out of a piece of the white construction paper, attached to a small square of black construction paper with the glue stick, and then the square of paper was trimmed down into a circle slightly larger than the white circle in order to create an edge around it. Glue it on to the middle of the black strip and you've got yourself a pokeball in the shape of a heart!

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Valentine's Day 2014: Spread the Love + Giveaway Winner

I always have so much fun on Valentine's Day with the children at work. I love seeing them get so excited over putting their valentines in each individual person's bag/mailbox, and then opening up their own bag to look at each valentine that they received. I got so many goodies and cute cards -- both handmade and store bought -- from my little Valentines this year, and I even received a rose from a little boy whose parents dressed him up in a little suit.

In the morning we shared the love with patients in a local hospital by singing love songs and reciting poems to them, and then we participated in the Healing Arts Program where we each got our own canvas to colour and paint on. They are now dry and we plan on hanging them up around the centre for parents and other visitors to see when they come in. In the afternoon we decorated a circle and a square cake that we made into the shape of a heart. We ate it at snack time along with some cookies that another child had made with his mother.

But Valentine's Day is more than the goodies and cards that we receive. When it comes down to it, Valentine's Day is what we did at the hospital where we sang to the patients and spread the love around to everyone. The children were unbelievably excited as we prepared our songs and poems. They had so much love and compassion for those patients and wanted to share everything with them. It was such a fantastic experience, and one that I hope to do again and again.



And now for the winner of the little art print Valentine's Day giveaway:

Congratulations to Karlee Lisafeld!

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5 Things: Favourite Valentines 2014

Check out these amazing Valentines from some other shops on Etsy. They are so fun and unique, and each shop has other fantastic Valentines available. I've already purchased the little puppy and rabbit Valentines for my son to give to the other children in his class -- I hope he gives me one too :)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Don't forget to enter the shop giveaway!

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Valentine's Day 2014 Cards and Art Prints + Giveaway

They're here!

The new Valentine's Day cards and art prints are now available in the shop.

This year I was inspired a lot by my son, his books, toys and movies, and the things we say and do together -- the I love you x 15 card was inspired by a little game we play where we say "I love you" to each other as many times as we can, and as quickly as we can. I hope you will find some love and inspiration amongst these cards and prints, too.

I Like You, Like You Card  I Love You x 15 Card  

35 Hearts, Only One is Love Art Print A Little Fall of Love Art Print

Now here's the fun part:

Purchase a Valentine/Love card from the shop and you will be entered to win the little art print you see in the photo above -- "A Little Fall of Love"

For an extra entry, take a photo of it to share on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Tag the shop and use the tag #elleseevalentine so that I know you have shared your photo. I can't wait to see your photos!

Contest closes February 14, 2014 at 12pm EST.

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The Best Part of Valentine's Day

One of the best parts of Valentine's Day, for me, is that I get to share in the excitement of the children that I work with. This year, one of the kids was hopping up and down excitedly as each child in the room pulled his Valentine out of their mailboxes. "It's mine! It's mine!" He would shout.

It reminded me of my days in school when we would walk around the classroom dropping Valentines into each giant paper envelope hanging from the desks, and then I would open them and judge what the kids in the class thought of me through the Valentine they chose to give me.

Time have changed, though. I don't judge what the children at work think of me through their Valentines, but I did get a good laugh out of a few of them, and I wanted to share them with you.

Apparently, I'm fierce, but I'm really just curious about what that dog is thinking, and why the cat is laughing so hard, or even if the cat is laughing.

Ha! Hot Rod.

This child made special Valentines for each person in the room, and each one made me smile. I will treasure this one forever :)

Even though he doesn't understand Valentine's Day, Little Boy enjoyed playing with the pink play dough he received as a gift with one of his Valentines. He also enjoyed eating a lot of the gifts that came with his Valentines.

I asked him to show me his tattoo so that I could get a photo. He was not a happy camper as I was trying to put it on his arm, but he though it was pretty cool after a few minutes.

Did you receive any special Valentines this year?

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