Countdown Calendar

• Create Valentine's Day decorations that reward family members with treats as the holiday approaches. Buy 14 cardboard ring boxes in a variety of shapes at a craft or dollar store. Coat the boxes and lids with white, pink or red paint. Place number stickers on each lid to number the boxes from 1 to 14. Hang the craft project on your refrigerator by placing magnetic adhesive on the back of each container. Fill each container with a small surprise like pieces of candy, a love note or a gift certificate to a local ice cream parlor. Let the kids open a box a day leading up to February 14th. Although the craft is simple, it will take three to four hours to complete since you'll need to let the paint dry and gather gifts to fill the boxes.
  
  

Valentine Tree

• Reuse Christmas decorations to design a Valentine accessory that expresses your love for family members and brightens up a shelf or end table. Turn a small pink or white artificial Christmas tree or a wood branch tree into a Valentine's Day tree by swapping the decorations. To create the inexpensive craft, cut red, ivory and pink card stock into hearts. Write love notes to family members on each heart and hang the decorations on the tree with ribbon or yarn. Complete the look with heart-shaped ornaments and add sparkle with pink or white twinkle lights.
  
  

Heart Garland

• Kids can help you design an easy Valentine craft to drape across windows, dangle from doorways or adorn mirrors and bulletin boards. Cut decorative paper and card stock into hearts or letters that spell "love" or "Valentine's Day." If you have trouble cutting the shapes freehand, use a stencil or clip art to trace them onto the paper first. Let the kids outline the shapes with glitter glue, markers or paint pens. Punch holes at the top of each shape and string them together with a piece of ribbon, jute or fishing line.
  
  

Simple Centerpiece

• Give your dining room table a festive Valentine look with a quick, themed centerpiece. Fill a cylinder-shaped glass vase with candy conversation hearts or Red Hots cinnamon candy. Nestle an LED candle at the top for light since a wax candle could drip onto or melt the candy. Design a wider centerpiece by placing a layer of plastic hearts, heart-shaped buttons or red and white marbles on the bottom of a shallow glass bowl. Pour water into the bowl before placing heart-shaped floating candles along the surface.