Put up one of these two signs (scroll to the bottom of this page for the free download).

Keep heart stickers out OR give each person a necklace made from a ribbon with a paper heart or toy heart on it.

When anyone catches someone else saying one of the forbidden words, they can take their necklace or give them a sticker.

Have a prize at the end for whoever watches their words the best.

See how high you can stack candy hearts. The tallest tower wins!

(If you have a dog at home, be careful with these, as some contain Xylitol, which is highly poisonous to dogs. You can always buy small foam hearts to use instead.)

Give each child a pair of chopsticks (or take turns and time them). Whoever can get their candy hearts from one dish to the next the quickest (or the highest count in a set amount of time) is the winner.

Bring out a cup filled with paper straws. Place a pile of candies on one plate with an empty plate next to it.

Winner is the first one to use the power of their breath to transfer all their candies from one plate to the other.

Grab a fake (or real) rose and place it in a sturdy vase (one you’re not worried about getting knocked over).

Take some pool rings and try to toss them around the rose.

Start close and keep moving further and further back until you have a champion.

Take a large box and cut out the back of it.

Use a bowl or cup to trace large circles on the front of the box.

Cut out the circles.

You can either paint the box Valentines colors or use wrapping paper to cover it, cutting around the holes.

Fold Valentines-themed paper to make paper planes to toss through the holes.

If you want to make a board for tossing things through, you can trace hearts, then cut them out using a craft knife (if you don’t have one, a pumpkin cutting knife also works).

Even easier than painting a board is covering it with wrapping paper. Just tape it over, then punch a hole through the middle of each opening with a pencil. Cut out the middle, then make tiny slits all around to tape back the paper. This way it will fit evenly along the heart shapes.

Cut paper straws in half. Cut off one end of cotton swabs. Put the swab into the straw to make a “bow and arrow.” Shoot these into a Valentines bag, through one of the boards above, or use pink, red, and purple streamers to create a “web” in a doorway to get through.

This game works best for large groups with children 9 or younger. Divide everyone into two teams and line them up. Give each child a clothespin. Cut out several tissue paper hearts. Each team must pass the heart using only the clothespins to the last person. If the heart drops, they must use the clothespin to pick it up. If it tears, they must start again with a new one from the front of the line.

Divide your group into two color teams. Each team selects a member to get wrapped up. Both teams race to see which one can wrap their person up the fastest.

Give each child a spoon (ice cream spoons are extra fun if you have them) a plate with foam, wooden, chocolate, or candy hearts, and a cup. Each child puts the end of a spoon in their mouths and must get all the hearts into the cup first. If using paper plates, children can hold the edges of the plate as long as they don’t touch the hearts. If hearts fall out of a plate, they must use the spoon to pick them up.

Have each person lean their heads back and place a heart cookie on their forehead (bitesize cookies work best). Without using their hands, they must try to wiggle the cookie into their mouths. This is a really hard one!

Give each child a set of oven mitts. Have them try to unwrap chocolate kisses while wearing them. You can have everyone compete at once if you have enough oven mitts to go around, seeing how many kisses each person can unwrap in a minute. If you have a bigger group, divide them into two teams and compete relay-style, each person handing the oven mitts to the person behind them as soon as they unwrap one kiss.

Have each child hold a Valentines-themed gift bag on their heads (or punch holes and use ribbons to hold them in place).

Pair them up with partners to toss ping-pong balls into each other’s bags.

Use these cards to play a Valentines Charades or Pictionary-style game.