Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Stages

Show your young child you love them with these Valentine’s Day toddler activities

Valentine's Day with kids can be fun - and these preschooler-approved activities prove it

By

Valentine’s Day is the holiday to celebrate love, but it doesn’t just have to be romantic love (like how kids join in with giving Valentine’s cards at school). If you’re spending Valentine’s Day with kids, you may want to include them in the celebration. Engaging your little one in Valentine’s Day toddler activities is a way to show them love and even build skills and self-esteem. Seriously — art, cooking, and physical activity are all on the table when you’re spending Valentine’s Day with kids.

Like with any holiday, you can make it your own. Here are toddler and preschool Valentine’s Day activities your young children will embrace — and so will you.

Child cutting a paper heart
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Valentine’s Day crafts for toddlers and preschoolers

Heart crafts

Make a garland, mobile, wreath, or card out of paper hearts, or adapt just about any craft to include the color red or pink. There are endless Valentine’s Day crafts out there for any age that will let you have quality family time around the table.

Recommended Videos

Decorate their doors with love

Another crafty idea: Every day from February 1 to 14, cut out a heart, write something you love about your child on it, and put it on their door. Every morning, read it to them — it’ll help them learn about themselves in a positive light.

Related

Make a scrapbook

Take out some photos (or have prints made in time for Valentine’s Day) and reminisce over the memories as you paste them into a scrapbook together. Kids will love adding stickers or other embellishments to contribute.

Two toddlers in the kitchen
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Food-related Valentine’s Day activities for young children

Cook together

Go out for a cooking class as a couple or a family or cook something together in the kitchen at home. Either way, this is a fun activity that you can adapt to any age and makes meal prep a lot more fun than a usual day. Incorporate heart shapes into your meal, like a heart-shaped pizza!

Special meals

Buy a fondue set or even a chocolate fountain in advance to break out for this holiday. It will feel like a special occasion with your new accessory. And you can turn anything red or pink with food coloring (like pancakes) and use cookie cutters to turn anything into hearts (like toast).

Have the kids serve you a meal

Have the kids play waitstaff and do it up with aprons and notepads at Chez Valentine’s. If you can’t go out for dinner as a couple, let your kids play restaurant and they’ll have fun acting fancy, and you and your partner can have that served dinner without a babysitter.

Toddler walking in the snow with a magnifying glass
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Outdoor toddler Valentine’s Day activities

Ice skating

Ice skating is a classic date that also works as a family activity. February is a peak season for this pastime, and if your children are old enough to walk, they may be ready to rent some skates and give it a try. It’s a nice way to get out of the house together.

Take a garden stroll

Do you have a park or botanical garden near you? Bundle up and put on some winter boots. Then, take a family walk together to enjoy each other’s company and the beauty of nature around you. The world may not be in bloom in February, but the bare trees and vines are positively ethereal, and it’s a fun way to beat hibernation-season boredom. Maybe the kids can even run off to play within sight for you and your partner to have some quality time to talk while you walk.

Family on couch watching TV
fizkes / Shutterstock

Relaxing ways to spend Valentine’s Day with kids who are little

Watch family videos

Ditch YouTube for something more personalized. If you have a wedding video, make a tradition of watching it each Valentine’s Day to remember the love that created your family. If you have home video clips on your phone, you could edit them together to screen a mini movie of family memories for everyone to watch together.

Pedicures

Let the kids give you both foot massages to pamper you, and you can paint their nails, too. You don’t have to go to the spa for some relaxation!

Valentine's Day craft with Love painted on it
Image used with permission by copyright holder

With these Valentine’s Day ideas for parents, you can bring the whole family together. While date nights and couple time are important, you can always go out another time when reservations aren’t so hard to get. The love between all members of your family is special, and your kids will love being included in the holiday they see being celebrated all around them with Cupid decorations and heart balloons. Let them know that love isn’t just about romance and couples, but that all love is special, including yours for them.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Sarah Prager
Sarah Prager
Contributor
Sarah is a writer and mom who lives in Massachusetts. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, National…
The best educational shows for kids, according to their age group
Check out these educational shows to get something more meanful out of screen time
Boy sitting on a floor using a tablet.

All parents struggle with limiting screen time for their children. It's not the best part of parenting and is one of the harder hurdles of "parentdom" to scale. If you want to put those screens to better use, here are the best educational shows for kids, broken down by their age.
For toddlers ages 2 to 3

For children 2 to 3 years old, it will be all about bright characters singing catchy songs, with the songs full of educational material.
Bubble Guppies
Your preschooler will love going to school with the Bubble Guppies. Really — the show takes you to a classroom of young fish where math, science, and literacy are discussed through various songs.
Ask the Storybots
The adorable bots in Ask the Storybots take kids on an adventure to answer those burning questions only a toddler has. Children will learn letters through rhymes and songs and then be transported from place to place to find out how the human world works.
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
You can't go wrong with a classic that raised you as a child. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood teaches children about kindness and how to make the world brighter by being a better person. Kids love visiting the Land of Make Believe and hearing the soothing voice of Mister Rogers talk about early childhood themes.
The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That
If you have a little one already interested in science, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That focuses on those learning concepts. The nonstop songs make it fun for a child to see where the Thinga-ma-jigger will take them next.
For children ages 4 to 5

Read more
What to do when your child is obese
How these healthy habits can help with childhood obesity
Standing on a weight scale

Parents only want what's best for their kids, and that means facing health challenges head-on. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity is a major issue in the U.S. with around 13.7 million young children and adolescents falling into the obese category. A child is considered obese if his or her Body Mass Index (BMI) or body fat measurement is over the 95th percentile. Most BMIs for kids and teens are in the fifth and 85th percentile range. A child above the 85th percentile is considered overweight for their age.

The concern with obesity in children and teens is the impact on overall physical and emotional health. Obese children and teens face an increased risk of high blood pressure and cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, joint problems, low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Future health problems include a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer. An overweight child is more likely to be obese as an adult, as well.
The concerns with childhood obesity

Read more
9 simple steps that’ll help teach your toddler to read
Use these tips to help your toddler on their reading journey
Happy toddler boy reading a picture book

Learning to read is a critical milestone for all children. It's a skill they will use throughout their lives, and fostering a love of reading at an early age will help them as they progress through school. As an adult, reading is an essential part of every day.

Since reading is so vital, it's easy for parents of young children to wonder when they should start teaching a toddler to read. Is it even normal for a two-year-old to read? While some children will begin reading as early as age three, most children will not. Developmentally, many children begin to make the connection between letters, sounds, and words at the end of kindergarten or in first grade.

Read more