Valentine’s Day is a beautiful opportunity to reflect on God’s boundless love for us and to share His love with others! For Catholic families, it can also be a time to teach children how to express Christ-like love in concrete ways through simple yet meaningful activities. Here are seven Catholic-inspired ways to make Valentine’s Day special with your kids!
1. Share Jesus' Love with Catholic Kids Valentines!
Share Jesus' love by giving out Valentine’s cards! Encourage your children to write notes that include a Bible verse about love, like John 15:12 (“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you”). This is also a wonderful opportunity to incorporate our Catholic Kids Valentines! These adorable mini Catholic Kids Valentines cards come in packs of 25, and they feature Scripture verses and affirmations about how much Jesus loves each one of us. Your kids can hand them out at school, church, to the mailman, and to neighbors to brighten their day!
2. Host a Saint Valentine’s Tea Party
Teach your children about the real Saint Valentine while enjoying a fun and festive tea party! Set the table with a festive table cloth and heart-shaped confetti! Serve little heart-shaped finger sandwiches, fruit, and tea or hot chocolate. Share the story of Saint Valentine and how he exemplified God’s love through true acts of sacrifice.
3. Bake Sacred Heart Cookies
Spend time in the kitchen together baking heart-shaped cookies. While decorating, talk about how much God loves each of us and how we’re called to share His love with others in concrete ways through acts of loving kindness. Package the cookies in clear plastic goodie bags, tie them with a cute bow, and give them to friends, family, cousins, and neighbors along with a Catholic Valentine, like our "Be Mine" from Jesus Catholic Valentines card!
4. Decorate Your Home with Heart-Shaped Bible Verses
Cut out heart shapes from colorful construction paper or card stock, and write Bible verses about love on them, such as 1 John 4:16 or John 3:16. Let your kids decorate the hearts with stickers, glitter, or drawings. Hang them around your home as cheerful reminders of God’s love! If you're feeling ambitious, try memorizing some Bible verses together like 1 John 4:16, John 3:16, or Romans 5:8 to name a few!
5. Read Bible Stories About God’s Love
As Valentine's Day approaches, snuggle up as a family and read a Bible story that highlights God’s love for us! The story of the Good Shepherd is an excellent one to begin with for young children.
6. Create “Acts of Love & Kindness” Coupons
Talk about how love is an action verb, and explain how "to love" means "to will the good of the other". Then, brainstorm small acts of kindness that you and your kids can do for others, like helping with chores, praying for someone, bringing the trash cans back up to the garage door for an elderly neighbor, cooking a meal for someone in need, donating old but well-maintained toys to other children who would enjoy them very much, etc. Write all the ideas down on a piece of paper, cut them into rectangular "coupons", and decorate them. Put them in a jar. The children can pick one or more to do each day leading up to Valentine's Day!
7. Pray the “Litany of Let Love” by the Sisters of Life together
Set aside time on Valentine’s Day to pray as a family! The Litany of Let Love is a beautiful. To keep little ones engaged, have them focus on praying the responses!
By incorporating Catholic activities leading up to and on Valentine’s Day, you can teach your children that God IS love and help them to see how deeply they are loved by God and by you! Which idea will you try first? How do you celebrate St. Valentine's Day? Let us know in the comments!
Related: Check out our Catholic Kids Valentines exchange cards!