Hosting a classroom Valentine’s Day party can be both fun and effortless when you have a plan that balances sweet traditions with kid-approved activities. Below I give you ideas for crafts, activities, games, and snacks that will be a hit with any elementary school kid! I like to follow the same formula for every party. Have 2-3 games, an activity like bingo, and a craft. Then I tend to have the snack as a station as well. That allows teachers to break the class down into groups between 4-6 kids and they get to rotate through all of the stations in small groups.
Classroom Valentine’s Day Games:
This is when Amazon, Target, and Oriental Trading become your BFF. I’ve done a variety of games over the years. This year for my fourth grade daughter’s party, I am bringing in a heart bean bag toss game and Valentine’s Day bingo. In the past, I’ve also done an easy inflatable ring toss game and a “guess how many” candy game. (You fill a jar with candy like Hershey Kisses or conversation hearts and make the kids guess how many are in the jar.) Winner gets to keep the candy! Hot tip: I like to line the games up in the same corner of the room to keep the chaos contained.
Lastly, if you need another “activity”, count passing out valentines as one! Have that as a rotation so kids have plenty of time to make sure they hand out their valentines to their classmates.
Classroom Valentine’s Day Party Crafts:
Alongside the games, I like to have one to two crafts for the kids to do. As they kids get older and burn through them faster, feel free to have one station with two crafts! This year for Winnie’s party, I have two easy, mess-free ones. Decorate your own paper glasses, and color-your-own Valentine’s Day bookmarks. These are so simple and the only extra material you need are markers or crayons the kids already have!
When the kids were younger, my go-to Valentine’s craft was decorating their own bag so they had a fun little vessel to bring home all their valentines. As they’ve gotten older, teachers typically ask students to bring a box from home instead. But if your kids are still on the younger side, this is such an easy (and adorable) craft. Just grab small white craft bags with handles, add some festive stickers, and let the kids go to town with their own markers and crayons.
One year, I had Winnie’s pre-K class and Lila’s kindergarten class make their own paper headbands. I cut poster board into two-inch-wide strips first. Then I had the kids add pipe-cleaner antennae and decorate the bands with stickers and markers. After sizing each one to fit their head and taping them closed, they ended up with the cutest little lovebug headbands. (I break it down more in an old blog here.) The photos below are old but you can see Winnie’s preschool class decorating their own bags and headbands. The far right photo is Lila’s kindie class making lovebug headbands.
Classroom Valentine’s Day Party Snacks:
What’s a class party without a fun little treat? These lovebug applesauce cups are one of my go-to classroom snacks. They’re cute AF and so easy to make. All you need are apple sauce cups, pipe cleaners, heart stickers, pom-poms, and googly eyes. I used strawberry applesauce for a festive pink look, but any flavor works! Pro tip: hot glue the pipe cleaner antenna directly to the foil lid so it comes off when kids are ready to eat. (As you can tell by my photos, I didn’t do that and glued them to the bottom of the cup.) Also, I just wrapped the pipe cleaner around my finger to get the curl, glued it on, and that’s it. Cute, simple, and totally kid-approved!
If you want a snack that also doubles as an activity, I recommend a “decorate your own” sugar cookie station. You can grab pre-made sugar cookies from the store or bake a quick batch yourself, then set out icing and festive sprinkles. It’s an easy, cute, and delicious way to keep everyone entertained. Below is a photo of Winnie and her third grade classmates from last year decorating their own cookies.
If you want to make a snack ahead of time that requires no effort on the kids’ part, I’ve got you covered. Buy some wafer cookies and dip them in melted chocolate. While the chocolate is still warm, dip or scatter sprinkles on it. Then just let them cool. Or, grab two or three pretzels. Put a Hershey hug on them, put in the oven for a few minutes to melt. Then put a festive M&M on top.
My final tip for a successful classroom party is to use the free version of SignUpGenius. As room mom, I usually take care of the crafts, games, and activities. But I create a sign-up to invite parent volunteers to help run a station. And then I ask for help with simple food items like juice boxes, clementines, string cheese, or pretzels. (Gotta throw in some healthy shit with all of that sugar!) It allows other parents to pitch in without feeling like they’re responsible for buying everything.
To see how I decorate for Valentine’s Day, check out last year’s decor blog here. If you’re in need of tween valentine ideas, read here. I also have inexpensive valentines here. And if you need Valentine gift ideas or want to see where I buy all of my decor, check out my LTK page here! As always, thanks for reading and for your support!
