Valentine's Day Activities for Toddlers

Valentine’s Day may be a Hallmark holiday, but we enjoy it as an excellent excuse to express love and gratitude, and a reason to talk about kindness and friendship. Not to mention the sweet activities for children that go along with it. You can check out my post last year for some ideas and board books for young toddlers. The following activities and books are best for 2-year-olds and up!

Mailbox Valentine’s - This has been D’s favorite Valentine’s activity. She absolutely loves collecting our mail, seeing the mail delivery person, and going to the post office with me. I gave her a simple set of Valentine’s cards, envelopes, “stamps” (stickers), and a marker. The little mailbox came from Target Dollar Spot. She was so intentional about writing on each of her cards and sealing it up to put in her mailbox. Next week we will make some real valentine’s cards to send to friends and family too!

Heart Beading - Beading and lacing has become a favorite of D’s, and this was no exception. I love these heart beads by Melissa and Doug. The set comes with 5 laces that are easier for small hands to use to thread on the beads. I cut the strings to make them easier for her to work with, and set out a smaller set of the beads too. She was much more interested in beading as many beads as possible than actually wearing her jewelry!

Pom Pom Sorting - I like that this activity combines practice with tongs as well as sorting. D mastered this one quickly, so I’ll have to find ways to make it a bit more challenging with different size pom poms! This sorting tray can be used for all kinds of activities as well. The small tongs are also a favorite for serving snack with.

Tea Time - This is an afternoon ritual for us, to sit down and sip tea, golden milk, or some other beverage together. She serves up our plates and pours us each our “tea”. (I set it up for her at her kitchen beforehand.) She loves taking ownership over this and always makes sure my cup is refilled! :) You can find a simliar tea set here!

Heart Matching - I saw something similar on Pinterest, and had to try it with these foam hearts I already had on hand. All I did was cut each heart in half in a different pattern. This would be trickier if you used the same color hearts, but this was still a nice little challenge for D. She had the idea of adding these little wooden hearts on top of each one! ;)

Heart Stamp Playdough - This playdough recipe from I Heart Naptime is just the best - oh-so-soft. I make a batch of playdough at least once a month and it stays fresh in containers or ziplocks. With some fun new tools from Target Dollar spot, D has had a lot of fun making heart “cookies” with stamps. It’s so fun to see how she finds new ways to play with playdough each time!

Love to Pieces Gluing - This was another Pinterest-inspired art activity, and the template is from Little Learning Club. D helped me rip up some colored construction paper and then used a paintbrush and Elmer’s glue to cover the heart. Super simple and fun, and what toddler doesn’t love glue?

Love and Friendship Books - If you have a baby or younger toddler, check out last year’s blog post for board book ideas. This year, I focused on some picture books with the theme of friendship, love, and kindness towards others. In My Heart (as with all the Jo Witek books) is just beautiful. D loves the rainbow of layered hearts, and I love the vivid descriptions of all the ways a heart can feel. It’s great for giving toddlers more words to express themselves. Love is is D’s current favorite. It tells the story of a little girl who finds a lost duckling and takes it in, but also realizing when it’s time to let it go free. As parents, you’ll love the familiar story of raising your own baby. I purchased I Am Love because we’ve really enjoyed I Am Yoga but I will say it’s a bit advanced for the toddler age. I think preschoolers and older would get more out of it. Lastly, A Book of Love is a brand new book that is all about making, keeping, and mending friendships. D loves talking about the emotions of the children, the interactions between friends, and the beautiful and bright illustrations!

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