10 Valentine’s Day activities for kids to celebrate love

Valentine’s Day is a lovely excuse to slow down and let your children know just how much they mean to you.

These Valentine’s Day activity ideas are fun, creative and easy to enjoy at home (with a little bit of learning gently woven in too). There’s a mix of making, writing, drawing and reflecting… all designed to spark conversation, build confidence and give you the chance to spend some quality time together celebrating kindness, friendship and self-love.

1. Make Valentine’s Day cards

Sending Valentine’s cards has a surprisingly long history. The tradition is thought to date back to St Valentine, who lived in ancient Rome and signed letters “from your Valentine” as a simple message of care and kindness. Over time, that idea grew into the cards we still send today… little reminders that someone matters.

Using Busy Things, children can design and write their own Valentine’s cards for a friend, family member or someone who has helped them. They can choose a template, add pictures and decorations and -the lovely bit – write a message inside explaining who the card is for and why they chose them.

It might be:

• a grandparent who always listens
• a sibling who shares their toys (sometimes!)
• a friend who always makes them laugh

Along the way, children are doing much more than making something pretty. They’re building writing confidence, empathy and thoughtfulness, while also practising typing, using creative digital tools, editing their work and producing a finished card they can save, print or share.

2. Design Valentine’s flowers

Flowers are often given on Valentine’s Day  but instead of buying them, children can create their own.

Using Busy Things, children choose a flower shape and decorate it using colours, textures and patterns. The tool automatically creates symmetry, so every mark they make is reflected on both sides — creating beautiful effects and sneaking in a bit of maths along the way.

It’s a lovely opportunity to chat together:

• Why do people give flowers to show love or appreciation?
• What colours feel kind, cheerful or calm?
• Who would you give your flower to, and why?

Children can enjoy being creative without worrying about getting things “right”, while building confidence using digital art tools and creating something they’re proud to save, print or share.

3. Valentine’s pixel art

Pixel art is a creative and mindful way for children to build pictures step by step.

Using Busy Things, children can create Valentine-themed pictures or patterns by filling in shapes on a grid. They can choose from different pixel shapes, including squares and triangles, and work on canvases of different sizes, depending on how simple or detailed they want their design to be.

Children can make hearts, repeating patterns or their own pictures, choosing colours carefully as they go. The activity encourages careful working and attention to detail, while helping children grow in confidence using digital creative tools. When they’re finished, their artwork can be saved or printed.

4. Write a Valentine’s poem

Poems don’t have to rhyme, be long, or sound fancy to be a poem.

Using Busy Things, children can write short Valentine’s poems about friendship, kindness or appreciation. Just a few lines about someone they care about. You might like to read a couple of simple poems together first (from a book, online or even ones you make up yourselves) to show that poems can be playful, thoughtful or funny.

Children might write about:

• a friend who always plays with them
• someone who helped them when they were feeling wobbly
• a person who makes them laugh

A poem could be as simple as:

I like you because
You make me laugh
You help me when I’m stuck
And you’re a really good friend

Children can then add a picture to match their words and turn it into something they’re proud to share.

Along the way, they’re practising typing, choosing words carefully and expressing feelings through writing, all while creating something meaningful and personal.

5. Create your own Valentine’s recipe

Food is often part of Valentine’s celebrations – chocolates, treats, favourite meals – and this activity lets children get creative with that idea.

Using Busy Things, children can design their own Valentine-themed recipe by drawing the dish, listing ingredients and explaining the steps in order. The recipe can be real, imagined, simple or completely over the top!

It’s a fun way to practise clear instructions, sequencing, organising ideas and creativity.

6. Introducing Cupid (a Valentine’s story from Roman times)

Cupid is one of the most well-known Valentine’s characters. The Roman god of love, he is often shown with wings and a bow and arrow. But who was he really?

This is a lovely opportunity for children to practise a little research or, using Busy Things, explore Cupid through our Roman gods and goddesses area. The writing prompt templates include helpful guidance about each god, making it easy for children to write about who Cupid was and what he was believed to do.

It’s a fun way to introduce a bit of history and mythology, while letting children enjoy writing, drawing and storytelling around a familiar Valentine’s theme.

7. Paint like Andy Warhol (Valentine’s style)

This activity lets children explore a bold, graphic art style that works well with simple Valentine-themed images.

Using Busy Things, children can create Pop Art-style pictures inspired by Andy Warhol by repeating the same image and changing the colours. This helps them notice how different colour choices can change the overall look and feel of an artwork.

There’s no need for any prior knowledge. Children can experiment freely, make changes as they go, and focus on the process rather than trying to create one “perfect” picture.

The Make a masterpiece area of Busy Things also includes lots of other well-known artists to explore, allowing children to create paintings inspired by styles ranging from Van Gogh and Picasso to Pollock.

8. A Valentine’s reflection journal

Valentine’s Day is a chance to pause and notice the good things around us.

This journalling activity can be used as a simple Valentine’s reflection, encouraging children to think about kindness, appreciation and feeling good about themselves and others.

It’s a gentle, structured activity that supports emotional awareness.

9. Write about Romeo and Juliet

For some older children, Valentine’s Day can be a nice moment to dip into perhaps the most famous love story of all time… Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Using Busy Things, children can choose from writing templates to:

• retell the story in their own words
• describe key characters
• draw and describe a scene they find interesting
• even make up their own Shakespeare-style tale

Something to explore if your child enjoys stories, drama or imaginative writing.

10. Create a Valentine’s self-portrait

Valentine’s Day isn’t just about showing love to other people, it’s also a lovely time to celebrate being you and self-love.

Using the face tracing tools on Busy Things (NEW for 2026!), children can create a self-portrait by tracing the main shapes of their face and adding simple features and colours.

This can lead naturally to gentle conversations about:

• what makes them unique
• things they like about themselves
• why being kind to ourselves is important

This is a lovely, confidence-boosting activity that can lead to some thoughtful conversations

Valentine’s learning that feels like play

Valentine’s Day activities are all about celebrating love in its many forms… kindness, friendship, confidence and feeling good about who you are.

You can try all of the activities above on Busy Things with a free trial – an easy way to enjoy some thoughtful, creative Valentine’s moments together at home with a little bit of learning snuck in!