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Valentine’s Day is in one month. Usually I’m trying to run to the store the night before and frantically putting together the Valentines for the kids, but I’m trying to get better. Last year, I was little ahead of the ball and use my Silhouette to cut out some super cute kids valentines with pencils for them to give out to their classmates. It got me thinking that there have to be some other great valentine card ideas out there for us to pull from that don’t involve candy, so I gathered 17 of them to share with you.

17 Valentines for Kids

Valentine’s Day Fruit With Messages

My girls are big fruit fans. They devour it and I know many kids do yet, they probably don’t get enough. How fun is it to have some fun valentines fruit to give out to kids in class?

Tic Tac Toe Game Board

Tic Tac Toe is a huge hit, especially if we have time to kill. The girls would love playing Tic Tac Toe and the cute erasers, too. You could get a variety of erasers for your valentines to mix it up, too.

Seed Packet Printables

I think these seed packets are a great idea. They get kids outside playing in the dirt and learning about plants. Plus, when they see the plants come up later, they will see the fruits of their labors, literally, and hopefully be able to enjoy them, too.

Sharpie heart-dotted cup

Kids love to have tea parties, so it would be fun to find various glasses and mugs at a thrift store and make these Sharpie heart-dotted cups. The same idea could be used for other shapes as well.

Creative and free printables

Popcorn is a food group if you ask my kids, so why not make a kids valentine with it. Grab these super cute printables and pair them up for giving.

Valentine you are just write

We can never have enough pencils at school or home. Pencil valentine gifts are great for school-aged kids and why not pair them with a fun play-on-words and put a note on them.

Recycled seed paper hearts

Not only is this printable super cute, but you create a little card that kids can plant outside and watch it grow. This would be perfect for wild flowers.

Free Owl-themed printables

There are several cute Owl-themed printable you can grab and print out and home. You can attach them to something fun, or just give them as-is.

You Are “Toad”ally awesome free printable 

These toads are always a huge hit. They jump around and make so much fun. The preschoolers really love them. These free printables can be printed and home and then you can attach a fun jumping toad to make a great valentine for a kid.

DIY heart bookmark

An elementary-aged kid that devours books would find these DIY heart bookmarks right up their alley. They are easy for them to make and gift and useful which is great.

Measuring Spoons Valentines

You might be thinking, measuring spoons? Kids? Yes. My girls borrow mine all the time. They mix up potions and mixes from the kitchen to see what happens (spoiler alert, almost nothing ever happens). They also enjoy cooking and would appreciate having measuring spoons all of their own.

Playing card valentines

The playing card valentines are very funny and cute. Plus, I’ll be honest…we have many sets of cards that are no longer complete with 52…kids. You can save all of those random cards and create fun valentines with your own cute sayings.

Fruit Roll-Up Fortune Cookies

I don’t know a kid that doesn’t like fruit roll-ups or dried fruit leather. These are very easy to make and sure to please the kids for Valentine’s Day.

Valentine Straw Sipper

I used to love these silly straws growing up. They always made drinking water more fun, especially when you and a friend both had one. You can pick up heart straws like these in bulk for very cheap and grab this free printable to attach to them. You’ll only need a hole puncher to slide them on.

DIY Lego Rings

We have so many LEGOs in our house…many of them are random pieces that don’t go with sets anymore. They would make perfect additions to rings that could be given out in class. I like the idea of a LEGO ring and these seem very easy to make.

Bubbles with free printable

Preschoolers LOVE bubbles. I don’t know what it is about them, but all the bubbles, all the time! Combine them with a free printable and you have a winning Valentine combination.

Pencil Sharpener Valentine

Maybe it’s just us, but not having pencils is one thing, and second to that is finding a pencil sharpener for said pencils. What a perfect pairing of a pencil with a sharpener and a witty little Valentine to go with it.

Hopefully you find these Valentines for Kids useful this year and come up with something new you haven’t done before. I’m all for not sending more candy to the classrooms this year and I think these are some great ways to avoid it. Not only are they not candy, but they are fun Valentines that the kids will a) love handing out and b) love receiving when they celebrate at school or with friends.

What do you do for Valentine’s Day with your kids? Do you do store bought Valentine’s or try to get creative? Think you will use one of these this year? I’d love to hear if you do!