How To Spend Valentine’s Day With A Toddler?

Valentine’s Day with your toddler can be a heart-warming experience. Engage in simple heart-themed crafts like creating cards or spend quality time together making a delicious Valentine’s bake. For parents and toddlers, Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to express love and strengthen bonds through shared moments. It’s a chance to create everlasting memories, fostering a sense of affection and connection in the family. Prioritise love, laughter and togetherness for a memorable Valentine’s Day with your little one.

How To Spend Valentine’s Day With My Toddler

Heart Hunt!

Hide heart-shaped cut-outs around the house and equip your toddler with a heart-seeking radar (aka basket) and let the giggly treasure hunt begin!

You could also get your toddler to ‘write’ their own love notes to you on paper hearts and hide them. Your toddler will love to be the hider as well as the finder.

I have made a FREE Valentine’s Heart Game and Printable for you: Valentine’s Card Games for Toddlers and Preschoolers – Fun Family Home Scroll down the page for ideas and at the bottom, you’ll find where to get your FREE printable.

Lovely Canvas Creations

Get messy with finger painting. Let your toddler’s tiny hands create heart masterpieces on canvas. The messier, the better – it’s all about the love splatter!

Dance Party Disco Inferno

Crank up the tunes and have a dance-off. Encourage those sweet, awkward toddler moves, and declare them the King or Queen of the Valentine’s Disco!

Cookie Cutter Capers

Bake heart-shaped cookies together. Decorate with colourful icing and sprinkles. Warning: messy faces and sugar highs guaranteed!

Lovey-Dovey Storytime

Pick heart-warming tales for story time. Act out characters with exaggerated expressions – toddlers love a good laugh! A month before Valentine’s, reserve some Valentine’s books about friendship and love so they are ready to collect just before Valentine’s Day.

Sensory Sensation Station

Create a sensory bin filled with red and pink rice, heart-shaped toys, and hidden surprises. Let those little hands explore and discover. Let them loose with scoops and tubs to practise moving the rice from one place to another.

Heart Ice Cube Meltdown

Freeze heart-shaped ice cubes using red and pink food coloured water. Place them in a sensory tray and let your toddler explore the cold, slippery hearts and watch as they melt into a colourful watery surprise.

Click on the picture to go to my post all about this fun STEM activity about thawing ice hearts.

Heart Hopscotch Hullabaloo

Draw a giant hopscotch with hearts. Practise counting as your toddler hops through this love-infused challenge. Bonus if you join in on the hopping hilarity!

Picnic of Love

Set up an indoor picnic with heart-shaped sandwiches and fruity treats. Share a pretend tea or juice party with their favourite stuffed animals.

Love Stickers

Get yourself a pad of heart-shaped stickers, remove the outer sticker for ease of little fingers and let your toddler loose on paper sticking to their heart’s content.

You could also draw a heart for them to stick the stickers inside or along the outside line. Toddlers will definitely love this idea!

Playdough Fun!

Make some pink and red playdough, provide rolling pins, heart-shaped cutters and sparkly bits like pipe cleaners and sequins for a fun sensory activity squishing and moulding.

Heart Stamping

Get some heart-shaped cookie cutters and some red and pink paint. Dip the cutters in the paint and see what amazing pictures your toddler can create with these stamps.

Another idea for heart stamping is to get a sponge and cut it into heart shapes and use those to paint cute stars over some paper.

Visit Friends or Family

Spread some love by visiting friends or family who live alone and bringing a sweet treat or some flowers as a surprise. I’m sure an elderly friend would love this and it may even make their day.

How To Talk To Kids About Valentine’s Day:

You could simply say it’s a day where we celebrate our love for each other. Some people like to buy gifts for their loved ones and give them a card and some flowers. Other people like to go out for a nice meal or spend the day with their partner doing something fun. Let’s do that! Let’s have a day of fun!

Remember, the key is to embrace the chaos, revel in the laughter, and cherish these love-filled moments with your little one. Happy Valentine’s Day, Toddler Edition!

Have a look at my other Valentine’s posts here:

Valentine’s Day Themed Activities For Preschoolers – Fun Family Home