18 Great Valentine’s Day Games for Kids and Families

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VALENTINE’S DAY has become a universal tradition that rises above cultural and faith boundaries. Besides romance, the international holiday is associated with friendship and love among family members, workers, and friends.

As a parent, you can make this year’s Valentine’s Day a perfect time for bonding with your family. The following games and activities are easy, fun for children of all ages, and a brilliant way to bond with your loved ones this Valentine’s Day.

18 Amazing Valentine’s Day Games and Activities for Families

1. Whom Do You Love?

This game does not have winners and losers and is perfect for small children. All you need is a group of children and chairs.

Instructions:

•  Arrange the chairs in a circle facing inside.
•  All the kids should sit on chairs except who will be referred to as “it”.
• The “it” will approach one player and ask, “Who do you love?”
• The approached player will provide an answer such as “I love anyone in red”, “anyone wearing pink”, or “anyone with a pet”, etc.
• All children with the said specifications will stand up and scramble to find a new seat, but not the seat next to them.
•  At the same time, “it” should also try to find a vacant seat.
• The child left standing for lack of a vacant seat becomes the new “it”, and the game starts all over again!

2. Heart Hunt.

What is Valentine’s Day without hearts? Heart hunt is a simple and fun activity for kids to try out on Valentine’s Day.   This game is easy to set up and can be played indoors and outdoors.

Instructions:

• Create paper hearts by cutting different colored construction papers.
• Fold the hearts vertically and cut them into two or four pieces. 
• You can become more creative by making different cuts in each heart.
• Hide the pieces in different locations, such as under the chairs, behind pictures, behind the house, etc.
•  Set a particular period for the children to hunt and put all the pieces together. 
• The child with the most ‘whole hearts’ becomes the winner. 
• You can reward the winner with a simple prize such as candy or chocolate treats.

3. Heart Toss:

Heart toss is a simple and fun activity for children of all ages. You can introduce to your kids this game if you want them engaged and happy this Valentine’s Day. All you need is a Fishbowl or large transparent bowl and five chocolate hearts per child. The number of players can be three or more.

Instruction:

• Place the fishbowl or the large transparent bowl on the ground.
• Provide every child with five chocolate hearts.
•  Ask the players to stand about one meter away from the bowl.
•  Check players should try to toss their chocolate hearts into the bowl.
• Every player will be awarded a point for every chocolate heart that lands in the bowl.
•  The player with the highest points wins all the chocolate hearts in the bowl.

4. Blowing Bubbles

Kids love playing and running around outdoors. Blowing bubbles and watching them fly away allows them to run, laugh, and get messy.

To make bubbles, you will need the following:

• 2 tbsp  dishwashing detergent
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp glycerin
• 4 tbsp hot water

Instruction:

 Mix water and sugar and stir properly until it is well dissolved,

Mix the glycerin and detergent

Mix all the two slowly to avoid making the mix too bubbly

Caution:  Flush eyes with water if they get into contact with soapy water.

5. Make a Sweetheart Bracelet

Sharing simple gifts go a long way in expressing love. Let your family and friends know you value them this Valentine’s Day by gifting them homemade sweetheart friendship bracelets. This is also a fun and educative activity to keep your kids engaged this Valentine’s Day.

Here is what you need:

• Self-adhesive Velcro
• Ribbon
• Scissors

Instruction:

• Measure or approximate the wrist of the person you want to gift.
•  Cut a ribbon to this length, plus an extra 1cm.
• Lie the ribbon face down on a flat surface.
•  Cut Velcro the same width as the ribbon, peel from its backing, and stick it on one end of the ribbon.
• Press it down firmly to ensure it sticks properly.
• Peel and fix another Velcro on the other side of the ribbon. And ensure that it sticks properly.
• Place the ribbon bracelet on your loved one’s wrist and press together the two Velcro to hold.
• You have just made someone’s Valentine’s Day!

6. Make a Scrapbook

There is no better day to make lasting memories with people you love than Valentine’s Day. Making a Valentine’s Day scrapbook is a great craft project for kids as they gather memories into a beautiful keepsake.

You will require the following items to make a Valentine’s Day scrapbook:

• Scrapbook-making materials: Paper, stamps, stencils
• Memorabilia
• Photos or printed photos copies
• Creative ideas.

Instruction:

• Gather photos of previous Valentine’s Day, among other memorable moments you shared with loved ones.
• Choose a title for your scrapbook.
• Choose romantic or loving page elements, e.g.,  hearts, ribbons, laces, and cupid and heart embellishments.
• Use color. The red color is a good theme for Valentine’s Day
• You can integrate some old letters, notes,  or romantic cards into some pages of your scrapbook.
•  Include old and new journals to remind you in the future how you felt during this Valentine’s Day.
• Include love poems, from your spouse and children, in the scrapbook.
• After compiling the scrapbook, share it with loved ones and store it properly for future review.

7. Create Valentine’s Day Slime:

Valentine’s Day should not end without making some slime. It is squishy and sparkly and makes the Day more fun. You only need a few minutes to make Valentine’s slime, and yes, it is very affordable!

You will need the following items:

• Measuring spoons
• Rubber spatula
• A mixing bowl (Medium size)
• I tbsp baking soda
• 4 oz clear glue
• I tbsp contact solution
• Iridescent glitter or pink glitter.
• Heart sequins
• A drop of pink food coloring.

Instruction:

• Empty the 4 oz glue into the  mixing bowl
•  Add a tablespoon of baking  soda  and a tablespoon of  squirt into the bowl
• Add a considerable amount of fine pink glitter or iridescent into the bowl.
• Add a drop of pink food coloring to the mix thoroughly. You can add more bubbles of the food color if you want a deeper pink.
•  Knead the slime with your hands. Keep adding bits of contact solution if the slime is still sticky until it is no longer sticky.

8. Petals and Hearts Guessing Game

Petal and hearts guessing games are appropriate for all ages and are a party favorite. Not only is this game easy, but it is also free of mess, making it an excellent choice for parents!

You will need the following items:

• Clear jar
• Chocolate hearts
• Real or fake rose petals

Instruction:

• Fill in the clear jar with the rose petals and chocolate hearts.
• Ask the kids to guess how many chocolate hearts and petals are in the jar.
• The player who makes the closest guess becomes the winner.

9. Make Heart-shaped Crayons:

Heart-shaped Crayons can make a great DIY Valentine’s Day project for your kids. You will need broken crayons and silicon heart mold for this project.

Instruction:

• Preheat your oven to 250^o
•  Peel the paper on all the crayons and break them down into smaller pieces
•  Place pieces of different colors in each heart mold. For better contrast, you can add dark and light colors in each heart mold.
•  Place a cookie sheet in the oven for at least 10 minutes. Ensure that all the crayons melt entirely, but before the colors mush together.
•  Please take out the oven and allow them to cool completely. The crayons will pop right out of the molds!

10. Valentine’s Day Ice Breakers:

Are you planning on inviting friends and family over for Valentine’s Day celebration? Ice breakers activities may be just what you need to keep your guests engaged.

 Ask your guests to sit in a circle or around a table. Pass around a bucket of conversation hearts, and ask each guest to grab a few out of the bucket. The guests should then say something about themselves for every heart they collected. 

You should not disclose to your guests why they are collecting the hearts from the bucket; otherwise, the shy ones will pick only one or two.

11. Make a Valentine’s Day Card

This is an excellent idea if you want your kids engaged for a better part of the Day. You will require the following items in this activity:

• Construction paper or printing paper.
• Glue
• Collage materials (ribbon, confetti, paper bits, yarn scraps, stickers, buttons, etc.)
• Markers
• Cardstock
• Scissors

Instruction:

• Take a piece of cardstock and fold it twice
•  Add a thin layer of glue on half of the solid-colored paper. (The adhesive should not be too thin; otherwise, it will dry too fast, making it hard to stick to other crafting materials. You also don’t want it too thin; else, it will take too long to dry).
• Ask your child to decorate paper all over with different crafting ideas. Please encourage them to cover the entire paper with colorful decorations.
•  Now take the folded cardstock and create a simple Valentine’s Day design. For example, you could draw a red heart.
• Carefully cut the simple design you created with scissors.
• Once the college is dry, fit it on one side of the opened card.
• Cover the side with glue, adhere the collage to cardstock, and let it dry thoroughly.
• Finally, ask your child to write a personalized message.

12. Word Mix

Do you wonder how you can improve your kid’s vocabulary and creative writing skills, but in a fun way? Word games could be all they need. You can play a word game this Valentine’s Day with words connected to the holiday. You will only need index cards to play.

Instructions:

• Start by writing about 30 Valentine’s Day-related words on the index cards.
• Mix the cards up and place them on a table.
• Ask every child to select two cards.
•  Each child should compose a poem or song using the words on the index cards.
• Lastly, everyone should read their poem or sing their song for everyone.

13. Decorate Heart Cookies

 Most people only think of candy as Valentine’s Day sweets. However, your children can still celebrate with some heart-shaped cookies. If your children are too young to bake, you can bake the cookies and ask them to decorate them. Older kids can join in the baking process before getting into decorating.

Allow your kids to be as creative as possible by providing them with enough decorating tools. White, pink, and red are popular colors for Valentine’s Day celebrations. No cookie decorating process can be complete without marshmallows, candies, sprinkles, and chocolate chips, among other yummy toppings

14. Candy Heart Relay Race

 The candy heart relay race is a silly and thrilling game you can’t afford to miss this Valentine’s Day. The concept is similar to the egg-and-spoon race, only that players use little candy conversation hearts over eggs.

You will need the following items to play this game successfully:

• An empty cup
• A spoon for each team
• A cup full of candy conversation hearts
• An open and safe space to run.

Instruction:

• Line up the empty cups on one side of the yard or room and the spoons and the filled cups on the other.
• Group the children into several teams and ask them to scoop as many hearts as they can with a spoon and carry them to the empty cup.
• The players must walk as fast as they can while trying their best not to drop their hearts.
• The team with the highest number of candies in the previously empty cup at the end of the game becomes the winner.

15. The Love Jar

Valentine’s Day is about love, and there is no better way to celebrate it than reflecting on the people and things we love. The Love Jar activity will give your family an excellent opportunity to reminisce about love and, at the same time, have some fun.

Instruction:

• Create notes with   prompts such as “who do you think about the most?” “Who makes you laugh the most?” “Who is your best teacher?” “Who inspires you the most?”
• Fill a jar with these notes and ask kids to fish out several messages randomly.
• Each child should provide answers to the prompts on their selected notes.
• You can include notes that encourage kids to talk about their characters. Not only will they learn self-love, but they will also develop better communication skills and self-confidence.

16. “Love is blind” Drawing Game

Ever heard of the phrase “love is blind”? This is mainly because people feel they have no control over who they fall in love with. You can use this sentiment to create a fun game for your children.

Blindfold your kids and sit them on a table with paper and other drawing materials. Ask them to draw someone they love with the blindfold on. You can expect a lot of giggles after the blindfolds are removed. They see how silly their pictures look. It will be funnier when the kids frame their drawings or hand them over the drawings to the people they drew.

17. Valentine’s Day Mystery Box

Our brains can picture crazy things when our eyes are closed. It can be quite scary to touch things that your eyes can’t see. Let your children’s imagination run wild this Valentine’s Day by setting up a mystery box where they will stick their hands with a blindfold and guess what the objects are.

There will be screams from many kids because they will be scared of what they touch. However, the bravest will keep feeling the objects without fear as they try to guess what they are. You can make this activity more engaging and fun by finding items of different textures for your children to feel. For example, in the mystery box, you can include a candle, chocolate hearts, slime, petals, and a plush heart.

18. ‘Tell a story’ game:

Valentine’s Day is perfect for talking about love and expressing love to others. Ask your children to create stories about love that end with moral lessons. This activity will encourage them to talk about love, learn from others and improve their creativity. 

Frequently Asked Questions

In Conclusion

 These are only suggestions for bonding as a family during Valentine’s Day. Our compilation includes rewarding, less stressful, and affordable ideas. However, don’t shy off from coming up with more innovative ideas to fit your family’s needs.

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From Kids on the Yard, Happy Valentine’s Day!