Help your little love bugs express their affection for their classmates, neighbors, and friends this holiday by throwing them a party with our Valentine’s Day Party Ideas! We have compiled some great ideas for invitations, decorations, party favors, and more that your guests are sure to love! (Are you a teacher throwing a Valentine’s Day party for your students? Check out our Valentine’s Day School Party Ideas.)
Invitations
Decorations
Food & Drinks
Party Favors
Games & Activities
Planning & Invitations
Your first decision will be where to host your Valentine’s Day Party. You will want to take into consideration the number and activity level of your guests when making your decision. If you have a few shy guests, you may want to hold the party at a movie theater. If your guests are more rambunctious, a recreation center may work best. For additional ideas, see our When & Where to Have the Party article.
What do I need for the Party?
Basic party supplies include paper tableware, such as plates, napkins, cups, and cutlery, as well as a tablecloth, streamers, and balloons. To help you with your shopping, take a look at our Suggested Party Supply List.
You can stick with the basics, or add other items to fit your theme. For example, for a Valentine’s Day Party, you may also want to consider renting or purchasing the following:
- Chocolate Fountain
- Heart-Shaped Pillows
- Pinata
- Valentine’s Day Movie (such as “Mickey & Minnie’s Sweetheart Stories”, “Lady and the Tramp”, “A Charlie Brown Valentine”, or “Beauty and the Beast”)
For additional party planning tips, our Party Planning 101 Guide includes cake ideas, party etiquette tips, a printable guest list, and more.
Valentine’s Day Invitations
Creating your own invitations can be fun, especially if you make it a family activity! Set out some construction paper, glue, glitter, stickers, and other craft supplies and get creative! Here are a few more specific ideas for you to consider:
- Cut two heart shapes out of cardstock – one in red and one in pink – and paste one slightly overlapped onto the other. Write the party details on one side, and let your child write a personal message to each guest on the other.
- Fold a square of pink cardstock in half. On the front, glue Red Hots candy in the shape of a heart. Write “You’re Invited…” inside the heart and print the party details inside. Mail these with a box of Red Hots for a special treat.
- Buy a heart-shaped box of chocolates for each of your guests. Write the party details in black marker on the top of the box and mail in a padded envelope or box.
- Punch a hole in the corner of a card-style invitation. With ribbon, tie the invitation to a small stuffed animal or a single flower. Hand deliver these to your guests.
- Use white card stock to cut out the shape of a pair of angel wings. On the left, write “Cupid invites you to [child’s name]’s Valentine’s Day party!” On the right side, write your party details. Fold the wings together to create a side fold card.
- Include creative wording for your party details, such as:
It’s Valentine’s Day and Cupid agrees,
It’s a great day for a party!
Wear red or pink and you’ll get a prize!
It’s going to be fun, you won’t believe your eyes!
If you would rather not make your own invitations, consider our personalized invitations printed with all of your party details. Whichever invitation option you choose, seal your envelopes with heart-shaped or Valentine’s Day stickers to add a final festive touch!
Decorating & Food Ideas
Valentine’s Day Decorations
Decorating your party space to fit your theme is a fun way to keep the party going strong! For Valentine’s Day, transform your party space into a room fit for Cupid!
- Cut out large letters from construction paper that spell out “LOVE”, “CUPID”, and “XOXO” and secure them to the walls of the party area.
- Cut hearts of different sizes out of red, pink and white cardstock and secure them to the walls as well. For a special touch, write your guests’ names on the hearts in glitter.
- Set vases of red roses, tulips, carnations, and red Gerbera daisies on tables and windowsills and sprinkle heart confetti around the bases.
- Tie groups of three or four balloons together and tie them to the backs of chairs. Anchor them with balloon weights and set them near doorways or in the corners of the party area.
- Cover tables with pink or red tablecloths and sprinkle with chocolate kisses and conversation hearts.
- Cut large hearts out of construction paper and secure them on the walkway leading up to the entrance. Paste one on the front door as well.
Valentine’s Day Food Ideas
For any party, you can keep the food simple and serve traditional hotdogs, hamburgers, or pizza. However, if you would like to serve some unique snacks that relate to the theme, consider these tasty ideas:
- Make a fruit kabob bouquet by adding strawberries, blueberries, chunks of pineapple, and slices of banana onto skewers. Place the skewers in a vase with the fruit-side up. This will make a great decoration before snack time.
- Serve homemade Linzer Heart Cookies with strawberry ice cream or raspberry sherbet.
- Serve strawberries dipped in white or milk chocolate. Lay them out in a heart shape on a tray lined with wax paper.
- Serve a veggie tray using all red vegetables, such as red bell peppers, tomatoes, and radishes. For dipping sauce, use roasted red pepper hummus.
- Serve Nanaberry Smoothies, fruit punch or strawberry milk with silly straws.
- Make a Valentine’s Day cake by baking your favorite mix in a heart-shaped cake pan or using a round cake pan and cutting the heart shape yourself after baking. Frost your cake in pink frosting and decorate with fresh strawberries and edible flowers. Sprinkle red-dyed coconut or Red Hots candy around the base.
Valentine’s Day Party Favors
Put a smile on your guests’ faces by sending them home with party favors that fit your theme. You could give one large favor, such as a large box of chocolates, a stuffed teddy bear, or movie tickets, or combine smaller favors such as costume jewelry, small candies, heart-shaped sunglasses, and stickers in a nice favor bag. If you have enough Mylar balloons decorating your party space, consider allowing each guest to take one home as well.
Or, consider one of our complete Valentine's Day Favor Sets, which include several small favors and a matching favor bag!
Valentine’s Day Games & Activities
The traditional activity of making valentines for loved ones is a great ice-breaking activity at the start of your party. Set out construction paper, glue, glitter, stickers, etc., and let your guests get creative! For other ideas, see the Games & Activities section below.
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