February is American Heart Health Month AND has Valentine’s Day in it! The heart is an important part of what we celebrate. We create healthy snacks for the family, make sure we incorporate more cardio into our weeks, and talk about how much love we have to share with others (and maybe indulge in a little more dark chocolate). Sometimes expressing that love is through words, a loving hug, or a long phone call. For children, letting them express themselves through arts and crafts is a fun and important way to engage their feelings and have a fun item to give away or to keep as a positive memory. Making a craft to give to a friend, teacher or loved one is a good way to let them know you care!

Here are some heart-shaped crafts to celebrate the month of love and heart health!

• To Decorate a Room: Creating a garland of hearts is a wonderful way to have a home-made touch that can be customized to go across a bedframe, a dresser, or even the walls of a whole room. Have the children pick the colored paper or felt. Adults should probably cut out the hearts to decorate or ensure they use child-safe scissors. Punch holes in the hearts. Have the kids decorate each heart with markers, glitter, or stickers. Pick string or yarn and have the kids put as many of the hearts on it as they want, and hang.

• To Share with Animal Friends: We all love cute animals! Animals in the wild should be respected and watched from a distance, but that doesn’t mean we can’t give them something for Valentine’s Day too! Make a heart-shaped snack for the neighborhood birds and squirrels and hang them up in front of the window and make new friends. Find some heart-shaped molds or cookie cutters.

To make the actual snack, use ¾ cups flour, ½ cup of water, 2.5 teaspoons of gelatin, 3 tablespoons of corn syrup, and 4 cups of birdseed. Mix all these ingredients in a bowl after spraying a spoon with cooking spray. Use that same spray to coat the inside of the molds or cookie cutters. Pack the seed mixture, and make sure you poke a large hole toward the top so a string can be run through it when it is baked. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pop the hearts onto the parchment paper. Some people bake it at a low temperature to help it firm up or let it dry overnight. Tie it to a tree or fence with a ribbon!

• To Look Stylish Alone or with A Friend: Who doesn’t love a fun pair of sunglasses? This craft is more complicated, so it works best for older kids or with extensive supervision. Find a template of heart glasses online – or if you’re very artistic make one yourself – and trace that template of the two hearts onto cardboard. You can even use an old cereal box! An adult should cut out the centers where the eyes will look out. Make sure they’re big enough for little eyes to see! Have the kids decorate the glasses however they want. Punch holes in the side and use pipe cleaners to support the glasses on the ears. If you have cellophane, use them to make lenses!

Fun projects are a great bonding experience for families, siblings, or friends. Unleash your creativity, share your creations in the comments! Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!