10 Latinx-Inspired Valentine’s Day Crafts to Do With Kids
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and it’s actually on a weekend this year, which means many of us will be spending the holiday with our kiddos
Photo: Element5 Digital/Unsplash
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and it’s actually on a weekend this year, which means many of us will be spending the holiday with our kiddos. Of course, kids are used to tons of in-school festivities for Valentine’s Day and may just have grander expectations than even us adults. So yeah, mom, the pressure is on. Never fear though, there’s still time to plan something special for your little ones .
Before the heart-shaped pancakes are all gobbled up, take some time to get crafty with your little ones to help everyone get in the spirit of love day with these 10 adorable ideas for Latinx-inspired Valentine’s Day crafts. From simple paper crafts to all-day family projects, these artsy activities are sure to keep your kids engaged and feeling the love.wp_*posts
Heart Luminarias
These simple heart luminarias from Love Paper Crafts are reminiscent of a traditional Latin-American Las Posadas celebration. They are constructed with inexpensive paper lunch bags and a battery-powered candle (for safety purposes). You can freehand heart designs onto the paper bags or use cookie cutters to trace them, and then cut the shapes out and either leave them open or paste tissue paper inside the bag to create a different effect. Then drop the candle in to create a festive lantern.wp_*posts
Heart Maracas
Maraca-making is always a hit with the toddler and pre-school set, and these heart-shaped maracas definitely put a fun twist on the craft for Valentine’s Day. They’re fairly easy to construct and result in a super-fun sensory toy for kids to enjoy for at least a few days. Plus, you probably already have everything you need to make them.wp_*posts
Pinata Hearts
Although depending on the ages of your children, you may need to do much of the prep work involved with making a heart pinata yourself, kids of any age will absolutely love decorating the assembled heart with colored tissue paper and of course, they’ll be super-excited to get the sweet treats out come Valentine’s Day. It’s really quite a simple project that can be completed in an hour or less.wp_*posts
Concha Valentines
These adorable Valentine’s-appropriate seashells remind us so much of the delicious Mexican sweet bread that is conchas. You can use collected seashells or pick some up at the craft store, paint them all a base color and then use permanent markers to doodle lovey-dovey designs on them with your kiddos. We think this one would be a huge hit with older kids and tweens.wp_*posts
Stitched Felt Hearts
These DIY felt hears are the absolute cutest and perfect for older elementary kids, tweens and young teens to get creative with for Valentine’s Day. They’re also the perfect craft to help you teach your kiddos some basic sewing skills and a keepsake we’re sure they’ll cherish for years to come. We are obsessed with the bright colors and Latinx-vibe, but there’s lots of room for personalization with these.wp_*posts
Valentine’s Day God’s Eye
The “God’s Eye” is a traditional Mexican home blessing décor item that can be easily modified for different seasons and holidays. Most of us probably made one in art class growing up. This tutorial from Hands Occupied is actually for an oversized Valentine’s Day themed version, but the concept could definitely be scaled down depending on your children’s ages.wp_*posts
Candy Box Keepsake
Help your kids transform those cheapo Valentine’s Day candy boxes into super-special keepsake boxes that they can store all of their little collected treasures in for years to come, with this tutorial from Crafty Chica. The actual construction of the boxes is just simple cutting and pasting, and then kids can get creative with how they use paint to decorate it.wp_*posts
Valentine’s Day Papel Picado
There’s no reason traditional papel picado can’t be turned into adorable Valentine’s Day décor. Kids absolutely love cutting paper and really, papel picado is no different than those paper snowflakes we all made in preschool and kindergarten. Just buy some pink and red tissue paper, give your kids a quick lesson in how to fold and snip their paper and let them go at it.wp_*posts
Paper Flower Bouquets
Who doesn’t want a bouquet of flowers for Valentine’s Day? Paper art is a classic Mexican art form and we love the idea of using it in various ways to help children get creative. Paper flowers can be as simple or complex as you like and they definitely make for a precious Valentine’s Day gift. It’s also a great opportunity to teach your kids about paper crafts, which date back to Aztec times.wp_*posts
Tin Foil Heart Art
These tin hearts invoke the Latin American folk art tradition and we think they would make a fantastic Valentine’s Day craft for creative kiddos who like to doodle. They are super-simple too. You just need to cut some heart shapes out of cardboard, cover them in tin foil and let your kids go at them with permanent markers. If they make enough, you could even turn the lot into a unique banner.
