30 Tips to Plan a Valentine's Day Class Party
Posted by Courtney McLaughlin
 Valentine’s class parties are a favorite tradition to celebrate friendship, kindness and giving. Even a few fun activities and treats can make it a sweet event. Kids often love small activities like exchanging Valentine's cards the most! If you’re helping to plan the party, skip the stress and use a sign up to simplify organizing and communication with families.
To get kids involved, work with the teacher to have the class vote on their favorite ideas. Incorporate the top choices and inform parents and caregivers if students need to wear or bring anything special to the party. Start out with tips to make party planning a breeze, followed by 25 sweet themes and activities.
Easy Party Planning 101
- Enlist Volunteers - Once the date and theme are set, create a sign up to ask for volunteers and party supplies. Specify volunteer roles such as set up. running activity stations, passing out refreshments and clean up.
- Name List - Send a list of classmate and teacher names to parents and caretakers prior to the party so everyone can get their Valentine cards ready.
- Candy Count - Fill three separate jars with different types of candy (such as conversation hearts and M&M’s) and have students guess how many pieces are in each container. This is an easy stand-alone activity to keep kids busy during party set up and break down.
- Picture Ready - Hang a colorful backdrop where friends can take pictures throughout the party. Order a bag of silly props to add to the fun.
- Candy Bar - Ask parents to donate several kinds of wrapped candy. Place goodies on a beautifully decorated table and let kids fill colorful bags with 4-5 pieces to take home for an easy party favor.
Valentine Activities and Themes
- Color a Mural – Invite students to create a large Valentine-inspired mural with markers, colored pencils and paint. Take a class picture in front of the masterpiece.
- Decorate Cookies - Place pink, red and white frosting along with toppings such as sprinkles, red hots and chocolate chips in the center of tables. Have students come up in small groups and choose a few sugar cookies to decorate.
- Valentine Mailboxes- Pass out brown paper grocery bags and create beautiful mailboxes ready for Valentines.
- Minute it to Win It - Ready. Set. Go. This quick-paced game is sure to be a favorite! Set the timer to one minute and see how many candies you can unwrap; how high you can stack conversation hearts or how fast you can move them into a cup using only chopsticks.
- Valentine Bingo - Print or order Bingo cards and fill the squares with names of popular Valentine candy treats. Draw cards out of a bowl until you have a winner.
- Pin the Arrow on the Heart - Put on a blindfold and try to pin Cupid’s arrow to the center of the heart. Once everyone has a turn, try to guide the blindfolded person using “hot” and “cold” clues. No peeking.
- Valentine Word Scramble - Give teams a list of 20 scrambled Valentine words and phrases and see who can untangle them the fastest. Once groups are finished, encourage students to make crazy stories using the words.
- Book of Things I Love - Fold two or three sheets of construction paper in half to create a “book” that students can fill with pictures and drawings of things they love.
- Fill A Cup - Send warm fuzzies with this confidence-boosting activity. Give each child three large hearts with the names of fellow students. Have the student write one or two kind words describing each student and drop it in a cup on their desk.
- Read a Valentine Book – Kids and teachers will appreciate a fun afternoon of cozy pajamas, a good story and a sweet candy bag.
- Bird Feeders – Show your winged friends some love and assemble DIY birdfeeders or use pinecones, peanut butter and birdseed. Hang the feeders around the school or let students take them home.
- Picture This - A few weeks prior to the party, ask students to bring in a printed picture of something they love. During the party, create a frame and write a few sentences about what makes their picture special.
- Jump Rope - Get your heart pumping and raise money for a school charity with a jump-a-thon. Encourage parents and friends to sponsor the class to see how many minutes they can jump rope.
- Puppet Play – Read or listen to a short story while kids make puppets. Use socks or paper bags and give students time to decorate their creation. Put on a puppet show in conjunction with the story or see what they come up with on their own.
- Inspiring Rocks - Collect smooth rocks from a nearby creek or visit a garden store. Use paint or paint pens to decorate them with pictures and words of encouragement. Once dry, place the colorful creations around the school or send them home.
- Convo Hearts Story - Purchase several boxes of conversation hearts and let students pick three out of a hat. Have them to write a short story using the words written on the hearts they drew.
- Valentine Relay - Divide students into two teams and put them in a circle. See how many times they can pass around a balloon without popping it, without using their hands.
- Make Cards for Others - The heart holiday is a great time to remember those who might not have friends or family nearby. Distribute construction paper, stickers, stamps and markers and make cards for those in homeless shelters or retirement facilities.
- Valentine Mad Libs - Share laughter and learning with Valentine Mad Libs. Download blank sheets online or encourage students to pair up and make their own. When everyone is finished, share stories with the class and vote on their favorites.
- Choreograph a Dance - Find a song that incorporates themes of friendship and make a dance to go with the music. Once the class has it down, visit neighboring classrooms to show off your skills dance party style.
- Love and Science - Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to try a few cool science experiments. Grow crystals, create slime or make a love potion. Now that’s chemistry!
- Heart Smart - Learn about this miraculous muscle and how to keep it healthy. Using a stethoscope, have kids measure their heart rate while at rest and after activity.
- My Favorite Things Collage - Let students cut words and pictures from magazines and glue their favorite things on a large poster board to create the ultimate “feel good” collage.
- T-Shirt Decorating - Wear your heart on your sleeve! Decorate red and white shirts with puff paint and permanent markers or tie-dye shirts in Valentine colors.
- Valentine Mystery - Let students dive into clues and figure out the who-dun-it. Use invisible ink and other coded messages to get them started.
Enjoy the sweetest party of the year. XOXO!
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