EASY DIY VALENTINE’S DAY GIFTS TO MAKE WITH KIDS

Valentine’s Day heart crafts that are as enjoyable to create as they are to receive.

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1. HEART COOKIES

Nothing says ‘I love you’ quite like delicious homemade heart-shaped cookies. And they’re simple and fun to make with your children.

You need:

• 2¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Toppings:

• 4 large egg whites
• 4 cups icing sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Food colouring in desired colours
• Sprinkles

How to make it:

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
2. In another large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy using an electric mixer or whisk.
3. Add the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture, until just blended.
5. Shape dough into two disks and roll each out on wax paper to a 4mm thickness.
6. Chill until firm: 30 minutes in the refrigerator or 15 minutes in the freezer.
7. Heat oven to 180°C.
8. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a heart-shape cookie cutter, cut out the cookies.
9. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until cookies are golden brown on the edges.
10. Allow to cool on sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool down.
11. Now, beat the egg whites on high speed until foamy.
12. Switch to low speed and gradually sift the sugar into the egg whites until incorporated.
13. Add the lemon juice and beat on high speed until the icing is thick and forms stiff peaks.
14. Add the food colouring if you’re using one colour for the whole batch. If you want to use
15. a variety of colours, separate quantities of icing into different bowls and add the various colours to each bowl.
16. Smooth icing on cookies with a spoon or piping bag and decorate your cookies with sprinkles.

Related article: 4 Valentine’s Day crafts for kids

2. FELT HEART DECORATIONS
Using just four simple materials, you can create these beautiful hearts to decorate your home.

You need:

• Blue, pink, and yellow felt (or colours of your choice)
• Thread to match colours of felt
• Needle
• Stuffing material – this can also be scrap fabric
• Glue

How to make it:

1. Cut squares from your felt. These can be any size you like (cutting squares first will make it easier to draw a heart).
2. Draw hearts on the squares.
3. Cut two big equal size hearts for each ornament.
4. Then cut two smaller hearts in a different coloured felt.
5. Using the thread, stitch the two hearts together. Keep the stitches an equal distance apart for a neat finish.
6. Continue stitching until you reach two centimetres before the first stitch you made (so you have a small opening).
7. Use the opening to insert stuffing in the heart.
8. When you have filled the heart, continue to stitch the heart closed.
9. Finish your ornament by gluing the little hearts onto the big hearts.

Related article: 3 DIY kids Valentine’s gifts