10 Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for School

Valentine's Day is right around the corner but there is still plenty of time for your kids to make their own gifts for classmates if they are interested. Here are 10 great ideas for cool, yet quick and easy valentines that kids can make by the dozen.

Tissue Paper Flowers

These beautiful flowers are easy and inexpensive to create and they make a great alternative to the traditional candy heart valentines. Kids can tie a little note on the stem of each one wishing their classmates a happy Valentine's Day and they are good to go. Sash a few together and they'll have a gorgeous bouquet for their favorite teacher.

Cupid's Arrows

I found this cute idea on Pinterest and while it didn't come with instructions, you can click the link to see a bigger photo which is more or less self-explanatory. Red garland, Big Red gum, and sugar hearts all held together with a white skewer or straw.

Colorful Valentines

Here's another Pinterest find. Again, there are no instructions, but I think these are even easier to figure out than the arrows. Just tape or glue a sweet, "colorful" valentines note (or even better, use colorful ribbon or string) to the front of a small box of crayons. Decorate a little if you wish and viola, instant fun greetings. Plus they're so much more useful and fun than a bag of candy!

Dino-Mite Valentines

What little kid doesn't like dinosaurs? Get a bunch of little plastic T-Rex and brontosaur creatures and tie them to a card with these free printable cards. The ones linked here were made by Hello Design Meet Life and used neon dino erasers. Too cute. (The original website no longer exists, but by looking at Pinterest pages like this, we think you can make it work.)

Valentine's Day Trail Mix

This homemade trail mix from A Spicy Perspective is the perfect alternative for kids who want to give a snack but not necessarily one that's loaded with sugar. Mix up the snack foods of your choice and divvy up into snack size baggies. Then add a cute little note or let kids make their own.

Fortune Cookie Love Notes

This craft from Design, Wash, Rinse, Repeat looks fancy and complicated by these fortune cookie love notes actually come together in a flash. Just cut out 4-inch circles from your favorite valentine-y paper, fold according to instructions, and insert a cute little note.

"Don't Ever Change" Coins

I love this cute valentine idea from Jaco'lyn Murphy. Just fill a little plastic or mesh baggie with chocolate coins and attach a sweet "Don't go changin'" or "Don't ever change" kind of note. This is great for kids who want to do something other than the usual hearts and flowers for Valentine's Day. (You could use real coins, too, but chocolate coins make it so much more tasty and fun.)

Toy Soldier Valentines

Here's another great idea from Jaco'lyn Murphy. For kids who just can't "fight that feeling anymore," there are these fun toy soldier valentines that come together with nothing more than a little soldier and a heart-shaped valentine note. Your kids will no doubt have a blast playing with these valentines as they make them!

Love Rocks

There is no end to the creative ways that your kids could design these "Love Rocks" valentines. The instructions show a stamped message on the back and a fabric design mod-podged to the front. These are certainly beautiful but you could also use paint, crayon or colored pencils to write your message or create your design. And the best part is that each one will make a unique gift for a friend.

"You Rule" Valentines

Speaking of unique valentines, these gifts from Back to Organic are sure to be a hit with all of your child's classmates. You can print out the message for a sleek look or let your child write her own message to make the valentines more personal.