There are two levels of kids crafts in this household...easy and extremely difficult to manage! Usually I veer towards the former, but when my mom (Yiayia) is around, it gets a little messier...which of course is the favorite type of activity for the boys! Here is a look at two Valentine's Day craft options...one for the more adventurous and one for a quick, easy clean-up!
Messy Option
Since Yiayia was over, the boys wanted to paint. We used this opportunity to only use red & white paint (which the boys also mixed to make pink!) We used a variety of household items to use rather than paint brushes! Makeup triangle sponges, pompoms in clothespins and even a scrubber! The boys loved having the freedom to paint whatever and however they wanted on plain white paper. I tried to show them how to create hearts using the triangle sponges, but they weren’t very interested, so we just went with it!
After we let their papers dry, I cut out a bunch of different sized hearts from their pink, red & white paintings! I then gave the older boys a marker to practice writing their names on some of the hearts. Then, I used those hearts and some that I wrote on to create Valentines cards for Papa & Grammy! I love being able to give family members items that the boys actually did most of the work on. It's a great memento to have and the boys had fun as well!
Since Yiayia was over, the boys wanted to paint. We used this opportunity to only use red & white paint (which the boys also mixed to make pink!) We used a variety of household items to use rather than paint brushes! Makeup triangle sponges, pompoms in clothespins and even a scrubber! The boys loved having the freedom to paint whatever and however they wanted on plain white paper. I tried to show them how to create hearts using the triangle sponges, but they weren’t very interested, so we just went with it!
After we let their papers dry, I cut out a bunch of different sized hearts from their pink, red & white paintings! I then gave the older boys a marker to practice writing their names on some of the hearts. Then, I used those hearts and some that I wrote on to create Valentines cards for Papa & Grammy! I love being able to give family members items that the boys actually did most of the work on. It's a great memento to have and the boys had fun as well!
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Mess-Free Option
Not everyone is ready to let their toddlers paint at home, which is totally understandable! As I previously stated, I usually wait for Yiayia to be around for that fun activity & clean up when there’s an extra adult to help monitor things! The (practically) mess-free option involved decorating some construction paper hearts using dot-dot markers and regular markers and crayons. Giving the boys some supplies to decorate and create as they wish is one of the easiest activities to come up with and when you give it a theme, you can use it as home decor or as gifts (in this case, Valentines cards) for others!
Not everyone is ready to let their toddlers paint at home, which is totally understandable! As I previously stated, I usually wait for Yiayia to be around for that fun activity & clean up when there’s an extra adult to help monitor things! The (practically) mess-free option involved decorating some construction paper hearts using dot-dot markers and regular markers and crayons. Giving the boys some supplies to decorate and create as they wish is one of the easiest activities to come up with and when you give it a theme, you can use it as home decor or as gifts (in this case, Valentines cards) for others!
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Other Ideas
- Heart Stamps - buy some stamps or even cookie cutters and let the kids decorate a piece of paper or paper bags to create their own gift wrapping!
- Fingerprint Hearts - rather than paint, use an ink pad to make some tiny hearts on paper using their fingers!
- Stickers on Paper - probably the least messy option, but my kids are obsessed with new stickers!
Hope you & your kiddos try and enjoy some or all of these ideas! Leave pictures of any activities you've been inspired to try on my Facebook page @lifeofaboymama or tag me on Instagram @jamiepontikeshaley
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