Show Little Kids Big Love With These Simple Valentine's Day Ideas

— -- intro: There's no greater love than the one a parent has for a child. With that in mind, we reached out to the experts at Style Me Pretty for help finding easy, beautiful and inexpensive DIYs that parents and kids can do together. Abby Larson, Founder and Editor of Style Me Pretty Living shared these five ways to share the love with your littlest Valentines.

quicklist: 1title: Candy Balloon Valentinesurl: text: Larson's tip: "Have the kids pop their balloons inside a large, clean plastic bin so you don't have to worry about the candy going everywhere!"

Supplies:6” Heart Balloon (we got ours at Amazon); Balloon Pump; Curling Ribbon; Scissors; White Cardstock; Markers; Candy.

Instructions:

Step 1: Fill the limp balloon with a handful of candy- a plastic funnel can be helpful for getting candy in. You can also write a secret Valentine’s message on a thin strip of paper, and roll it up to put inside the balloon if you like.

Step 2: Pump the balloon full of air & knot closed. Be sure to use the balloon pump, otherwise the saliva from your breath will end up inside the balloon!

Step 3: Tie the balloon with ribbon. Cut a heart shape out of the cardstock, poke a hole in the heart, and tie to the ribbon on the balloon. Write the name of your Valentine on the heart.

Step 4: Give the balloon to your Valentine and have them pop it to get all the goodies inside! We used glitter darts to pop ours, but this is not recommended unless an adult is there to supervise the popping.media: 28841963

quicklist: 2title: Homemade Strawberry Milkurl: http://www.stylemepretty.com/living/2014/02/14/homemade-strawberry-milk/ text: Larson's tip: “An easy way to make your little one's whole day feel special is to start off with a simple Valentine's breakfast of homemade Strawberry Milk and some heart-shaped pancakes!”

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Total Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients: 2 cups fresh strawberries, stems removed & chopped; 1 cup sugar; 2 cups water; ½ tsp. vanilla extract; Milk

Instructions: 1. Put the strawberries, water, & sugar in a medium pot and lightly stir to combine

2. Heat over high heat until the mixture begins to boil, then heat down slightly and boil for another 10 minutes. The mixture should reduce and thicken slightly.

3. Stir in the vanilla extract and remove from heat.

4. Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl and pour the mixture through the strainer. Press the strawberry solids with a spoon to extract all the syrup.

5. Pour the strawberry syrup into a jar or pitcher for storage, set aside and let cool to room temperature.

6. You can save the cooked strawberries to add to pancakes or oatmeal if you like.

7. Add 3 tablespoons of strawberry syrup to a glass of milk and stir briskly (or more, depending on desired sweetness).media: 28841738

quicklist: 3title: Rock Candy Valentinesurl: http://www.stylemepretty.com/living/2013/02/10/smp-at-home-diy-rock-candy-valentine/ text: Larson's tip: “Don't be fooled by the elegant look of these Valentines- they're easy enough for even the littlest helpers to make!”

Supplies: 2lbs clear rock candy crystals (we got ours at Amazon); 12oz rubbing alcohol; Small strainer; 4 metal or glass bowls; Pink & red food coloring; Baking tray; Parchment paper; Elmer’s glue; 4×6? cardstock in various colors, such as white, cream, peach or pink; 4×6? glassine envelopes (we got ours at Clearbags.com).

Instructions:

Step 1: At least one day in advance, dye the rock candy crystals. Lay out a sheet of parchment paper on a baking tray. Assemble 4 metal or glass bowls, and pour 3oz of rubbing alcohol into each. Add food coloring to each bowl, getting progressively darker, and stir thoroughly.

Step 2: Divide the rock candy into roughly (4) 1/2lb groups. Dye one shade at a time, by putting handfuls of rock candy into the strainer, dipping into the bowl, lifting the strainer to drain, and spreading out the rock candy into a single layer on the baking sheet. Repeat for the other 3 shades, placing a thin piece of parchment between colors on the baking sheet. Place in the (cool) oven to dry overnight undisturbed.

Step 3: In the center of the cardstock card, draw a heart with the Elmer’s glue and fill it in with glue.

Step 4: Sprinkle on one color of rock candy until the glue is covered. Use a pencil or chopstick to nudge the rock candy pieces to fit the outline of the heart. Let dry.

Step 5: Write a note to your Valentine on the back of the card and slip it into the glassine envelope. Repeat with the other colors of rock candy until you have made enough for the whole class!media: 28841919

quicklist: 4title: Homemade Pop Tartsurl: http://www.stylemepretty.com/living/2014/02/14/homemade-heart-pop-tarts/ text:Larson's tip: “This is the perfect last-minute Valentine's Day snack! A quick trip to the store for a handful of ingredients and half hour later, you'll have some very happy kiddos.”

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 12 Minutes Total Time: 27 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 package (2 rounds) of pie dough; 1 egg + 1 tsp water; Strawberry jam, nutella, any other filling you want; 1 cup powdered sugar; 1 tsp vanilla; 2 tbs milk; Sprinkles (optional).

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out hearts from your pre-made pie dough. You’ll need 2 for each pop tart. Depending on the size of your cutter, you should get between 4-6 hearts per pie dough round

3. Place ½ of your hearts onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

4. Place a heaping TBS of filling on ½ of the hearts – jam or nutella or whatever you want.

5. Top each heart with a matching heart.

6. Using a fork, press your edges together.

7. Combine egg and water. Paint on a thing later of egg wash to each tart.

8. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown on the tops. You may need to check at the 8-minute mark and you may need to go longer than 12 depending on your oven. The key is a golden brown top.

10. Meanwhile, mix your powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. The mixture should be viscous but not watery. If watery, add more sugar. If it’s too thick, add more milk.

11. Once your tarts are cool, cover with icing and top with sprinkles! media: 28841876

quicklist: 5title: Rainbow Loom Braceletsurl: http://www.stylemepretty.com/living/2014/02/09/rainbow-loom-valentine-bracelets/text: Larson's tip: “Even if you've never Rainbow-Loomed before, you can make these bracelets in a flash, we promise! And at under $2 a pop, you can't beat the cost for these DIY beauties.”

Materials: $14.99 Rainbow Loom; $2.99 Red Rainbow Loom bands; $2.99 Pink Rainbow Loom bands; $2.99 White Rainbow Loom bands; $4.93 White cardstock; Scissors; Holepunch; “Our class would knot be the same without” tags

Cost for 20 Valentines (not including tools): $28.89

Cost per Valentine: $1.44

Step 1: Make the bracelets on the rainbow loom using pink, red & white colored bands in your choice of style. We made fishtail bracelets. Not sure how to do it? Check out this video.

Step 2: Download the tags and print onto white cardstock. Cut out the tags along the gray lines and punch a whole in each tag.

Step 3: Push a band through the hole in the tag, then pull one side of the band through the other side and tug to tighten. Loop the open side of the band around the bracelet. Repeat until each bracelet has a tag. media: 28841799