Groovy Vintage Valentines Your Kids Can Craft Themselves

These vintage Valentine's are so easy, you won't need to supervise the fun

In a perfect world, we'd all be gathered around the kitchen table with our kids, holding hands, singing songs and making Valentine's Day crafts involving a minimum of ten or twenty steps. Glue would be distributed neatly in trays, a glitter station would be set up in the corner and paint pens would be lined up nicely in a row, organized by colour.

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Yeah, I don't know about you, but that is NOT my reality.

For most parents, this time of year involves a last-minute trip to pick up a package of ready-made Valentines. So, since you're already heading to the dollar or craft store, you might as well go ahead and grab some packages of doilies while you're there, because (trust me) they'll come in handy when your kids ask to make homemade Valentines - for fun - the day after the night you spent writing out the names of twenty-two first graders.

Trust me, these are the easiest Valentines you will NEVER make. Mostly because your kids can make them their own, without any assistance from you.

All you need are doilies.

Pick up some doilies at the craft store.

And - if you can find them - some heart-shaped cut-outs. Otherwise, your kids will have to draw and cut out their own.

Heart shaped cut-outs.

In addition, you'll need a glue stick (or tape), some scissors, a few sheets of construction paper and a hot cup of coffee, because once you set these materials out for the kids, they'll busy themselves for many, many minutes. Maybe even longer. Really. I've tested my theory with a wide range (and age) of kids and without fail, they dive in and begin layering and gluing.

Doilies plus hearts equals Valentine's Day bliss!

By gluing doilies and hearts (and cutting some of the doilies apart), your kids can make some really terrific vintage-looking Valentines.

Here are just a few examples of what can be accomplished.

This...

Layering doilies and heart cut-outs to make vintage Valentines