Spoiler alert: If your toddler is in my toddler’s class this Valentine’s Day, I am that mom who is sending Play-Doh home. Sorry, not sorry.
From a mom that truly hates Play-Doh, this seems like an odd move — but as much as I despise it, Sawyer LOVES it. And will happily play with it, on his own, for an hour at a time. That, my friends, is always a mom win — so take my Play-Doh offering in the hopes that your own toddler will also do the same. (And not instantly mix colors together, creating a muddy brown mess that trips your OCD.)
Download ‘Doh You Want to Be My Valentine’ Printable (6 per sheet)
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‘Doh You Want to Be My Valentine’ Card
I created this Valentine printable designed to fit on my favorite easy-punch Avery paper stock and still accommodate the small container of play dough sold in an 8-pack at the dollar store. There’s also a slightly larger container available at my dollar store, but I was minimizing the per-Valentine cost for his large class (of 20 two-year-olds! Can you imagine being one of the teachers??)
Just like the Goldfish valentine, this one doesn’t really require step-by-step instructions but I’ll walk you through my process anyway.
Quick and Easy How-To:
Print and cut cards (see Tips below for my paper recommendation – Avery prepunched stock makes it so easy).
Like the Star Wars lightsaber glow stick Valentine, the dollar store is again your friend. You can buy name-brand Play-Doh if you want … or you can do this on the cheap with “play dough” instead. You can’t beat 8 little cans for $1 though.
Separate the cards and decide how you’ll attach the can of dough to the card. I vote a tape donut of Scotch or masking tape, personally. Hot glue or glue dots are also an option.
Adhere the play dough to the big red dot on the center of the card, then sign your child’s name and be done. While the adhesion of the can to the card won’t be incredibly strong, the weight of the container should hold it together well enough to deliver them into children’s valentine mailboxes or treat bags.
Tips for Printables:
- All the printables can be printed simply on regular letter-size
paper. For the most professional results, I personally use smooth
cardstock, but that’s my designer-nerd background. Here’s my favorite
from Amazon (Prime):
Wausau 40508 Neenah Exact Index, 110 lb, 8.5 x 11 Inches, 250 Sheets, White, 94 Bright - Or go simple yet fancy by printing onto pre-punched name tags (6 to a sheet), then detach along the perforations and go. (Make sure to print your PDF “Actual Size” rather than “Fit” for best results.) This is how I do ALL my valentines because it’s so easy.
- If you’re printing on
regular cardstock, you’ll need a way to cut them out. Grab a pair of
scissors or if you’re OCD about straight lines like I am, you need a
paper trimmer in your life. This little tool is a must for all my DIY
projects. Just line up the paper, slide, and DONE. Straight lines, no
cut fingers. Here are two of my picks (I own both and use them for
different purposes):
Fiskars 12 Inch SureCut Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer (152490-1004)
Marigold Scrapbooking Craft Stack Paper Trimmer , Blue , 12″ (GTC410) - If
you don’t want to invest in a paper trimmer, a simple X-Acto knife and
ruler will work just as well. My X-Acto knife is pink, of course:
X-ACTO Craft Tools 1 Knife With Safety Cap, Pink
For the toddler set, it’s more important than ever to keep it simple and inexpensive for Valentine’s Day. The total cost of these came in at under $5 for Sawyer’s class of 20.
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