Easy Family Valentine’s Day Celebration Ideas

If you love this content, please share it!

February always sneaks up on me and I find myself scrambling for simple ways to make Valentine’s Day special for our entire family. Romantic dinners get all the hype this time of year, but I’d rather make it a family affair.

How we used to celebrate Valentine’s Day (homeschooling)

When we first started homeschooling, we used Valentine’s Day (and St. Patrick’s Day) as a great opportunity to teach our kids some Christian history. We talked about how Saint Valentine helped young people who were poor. 

As the kids have gotten older and life has gotten busier, we have a lot less emphasis on making everything a lesson. Instead, St. Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day have become a way to break up the gray monotony of winter in the Pacific Northwest.

How we celebrate now: a special occasion, but simple

Since Valentine’s Day is so close to Christmas, I look for creative ways to celebrate without breaking the bank. Small gifts and simple family traditions are enough to create lasting memories.

{This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made from the links on this site, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting our family business!}

Easy Valentine’s Day activities for the whole family

1. Valentine’s Day scavenger hunt or treasure hunt

Pinterest has tons of free printables for this, including outdoor scavenger hunts and indoor treasure hunt clues. Or simply go on a walk at a local park and encourage your kids to look for things that are heart-shaped, or red, or pink (it’s a great activity for preschoolers).

2. Family movie night

Pop some popcorn, mix up some pink lemonade and celebrate Valentine’s Day in your living room. Here are a few classic movies that celebrate romantic love: 

• The Princess Bride
• Return to Me
• Ever After
• Pride and Prejudice
• Sense and Sensibility
• Penelope

And here are some excellent “friends forever” and family love movies:

• The Little Rascals
• The Barbie Movie
• Wreck-It Ralph
• Frozen
• Bridge to Terabithia
• Luca
• Hairspray
• Meet the Robinsons

3. Special Valentine breakfast

I frequently make some kind of special food that’s red, or pink, or heart-shaped. This can be as simple as pink milk and heart-shaped pancakes or toast. We have a full blog post with lots of fun Valentine’s Day breakfast ideas.

@dinkumtribe Making pink pancakes was so fun and bright! @dinkumtribe @dinkumtribe @dinkumtribe #christmaspancakesforkids #christmasbreakfast #valentinespancakes #valentinesday2023 #christmaspancakes #holidaybreakfastideas ♬ Storytelling – Adriel

4. Handmade Valentine’s Day cards

Grab the paper, crayons, scissors and glue and get creative! Little ones can color and have an adult write “Happy Valentine’s Day” for them, while older kids and teens can experiment with pop-out cards, glitter, paper punches and more.

5. Valentine’s Day tree

If your Christmas tree is still around, why not transform it into a Valentine’s tree? Red and pink ribbons along with a few heart-shaped ornaments will bring a festive touch to your day. Or you can decorate a tree outside instead.

6. Dance Party

Pick a few of your favorite songs to play and have everyone join in! Disney songs or Broadway musicals work well for this. You could ask an older kid or teen to provide the playlist and maybe even learn a few dance moves together.

7. Valentine’s photo shoot

It’s not difficult to set up a sheet for a backdrop or grab a red or pink tablecloth to make a photo spot indoors or outdoors. Have each family member put on their valentine’s outfit and take some fun photos together. For more fun, make some fun paper photo props (or order them online).

8. Special lunch or Valentine’s picnic

To keep this simple, sometimes we order the heart-shaped pizza from Papa Murphy’s. We’ve also enjoyed the heart-shaped ravioli from Costco, served with canned tomato sauce or marinara. The idea is to find some way to make the day a little bit special, without adding a lot of work for Mom.

If you have more time or want to go with something a bit more fancy, a picnic is a sweet idea! Our Valentine’s Day picnic post has everything you need to plan a great indoor or outdoor picnic.

9. Valentine’s crafts

I have encouraged my kids to make Valentine’s crafts for each other. There are plenty of inexpensive craft kits available if you’re not crafty. Kids also love to paint or color wooden heart ornaments and rocks, which can then be left at local parks for others to find.

10. Kind acts for others

What better way to celebrate a day of love than by doing something kind? Take your family and volunteer at a local food bank or shelter. You can also deliver some goodies or handmade cards to a neighbor or rest home.

11. Writing ideas

Put out a jar or mini mailbox for your kids and leave mini notes and pens out for them to write each other kind notes to read on Valentine’s Day morning. I’ve also seen families use heart-shaped sticky notes to put on each other’s door each day from February 1st-14th. 

Sometimes we have done a valentine exchange at school or our homeschool co-op. It’s a great way to help kids think of others and learn to express kind thoughts to loved ones.

12. Game night

Some fun games for Valentine’s Day include classics like Charades, 20 questions, Twister or musical chairs. We also love board games that are collaborative, like Castle Panic or Pandemic. You could even grab a Valentine’s themed jigsaw puzzle to work on together.

13. Creative desserts

Pick up some Valentine’s sprinkles or red and pink sugar crystals to make any standard dessert festive. You can also easily make a heart-shaped cake with one square cake pan and one circle cake pan. 

If you have more time, chocolate-dipped strawberries or apple slices are always a hit! A lot of grocery stores also carry heart-shaped cookies to decorate in a kit, which could be another fun family Valentine’s Day idea.

Simple Valentine’s gift ideas

Little holidays like this are a great excuse to get my kids something they need with a Valentine’s Day twist. A new shirt with red hearts, some new books, pencils in a heart shape, craft supplies, or something like that.

The local dollar store is a great place to pick up inexpensive, fun items that make the day a little bit special.

I usually get some candies or chocolate, and small party favor items for each child. Mini erasers, bottles of bubble solution, sidewalk chalk are all easy ideas.

Valentine’s Day decorations

We find that having bright decorations around in February and March helps all of us stay cheerful until the gorgeous spring flowers start to show up. Simple construction paper hearts or conversation hearts in a mason jar add pops of color around the house. 

We also have several books and home decor items that come out for each holiday. The kids love having different books available at specific times of the year. Learning the calendar, and marking days and seasons are all things that the little ones need to learn anyway, so why not make it fun?

Our favorite Valentine’s Day Books

• The Day it Rained Hearts, by Felicia Bond
• Be my Valentine, Peter Rabbit
• Biscuit’s Valentine’s Day, by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
• The Story of Valentine’s Day by Nancy Skaermas
• Happy Valentine’s Day, Charlie Brown! by Charles Schulz

What about Romance?

It’s funny to me that our society makes such a huge deal about Valentine’s Day – as though whatever we do the rest of the year doesn’t count!

@dinkumtribe This thought has been helpful to me- hope it encourages you too. @dinkumtribe @dinkumtribe @dinkumtribe #holidaytiktok #holidaygrief #holidaysadness #holidaysadtimes #unexpectedholidays #whenlifehitsdifferent #whenlifeishard #christmasdisappointment #griefandlossjourney #christmascancelled ♬ original sound – DinkumTribe ADHD family travel

Real love shows itself day in and day out in the little gestures that communicate “I love you” to your loved ones. Valentine’s Day kind of seems like showing off if you’re not already showing love daily.

One thing my husband has started to do is to get flowers for our girls. He does that so he can give them an example of what appropriate attention from a safe man looks like. 

He already brings me flowers regularly, and I often bake or pick up sweet treats for him. Our children see that spouses who love each other think of each other all the time. It’s not about the specific day!

Brian and I aim to celebrate our love everyday. We don’t make a big deal about Valentine’s Day because we try to have a date night once or twice a week, and special celebrations at other times. 

@dinkumtribe He inspires me every day. I parent better because of my husband. #dadswhocare #involvedparent #involveddad #parenthood_moments #parenthoodjourney ♬ Peter Pan Was Right – Anson Seabra

We realized early on in our relationship that the actual calendar day doesn’t really matter, as long as you take the time to recognize important moments. Plus, all the restaurants and popular things to do on Valentine’s Day are nowhere near as busy any other day of the year!

Keep Valentine’s Day Simple

That’s our basic philosophy about Valentine’s Day celebrations. Our marriage hasn’t suffered from keeping it simple, and our kids can have fun with it, without feeling pressured. 

What does your family do for Valentine’s Day? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!

© Copyright Jennifer D. Warren 2022. Updated: February 6, 2025.

If you love this content, please share it!