Up The Magic, With These Fun Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas For Kids

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*Post Updated 01/18/23

One of my favorite memories growing up was my Mom’s Love of the Holidays. Every Holiday brought my Mom to life in a new way. It was her chance to shine and show us how much she loved us. Looking back, it was clear to see that “gift-giving” was one of her prominent love languages. Our house would be fully decked out for each Holiday. Whether it was St Patrick’s Day or Christmas, each and every Holiday was made magical growing up.

One of my favorite Holiday traditions she cooked up was the “Valentine’s Phantom.” A mystical and magical being that would cleverly sneak into our rooms while we were sleeping and would leave a little surprise on our pillow or nightstand leading up to Valentine’s Day. As a little girl, it was so magical, 14 days of presents!! It didn’t matter if the gift was a pencil or a thing of candy, it was a gift! A perfect valentine’s day gift every day for an entire fourteen days. As a kid, it doesn’t get much better than that.

As I became a mother myself, I knew the Valentine’s Phantom would become one of the new traditions I would continue as my little family grew. From when my kiddos were tiny up to my current time frame, where I have two teenagers, the fun and magic of the “Valentine’s Phantom” continues. The Valentines Phantom tradition is one of the best Valentine’s gift ideas for kids. It is a great way to bring a sense of wonder and magic back into your home.

Even my older kids love getting a fun gift every day! Although I am pretty sure they are onto me. It’s plain fun to provide these little Valentines for your kids. Towards the end of January, I will start to hear the mutterings and gentle reminders that the Valentine’s Phantom is coming back, right Mom? They will not let me forget.

The concept is simple sneak into your child’s room and leave a simple gift on your kid’s pillow every night for 14 days leading up to February 14th. It is a fun idea to add a bit of magic and a little extra love to celebrate this fun holiday! When I am really lazy, I’ll head to the dollar tree dollar store and pick up little gifts like small toys, a fun water bottle, candy hearts, party favors, small trinkets, or any other candy options I think they will like.

When I feel my creative side, I will leave a small gift with printable valentines with a fun little pun attached with a pretty ribbon and cellophane. I have done both variations over the years, and my kids have loved both.

Photo of all the fun Valentine gift ideas for kids, laid out to see. Each gift idea comes with a printable tag.
The Valentine’s Phantom is a great way to add some magic to the Day of Love!

To make your life all the easier, I had my friend Amber of @am.co.creative  create these adorable tags for you to use on your “Operation Valentines Phantom” to cook up the best valentine’s day gifts; for your kids!

What you will need: For 14 Days of Gifts

  1. Valentine’s Stickers
  2. Fun Valentine’s Day Pencils
  3. Valentine’s Suckers
  4. Conversation Hearts
  5. Mini Sodas
  6. Small Cereal Boxes – OR you can go big and do a full-size box
  7. Fish Crackers or Swedish Fish
  8. Pop Secret Popcorn or balloons would also work
  9. Gummy Bears or Stuffed Bear
  10. Gum
  11. Hot Chocolate Packets or Hot Tamales
  12. Animal Crackers
  13. Mac n’ Cheese boxes or packets
  14. Marshmallows

Scissors, Cute Ribbon, and the Valentine’s Printables! Cardstock works best for printing, but standard printer paper works just as well.

You can either buy individual bags of products or buy in bulk and portion them out in cellophane bags.

I find the best place to find these sweet little Valentine’s gifts is at Walgreens of all places. And the times are cheap! Walmart and Target are also great places to find all the great gifts on this list.

Photo of valentine's gifts for day one and day two animal crackers and suckers.
Animal Crackers — Put Me in a Zoo Cuz I’m Crackers About YOU! + Suckers–I’m a “Sucker” for you Valentine.
Photo of valentine's gifts for day 3, 4, and 5 - Cereal, Gold Fish and Pencils
Cereal–I “Cereal” ously LOVE you, Valentine  + Fish Crackers– I’m O” fish” ially yours Valentine +Pencil– You’re Just Write Valentine 
Photo of valentine's gifts for day 6,7, and 8 Stickers, Pop corn, and Hot Chocolate.
Hot Chocolate Packets — I Have The Hots For You Valentine + Stickers – I’m Stuck On You Valentine + Pop Corn — I Just Wanted to “Pop” Over To Say Happy Valentine’s Day 
Photo of valentine's gifts for day 9, 10, 11 Gummy Bears, Mac n' Cheese and Soda
Mac n’ Cheese — Valentine You’re The Mac To My Cheese + Gummy Bears — I Can’t Bear to be without you, Valentine  +Soda– Valentine You’re “Soda” lightful 
Photo of valentine's gifts for days 12, 13, and 14 Marshmallows, Hearts, and Gum
Marshmallows– Valentine You Make My Heart Melt  + Conversation Hearts —Valentine You Have My Heart +Gum– I Chews You To Be My Valentine 
Preview of all the printable valentines tags for the cute Valentine gift ideas for kids!
To grab this printable, go here

To Print the FREE printables, Go HERE:

Valentine’s Day can be a fantastic way to breathe more magic, wonder, and fun into our kids’ lives. I love showing my kids how much they are loved. I hope these fun Valentine’s gift ideas for kids ignite a little magic and Love in your home as well. Bring the entire family in on the action and treat your man with these valentines day ideas for him.

If 14 days of Valentine’s gifts seem like too much, here are 10 fun and unique Valentine’s Gift Ideas For Kids!

Image of 10 fun and unique Valentine gift ideas for kids. Little custom cuddle bugs, Lego Valentine's bear, a jewelry box, scratchable I love you advent. craft set, key chain, cute book, teddy bear, bakers kit, and huge heart cookie.
Not sure you want to commit to 14 days, here are 14 fun and unique Valentine’s gift ideas for kids that are sure to be a BIG hit!
  1. Custom-made little love bugs for the little kids.
  2. This adorable exclusive Valentine Love Birds building set is so much fun for your Lego lover!
  3. For your crafter, this Valentine’s crafts set is a sweet gift.
  4. For your tween, this DIY jewelry box is sure to be the perfect gift.
  5. This adorable Valentine’s Scratch-Off Advent “14 things I love about you! is a very special Valentine your kids will for sure treasure.
  6. For my teens, this Key Chain is just the right “cool gift,” a mix of Love and sarcasm.
  7. A new book is always a hit, and Harvey’s The Heart That Had Too Many Farts, is a fun, silly story that is a cute book that makes a fun gift for children of all ages.
  8. This super-soft teddy bear is made out of the most perfect huggable material.
  9. Order cookies to be delivered as a “day delivery” Good Belly has many fun and delicious cookies to choose from! In different colors and different sizes! Such a fun way to celebrate Hearts Day
  10. This customized Valentine’s Bakers kit is the perfect Valentine’s gift for your little baker.

Whether you go all-in with 14 days of Love and use this made-for-you, valentine’s gift ideas for kids or you choose one of the personalized and unique gift ideas I shared, have fun this Valentine’s Day, and shower your loved ones with a bit more magic and fun! Let’s start a trend and spread the magic of the Valentine’s Phantom! If you use this, tag me on IG @therealandiethueson or use #valentinesphantom so I can share the magic!

Thanks to my Mom for starting the magic in the first place.

Much Love,

Andie's signature

6 Comments

  1. Allyson Zea says:

    These are totally cute, my kids would love them!

  2. I’m stealing some of these ideas for my college son. They will make a great care package

  3. This is such a fun idea, I love how creative I can get with all of these!!

  4. 5 stars
    I can’t believe it’s that time to be thinking about Valentine’s! You have shared some great & cute ideas. You’ve taken the stress away!!

  5. 5 stars
    this is the cutest thing ever and it makes your little ones feel super special! thank you for sharing this!

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