Valentine’s Day isn’t just about picking out swoon-worthy gifts for your significant other (and Galentine!), planning a great date night, or watching a beloved rom-com. One of the best parts of Cupid’s holiday is making sure your kids feel the love, too. For the littlest set, February 14 is all about the fun that usually happens at school—complete with festive parties, adorable decorations, boxes of chocolate, cute nail art, and, of course, slipping homemade cards in all of their classmates’ Valentine’s Day boxes.
While there are plenty of Valentine’s Day boxes available to buy—and often in the forms of things like unicorns and mermaids, LEGOS and alligators—but, if you have the time, we recommend crafting your own creative cardholder for all that sweet snail mail from school. Not only does creating and decorating a DIY Valentine’s Day box make for fun family activity, but it’ll also serve as a keepsake they’ll cherish long after holiday. Not to mention that all you need to make a Valentine’s Day box is a shoebox (cereal or tissue boxes will work, too), colorful construction paper or wrapping paper, and some decorations.
Got your glue gun ready? Ahead, we’ve gathered super-creative ideas and the most delightful Valentine’s Day box designs—including a tasty taco, a purr-fect cat, and a charming hot air balloon—all of which kindergarteners, tykes, and even tweens, are guaranteed to love. (Oh, and there are even a few store-bought options if a DIY project just isn’t in the, well, cards this year.)
Recreate this fun box with just a few different shades of card stock and scissors.
Just add a polka-dot bow and ears made out of glittered paper to the top of your red shoebox.
Crinkled tissue paper lends texture that makes this happy taco look a lot like the real thing.
Though this adorable cactus was made with the help of a Cricut, you can get a similar look with colorful felt fabric sheets, some sharp scissors, and a little bit of precision.
While it’s technically a piñata, this craft, made entirely of cardboard and tissue paper, doubles as a fun Valentine’s Day card box.
An empty egg crate painted green gives this DIY alligator card box a surprisingly realistic texture.
Looking for a Valentine’s Day box that’s fit for a princess? Not only is this colorful castle made entirely from materials you probably have lying around the house (think: cardboard canisters and boxes, toilet paper rolls, and paint), but, it can also be used as a magical toy home after Valentine’s Day.
