Are you familiar with Grandparents.com?  If not, I recommend that you take some time to check out the site.

They have a couple of fun Valentine’s Day crafts that you could do with your grandchildren.  One is to make a Valentine Posy out of lollipops.  The one (that I really like) isto make a Valentine Place Mat.

Basically, to make the place mat, you need clear contact paper and various flat Valentine decorations.  You’ll cut pieces of contact paper to the size you want.  Place one piece sticky side up.  Place your decorations  — doilies, hearts cut otr of construction paper, pictures cut out of a magazine, letters cut out to spell words like love — on the sticky side.

Place the sticky side of the second piece of clear contact paper on the sticky side of the first piece and voila! You have a place mat.  (You’ll probably want to read their directions. . .)

It would be a fun tradition making these with your grandchildren.  Then, keep their place mat from year to year.  You could see the artistic development over the years.

You could make one and send it off to a grandchild that lives far away.  But you’d better hurry.  Valentine’s Day will be here soon!

You’ve just got to check out an activity that Chrissie has done with her daughters.  Cute!  And I do believe it is a do-able project.  Even for someone like me. And that is her Salt Dough and Mod Podge Hearts. A little homemade dough.  A little Mod Podge.  A little glitter.  A cute little Valentine.

The thing that I really like is that these Valentines are baked in the microwave.  That really shortens the baking time!  And, you won’t heat up the kitchen either.  (Unless it’s wintertime, like it is now, and you WANT to have a cozy home from your baking . . . but then it would be nice if you could EAT what you baked . . .)

This activity is so easy to do that grandmothers could easily extend it to other holidays:  St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas.  You’re only limited by the shape of your cookie cutters. (You could extend this even more by letting your grandchildren create whatever they want out of the salt dough and then painting/decorating it after it is baked.)

Maybe you could make decorations for all holidays in one fell swoop.  (Read that to mean in one sitting.)  Then, your grandchildren would have fun decorations for their room for the whole year!

Happy decorating!

I have a niece that is uber creative to the nth degree.  Times that by a gazillion.  (Let me rephrase that:  I don’t have just one creative niece.  I have a plethora of creative nieces — and creative daughter and daughters-in-law!)

Back to my niece.  Stephanie held a Valentine’s Exchange with her friends similar to the activity of exchanging Valentine’s like everybody did when they were in grade school (an activity that has gone to the wayside because we grow-up and mature).  She asked her guests to bring any type of Valentine that they would like to give to the other party guests.

Instead of the cheesy Valentines with cutesy critters or movie and cartoon characters, her guests made little gifts.  One made mini spa treatments; one made earrings; one shared a jar of homemade salsa with some chips; one made a heart shaped decoration.

Stephanie had heart shaped sugar cookies to decorate and pink and red sodas to drink.  Of course there was an assortment of Valentine candy to eat.  Yum!

This would be a fun idea to do with your teen-aged granddaughters.  They might have other plans for the actual day (as in going on a date with someone special) so you might want to do it on another day before Valentine’s Day. This exchange could be a great activity for a Saturday afternoon.  Or even Saturday morning where they come for a brunch.  (Just be sure that it’s not too early.  Your granddaughters probably like to sleep in!)

Take this idea.  Bend it.  Shape it.  Any way you like it.  (Can you name the song those phrases mimic??) Make this YOUR activity to fit your situation with your grandchildren.  Share Valentine’s — and love — with those special granddaughters in your family.

And maybe reminisce and giggle over the sweethearts everybody had in grade school.

Will you be able to spend Valentine’s Day with your grandchildren? I sure hope so.  Eating chocolate candy and getting hugs and kisses from Grandma are great activities for this holiday.

Family Education has some Valentine’s Day printables: cards (lots of ‘em), word searches, dinner place cards, alphabet Valentines, a Valentine Basket, party invitations, a quiz, a calendar, a shadow box, a heart mobile, and lots, lots more!

If your grandchildren live far away, you might want to print some of these printables up and then mail them in a Valentine’s Day package to them.

You might want to print off some of the Valentine Bingo cards that I have made, too.

If you live near your grandchildren, you can give them a ‘heart attack.’  Make arrangements with their mother to let you into their bedroom after they have gone to sleep the night before Valentine’s Day.  Put valentines (that you have cut out of red, pink, and white paper) all over their bedroom.  Sprinkle Hershey’s kisses and little heart candies all over.  You might want to include a couple of red and pink helium balloons with a note that says something about the heart attack being ‘brought to you by your loving grandma.’  (Be sure to save out some kisses for yourself . . .)

Here’s a cute idea of a Valentine’s mouse that you could make with your grandchildren.

Grandma Lizzie has a great idea for a count down calendar to Valentine’s Day.  What a unique idea!!!

I hope you can find a few activities here to do with your grandchildren!