Frugal and Free Valentine Ideas for the Kids

Whether you have procrastinated in planning anything fun for your kids this Valentine’s Day or if you are too cash-strapped to consider much, let these ideas serve as a spring board to finding something that works for your family. Most of the time, children do not care WHAT you did, but rather that you simply DID.

Serve red food all day. My kids loved this when they were younger. For breakfast you could serve toast with strawberry jelly (cut into a heart shape of course), bacon strips, red grapes, and strawberry (or at least pink colored) milk. For lunch, you could serve tomato soup, red pepper strips (see pic under post title) and apple wedges with peanut butter. For dinner, you could have pasta with marinara sauce, salad with tomatoes and maybe even a red dressing like Catalina. Don’t forget the candles; kids like them too. What is in your pantry? One of the keys to frugality is being creative and using what you already have.

Look in your Christmas decor and birthday supply boxes to see if you can come up with any appropriately colored plates, napkins, etc. Anything different from an average day will be great. Don’t forget to stock up on the plain colored partyware when it is on clearance after Valentine’s Day. Depending on the colors, they can be used for birthdays, 4th of July, and Christmas.

Wear lots of red. This is especially good for the younger children, let them see how much red they can wear. It’s ok if they don’t match today!

Let them have a lunch date with their “friends.” Suggest they bring their most treasured doll or stuffed animal to the table for a meal. When my children were younger, they loved setting a place for one of their dolls or animals and then sharing a meal with them.

Gather lots of white, red and pink paper. Cut out an abundance of hearts and teach them to do the same. Then, rather than instructing them to make the classical butterflies and mice from hearts, let them create creatures on their own. Provide them with white supplies like cotton balls, coffee filters and Q-Tips. You may be surprised at what they create.

Use the library – venture out for some Valentine books and don’t forget to look in the video/ DVD section for some Valentine-themed children’s movies.

If you try any of these ideas or have any to share with me, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

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