10 Non Candy Valentines Kids Will Love

It’s that time of year! Are your kids giving out candy this year or are you steering them away from more sugar? We have done some candy here and there for sure, but today I’m sharing my top ten ideas for Non Candy Valentines Kids Will Love.

Valentines Day usually starts with pancakes and syrup, includes a school party with cupcakes or cookies and candy, and ends at home with a box full of more candy from a dozen or more friends.

It’s a fun day—but swapping some candy out for fun little toys is just as fun! and a few less suckers may help prevent the candy induced meltdowns. Not just my kids, right?!

I had a few ideas this year and my boys were so quick to choose their Whoopie cushions, it didn’t even dawn on them it meant they weren’t passing out candy.

Below are some more items that aren’t candy that still make for great Valentines your kids’ classmates will love.

Whoopie Cushion – Okay I’ll admit even I think this is a little funny. My 3 and 4 year old boys, however, think this is NEXT LEVEL hilarious. They can’t contain their excitement to give them out. Once I mentioned the idea I thought one of them would pick this and one might pick something else from the list…but they were both instantly adamant on whoopee cushions. Or as Tom calls them—tooters.

Toy cars – These are such great little toys to have in your purse–at least in our experience. They get played with so consistently, and they are so cheap. We did these a few years ago with phrases like “I wheelie like you” and “I like how you roll”!

Super Hero Masks –I love how these turned out. They are amazing quality for the price and my son thought this was the coolest thing to hand out. Many parents told me their kids loved receiving the mask! Yall these seriously come in at around 35 cents each. That’s like barely more than a gumball! So worth it for a “super” Valentine.

Bath color tablets – So far these are all Valentines we’ve actually handed out. I thought these came out so cute for daycare friends. We used the Sesame Street individual pouches that come with enough tablets for 9 baths. Watch out on Amazon because they have these at a much higher cost but Walmart has the exact packets for under $1 each. I’d say 9 colorful baths are way more fun than a tootsie roll, am I right?

Watercolor paints– Each time I list one I think to myself that one was my favorite. But I think these watercolor paint sets really were! The Crayola sets aren’t budget friendly, but depending on class size you may be okay with that. I haven’t tried them personally but these off brand paints from Amazon are a much more affordable option at just over 80 cents each!

Little dinosaurs – I just knew my three year old would go for these. (He was just too taken with the whoopee cushions I guess.) He did like them enough to ask if his baby brother could hand these out. They really aren’t age appropriate for our 4 month old but I did make sure to grab a set that were the size of my hand (some larger!) so no choking hazards exist. I was really surprised at the size and quality for the price of these toys.Dino-mite, Valentine!

Bubble wands – This amazon pack of 24 is one of the better deals I found. Just add some cute little phrase about being “blown away”! We mow through bubbles at our house so I’d love to give or receive these and know they’ll get some real use! Plus I do love toys that get used and don’t wind up living at the bottom of the toy chest.

Play Doh – PlayDoh actually makes these cute variety packs for Valentines Day, Halloween, etc. that are specific colors for the holiday. The mini size is perfect for handing out to classmates. “Have a DOH-lightful day” or “DOHn’t Go Breaking My Heart” are fun tags to go with!

Crazy Straws – Find me one kid who doesn’t love a crazy straw. These are such simple and affordable crowd pleasers that kids will go “crazy” for.

Fun pens – A majority of the items on this list are for a pretty young crowd. After age 6 or 7 I’m sure a lot of kids would consider them to be too babyish. But a fun pen is a good option for older kids to give out for school Valentines. Gel pens, emoji pens, or maybe you could even bring these things back. “You’ve Got the WRITE Stuff, Valentine!”

If your heart is set on candy, many of these non candy Valentine options would work great in combination with a sucker or Hershey’s kiss. I’m not against the sweets.

I bribe my kids with candy often like any good parent. Ha!

One of the best things about these ideas is I think you give something that gives kids a little entertainment and many of them are not any more expensive than the cost of the paper valentines you buy a bag of chocolates to go along with.

Let me know your favorite class Valentine idea!