Nowadays, coming up with Valentine’s ideas outside the box of cards is a challenge. Sure, the classic cards and sweets work! But are you the mom on the go that needs something quick and easy? Are you not a sweets fan? On a house budget? Or are you the DIY mom who wants to dust off your die-cutting machine?
Here are some Valentine’s ideas that are outside the “norm” for inspiration! Bonus! Most of the materials were found at the dollar store!
- “Squeezables”!
Why does it work? For babies, you can use an organic version or get a little wilder and get something sweeter or homemade! If the parent chooses not to give it to their kid, it’s effortless for them to gift forward or enjoy themselves! There are some reusable pouches for doing your puree or drink. Bigger kids? Pouch drinks – the kiddos need to water down the sugar from the rest of the sweets.
I tend to favor clothespins for attaching notes and cards because they come in bulk, easy to dazzle up a
Bonus idea: For the over-21 crowd, there are some alcoholic pouches that friends and teachers would love to squeeze!
Free Squeezable Printables:
- Cards!
There are some cute card decks at the dollar store, and cards always have great puns to go with them, like the UNO cards: “I hope UNO you’re the best!”
- Modern Homemade Polly Pocket, anyone?
There are cute heart-shaped containers that you can fill in with a Minifigure or candies. Some of these already come with Valentine tags and threads. If you have a vinyl cutter machine, you can customize them with the child’s name. The ideas for these containers are endless and adorable. Nevertheless, I did find these “Lego-like” figures in a pack of three for a buck (and a quarter).
- A Recipe for friendship, kindness, love – you name it
You can pretty much find heart-shaped pans at every store. Just slap a “recipe” and gift forward an experience!
- Continue fostering experience and memories – with Books!
Dollar stores have some fantastic cheap books, which are lovely for little ones. If you enjoy thrifting, you can score some valentine’s theme ones. Is your at-home library overflowing, and were you thinking of donating some? Please take the opportunity and re-gift them!
- For the tweens – “Magic Potion.”
Want to enjoy your coffee hot and put your tweens to do the work? Get creative with art projects like the “magic potion.” Find little bottles at craft centers or the dollar store, some glitter or glue glitter, cute push-pins for the top, heart-shaped felt stickers, and abracadabra; your kid is a wizard.
- “Waddle” fun idea? Rubber ducks or frogs!
Gift rubber ducks (or frogs) to make a splash! These create joyful memories at bath time or on water fun activities. They usually come in packs of 3, 6, or 12 in different sizes.
Bonus: Did you know there is a rubber duck culture for Jeep owners (especially in Atlanta!)? Rubber ducks are often left on a Jeep’s driver-side door as a gift and solidarity for the Jeep community. Any parent driving a Jeep will also appreciate this! #duckduckjeep
Free Ducks & Frogs Printables:
- Shine bright!
I love it when kiddos wear sunglasses. Also, there are often birthday party favors. You can find sunglasses in packs or individually. And there are some excellent puns to go with the cards!
- Stickers! How easy can it get?
Either give a sticker sheet or split a sheet into multiples. They don’t have to be Valentine-related, and kids love them!
- Southern Mamas will appreciate it.
Moon Pies for Moon Pies. Tasty and quick come in a pack. Slap a name badge label and have your kids personalize it with stickers!
- What about for THE ONE or the besties?
Help your little one help their besties carry their Valentine’s goodies. There are cute baskets and boxes; some are not necessarily in a seasonal Valentine’s section. Check the birthday and party sections to get more personalized and creative.
- Does your kid love music?
Have them create a playlist of their favorite songs in your favorite player. Get the link to the playlist and convert it to a QR Code (or use ours). Embed the QR code in your kids’ card as a printable or sticker. To create QR codes, Canva.com has a pretty easy way of doing them, use online generators or search online for quick ways to make them.
Snapshot on how to get the shareable address link for your Spotify playlist:
Canva’s easy way to convert address links into QR Code:
Free QR Code templates:
Need more inspiration?
Check the images below for other cute Valentine’s findings that may inspire you in a different direction.
Finally, here are all the FREE templates you could use (from this post) for Valentine’s ideas! Helping you save time and energy.
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