Food allergies, restrictions, and parental preferences make giving edible holiday gifts tricky. If you know your audience, making yummy Valentine’s treats is easy! However, many schools request or require that parents send in only non-edible items to celebrate holidays. If you need inspiration on what to have your little pass out this year or gift their teacher, we have some creative and fun non-food ideas everyone will love!
Felt Giftcard Holder
Teachers love gift cards; I can attest firsthand to that! But why not make your teacher’s gift unique by having your child create a hand-sewn gift card holder? This adorable idea is from Kunin Felt and is adaptable to any theme, not just coffee or Valentine’s Day. Sewing a basic stitch is a valuable skill all kids should learn, plus it builds fine motor skills! For a complete list of supplies and directions, click here.
Cookie Cutter Painting
Cookie cutters make excellent art tools. They can be traced, used with playdough, or used as stamps for paint! Plastic cookie cutters work best because they are a bit thicker, and the paint sticks better, but if all you have is metal, they’ll do the job! No cookie cutters at all? Use a toilet paper or paper towel roll and bend it into the shape of a heart.
Black paper with neon paints will make the colors pop! Or you can use white, pink, red, purple, or any color combo your child likes best! We recommend using cardstock or construction paper since it is thick. Your child can explore various art concepts and experiment with color mixing as they make one-of-a-kind Valentines!
Paper Flowers
This adorable craft idea and template comes from Arty, Crafty Kids. You need a membership to download the template, but at only $5 per month or $39.99 for the entire year, it is an excellent resource for homeschool parents or parents of kids who love to craft. Sign up for their weekly email for free templates and other crafty surprises! These flower bouquets are perfect for teachers, parents, and grandparents and make great gift card holders!
LEGO Valentine’s
Need something simple and quick to pass out in your child’s class? We love these LEGO Valentine cards. For the price of a package of LEGO Classic Bricks and some small plastic bags, you can make these colorful and unique Valentine’s gifts from the Resourceful Mama. The site offers a free printable download to make the matching cards.
You Rock Valentines!
Delia Creates gave us this cute Valentine’s idea, and the site offers a free printable for the card! You will need a hot glue gun, so parental supervision is necessary for this craft. But this should be a hit if your kid likes shiny gems and rocks as much as mine! You can use any small rock, but we love the idea of using heart-shaped ones.
Check out A Girl and a Glue Gun for more non-food Valentine’s classroom gift ideas. And, if you’d like to view more Valentine’s Craft ideas, head to Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons.
January 25th, 2023, by L. Elizabeth Forry
