Kids' Valentine games are a great way for small or large groups of children and adults to celebrate the holiday of romantic love. With a little creativity, you can keep small hands and creative minds actively engaged in the fun of Valentine's Day.
Fun Valentine Games for Kids
Whether you are helping your child's teacher plan the perfect Valentine's Day party or you are hosting a party at your home, finding fun Valentine games for kids is the key to a great party. The following games are easy to play.
Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts work well for almost any age. You will need to modify the hunt for children who can't read. However, you can do this easily by giving picture clues instead of written clues to young kids. For players who can read, however, the following is a list of suggestions for creating a fun Valentine scavenger hunt.
- Lists can be written on heart shaped paper or paper decorated with hearts on the border.
- Hand each child a copy of the scavenger list sheet.
- For older children, make the items a bit more difficult to find. For example, "find an item shaped like a heart."
Finally, for a fun twist on this popular activity, instead of instructing kids to search for items, have them draw them, then place all their drawings on poster boards to hang in the room. Give them clues as to what they should draw, such as "I'm not stupid, but my name is________ ." The answer is "Cupid," and this is what they should draw.
Heart Stealers
This is a fun and simple game to play. You'll need a bag of candy hearts and enough chopsticks for each player. Pour the hearts into a bowl, and let players try to pick up the hearts using only their chopsticks. Set a time limit of five minutes or so, then count each player's hearts to see who has the most.
Perfect Pairs
Divide kids into groups and hand each group a sheet that lists one half of a famous romantic couple. The groups have to work together to create the pair, and the first group to finish wins. Famous pairs could include the following:
- Romeo and Juliet
- Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse
- Cinderella and Prince Charming
You can modify this list to include a variety of paired items instead, like the following:
- Macaroni and cheese
- Cake and ice cream
- Sugar and spice
- Salt and pepper
- Peanut butter and jelly
- Bread and butter
- Moon and stars
- Bacon and eggs
- Cookies and milk
Progressive Love Story
This is a great activity for an English class! Divide the class into two teams. Each team member will be responsible for adding his or her section to a progressive love story. It helps to give the first member of each team a writing prompt, such as "Once there was a girl and boy who fell in love. The funny thing about this story is how they fell in love. The girl's name was__________" At this point, the first person on each team should write an allotted amount, typically two or three sentences. Her last sentence should be a lead-in for the next person, however, with an unfinished phrase like, "When she saw the boy, she___________" Once she finishes writing, she should hand the story to the next person, and the progression continues until everyone on the team has finished writing the story. One player from each team should read the story aloud to the rest of the class.
Heart Stack Attack
This is a simple game that is lots of fun for two players or a roomful of participants. All you'll need is packages of small candy conversation hearts. When you give the signal, players must try to stack the hearts as high as they can in a given period of time, typically 20 to 30 seconds. If a player's stack falls, he can begin rebuilding it if time allows. The player with the tallest stack at the end of the 20 or 30 seconds wins.
Guess the Valentine
To play this game, kids need to design a Valentine with pictures and words that best represent themselves. You'll need plenty of old magazines, construction paper, markers, colored pencils, glue, and scissors on hand. Instruct kids to cut out objects and words that best describe them. For example, a soccer player may cut out pictures of other soccer players, soccer balls, cleats, etc. Poster board cut in a heart design works best for this activity. Once kids have completed their personalized Valentine, hang them around the room, then ask kids to guess which Valentine belongs to what child.
Bingo
Create bingo cards with H-E-A-R-T across the top, rather than B-I-N-G-O. Next, fill in the grid with letters and numbers, and make corresponding call-out cards. Give each player a H-E-A-R-T card and candy hearts to use as markers. Draw call-out cards from the bowl and have players mark the squares as they are called out.
Word Puzzles
Kids can participate in creating Valentine's Day word puzzles. Some to try include:
- Word search
- Crossword puzzles
- Anagrams
Have older kids create word puzzles for younger kids to solve using Valentine's-themed words such as:
- Heart
- Flowers
- Candy
- Chocolate
- Love
- Cupid
- February
- Lace
- Valentine
Candy Heart Concentration
Use candy hearts with printed words on them to play this concentration game. You will need two hearts with each saying on it. Turn over the hearts so the sayings are facing the table, and have children take turns revealing pairs of hearts. When the sayings match, they get to keep the hearts.
Cupid Says
Instead of playing "Simon Says," play "Cupid Says" using the same rules. Have one person be the leader and call out actions, starting with "Cupid says." If the leader doesn't say "Cupid says," then participants shouldn't perform the action. Anyone who performs an action not preceded by "Cupid says" is out.
Valentine Twenty Questions
Have one person think of something Valentine's Day related. Then have kids ask yes or no questions to determine the correct answer.
Valentine's Day Fun
These are just a few of the many games you can play this Valentine's Day with your kids. Crafts also provide kids with a fun way to celebrate the holiday. With a little bit of creativity, you can keep your children engaged and entertained.
