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It’s that time of year – snow is in the air, gophers are making headlines, and you’re in need of cute valentine ideas!
I’ll admit that we’ve never really been big on Valentine’s Day.
My mom always made a big deal of having little heart-themed trinkets and gifts on our nightstands for when we woke up. As an adult, my husband and I are mediocre at remembering to buy a card before the day of (I bought one mid-January this year and can’t remember where I hid it, so that might be why)!
But now, with kids, holidays like Valentine’s Day have a whole new meaning. My husband doesn’t need to be reminded that he’s the love of my life, especially since he’s stuck with me. My kids, though, they deserve to be told how special and loved they are every day, let alone just as a one-day bonus.
In our family, we try hard to prioritize togetherness and memories as our preferred ways to celebrate holidays, over things like candy or toys. In 20 years, my kids will remember being happy and being with family more than they’ll remember some silly little trinket toy (that probably broke too fast anyway).
As someone admittedly terrible at coming up with my own creative ways to make holidays special, I definitely need this list for myself as much as you might need some ideas! Let’s make an effort to step up our holiday game this year with the cute valentine ideas to make at home, instead of copping out with store-bought valentines!
Table of Contents
Cute Valentine Ideas For Husband
We’ll start with this guy – the most important love of your life because without him the other little loves wouldn’t exist!
Date Night Grab-Bag
This is what I’ll be doing for my husband this year (and let’s face it, probably every year!) because it’s 100% free to make it, and it’s so easy I can even put it together in the short time between when he calls and says he’s on his way home from work and when he walks through the door! Now you know that THAT’S what makes it a great gift idea!
To do this, I’ll pull 12 of my favorites from this list of cheap date night ideas, type them up into a little printable grid, cut them out, and put the cards into an envelope.
Once he opens his gift, we’ll pick one day per month to plan on having a “date night” but I’ll let him decide which date night idea goes in which month!
Post-It Note Heart of Encouragements
Found on Kathi Lipp
This one could be done either just by you, but even better is if you have the kids get involved!
All you’d have to do is cut a heart out of paper or cardstock, and cut post-it notes into hearts as well (or use regular paper and glue). On each smaller heart, put a reason why you (and the kids) love “Daddy.” Even better, you can probably make this with supplies you already have, and it doubles as the best free Valentine’s Day card he’ll have ever received!
Handmade Card
Found on Make and Takes
Seriously, how cute is this?!
Even if all you’re up for as far as celebrating Valentine’s Day goes is giving a card and that’s it, that’s totally fine!
Make it as special as possible by making it yourself! A handmade card is always more special than the one you grabbed from the store on your hurried way home one day!
Make one for each of your loves, if you’ve got the time!
One-of-a-kind DIY Sharpie Mug
Found on Destination Decoration
Let’s face it. He’s married, he works all day, and he’s got kids. Your husband either drinks coffee or tea each morning to wake up, or he needs to write a book on how to stay awake all day without it!
These mugs are just $1 to buy at Dollar Tree, can be customized to look literally however you want, and can be totally ready to go in just a few hours! (Make a bunch of these now, and you’ll have backup gifts ready to stash for upcoming birthdays, Mother’s Day, etc!)
(Just make sure to leave a few inches at the top or only put the Sharpie the entire way up on just half of the mug – you don’t want the Sharpie in your mouth!)
Cute Valentine Ideas for College Students, Teens, Tweens
This is, to me, probably the hardest group to come up with Valentine ideas for! They don’t like the cutesy stuff, like little kids do, they’re probably losing interest in celebrating a day all about love with their parents (you could hear the eye roll, couldn’t you?), and they might even have a boyfriend or girlfriend that they’d much rather spend the day with over you.
I’m so glad my kids are still toddlers — I’m crying already, just thinking about them as teenagers!
Cheesy Lunchbox Note
Found on It’s Always Autumn
This is probably the perfect way to, if necessary, pretend like you aren’t going to do anything “embarrassing” for your older kids for Valentine’s Day, but with their lunch pre-packed for the day you can sneak in some cheesy love for them anyway!
My favorite part about this idea is that it’s 100% versatile (perfect for any age and any gender, even your hubby!), it’s NOT candy, and it’s just cheesy enough to make your older kids laugh, no matter how embarrassed they are when their friends see it!
Cash Valentines
Found on Happy Deal – Happy Day
Is there anything that college kids (and teenagers in general) want more than cash?
Here’s a way to skip the cutesy toys and trinkets that never seem quite right for older kids and just give them what they really want. I love that you can simply adjust the bill value depending on age!
Coloring Kit
Found on Real Housemoms
Despite crayons in the image, hear me out: Put this on a box of nice colored pencils and pair it with an age-appropriate coloring book, and you’ve got yourself a great Valentine idea for any kid (or adult)!
For those of you whose kids are working on growing in their faith, you’ll love this bible study coloring book! Its simple, clean images to color don’t distract from the important message it’s trying to impart! It’s part coloring book, part bible journal/study, entirely lovely!
(You can see more of what Sally has to offer on her site: Inspired & Refreshed.)
Cute Valentine Ideas For Toddlers, Preschoolers, Young Kids
I think it goes without saying that this is definitely the most fun of the age groups to do Valentine’s gifts for because they’re still at the age where they get excited for just about anything (and everything)!
“I Dig You” Sand Toys Kit
Found on Fab Everyday
This seriously might be my favorite cute valentine idea on the entire list!
I love how simple it is, how much BOTH of my kids would love it (my daughter is a such a little tomboy!), and the fact that it’s nothing too overdone! For our really young kids, I’d swap out the candy for something like popcorn or even Gerber Puffs snacks, to keep with our candy-free preference!
Rubber Duck Valentine
Found on Love The Day
Who doesn’t need a good rubber duckie for bathtime? Either go with the Valentine’s Day themed ducks, go simple with plain yellow, or find some of those cute character rubber ducks to make it an extra unique Valentine idea!
This is a really easy, quick, and affordable Valentine to make for your child’s classroom, too! You can find larger lots of regular rubber ducks or character rubber ducks on Amazon!
Play-Doh Valentine
Found on Grace and Good Eats
Yet another candy-free valentine, perfect for the littlest loves in your life!
If you’ve got a classful of littles you’re looking to make cheap, special valentines for, this would be a great way to go! With a printable card template and less than $1 per mini Play-doh can, it’s about as affordable a per-child price as you can imagine!
DIY Cardboard Lacing Hearts
Found on Our Kid Things
What I love about this idea is that it doubles as either a valentine card/kit to give to little kids (and keep them out of your hair later, while you’re cooking a nice valentine’s family dinner!), or they can lace it up AS a valentine to give away!
Either way, you’re going to have some quiet time coming your way, mama!
Cute Homemade Valentine’s Day Gifts & Decor
If you’re looking for something a little more hands-on than a printable or a simple assembly of purchased items, then these are definitely the ideas you’re searching for!
These ideas are great for grandparents from grandkids, for middle-school-aged or older kids, to mom from kids, or for teachers (who deserve a lot of love for how much they do for our kids), or even just for easy decorations!
Mason Jar Valentine’s Day Centerpiece
Found on Passionate Penny Pincher
How pretty are these?!
These would be great to have a base color and let little kids paint hearts and such on as a DIY gift from the littles!
Just grab yourself some cheap Mason jars, paints, and get to work!
(Hint to any dads reading this: your wife will love this, so make it and put some real flowers in it to surprise her!)
I think most (female) teachers would love these for their desk, too!
Valentine’s Day Cookie Bar
Found on Fun Squared
I know I said “no candy” but cookies DEFINITELY don’t count in that category!
This is such a fun family activity, regardless of the age of the kids! Not to mention everyone will enjoy having a cookie in their lunch for the next few days!
Pro tip: buy a bunch of red sprinkles when they’re on sale around/after Christmas so you’ll be prepared!
Family Fancy Dinner
Found on Emmy Mom
I was so thrilled to come across this idea, because that means it’s not just us that stopped caring as much about a fancy dinner out for just my husband and me, but wanting to include our kids too!
Whether it’s “fancy” because you pulled out the good china and toasting flutes, or whether you use paper plates and the good steak cut makes it fancy, this is still a great way to encourage togetherness, love, and maybe even a few tips on etiquette and good table manners!
Crayon Hearts
Found on The Nerd’s Wife
I love that these can not just double, but triple as a gift for kids, a Valentine’s day craft to do with kids, AND a way to get a little peace and quiet!
I’m joking about the quiet part – I’m sure my kids would be screaming because they both wanted the same ONE crayon, no matter how many others there were. Oh well.
You can’t go wrong with an upcycle of those old, broken crayons that no one uses!
I found this post from Instagram and was delighted to see my photograph from Unsplash used for this post. Thanks!
Only the best for my site! ???? ❤️