The month of love has arrived.
Yes, we love each other all year long … but since Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, let’s toss around some pink and red while we think of new, creative ways to spend time with our special tribe.
Nothing quite says “I love you” to my kiddos more than me spending time with them. Some of our favorite moments are spent playing games together. This year, I decided to make a cute little heart-themed game. Tic-tac-toe is one of those timeless classics; it’s the simplest games that don’t ever get old, don’t you agree? I decided to make a special version for Valentine’s Day.
The concept is super easy, but your creativity and time are the only limit on how fancy you could get with this concept. I’ll share what I did, and then give a few suggestions of how you could make it even more simple (or ornate) with just a few alterations.
Supplies:
- red and pink felt (or two different colors of your choice)
- red and pink embroidery thread
- a piece of red construction paper
- black permanent marker
- fiber fill stuffing
- large eyed needle
- ruler
Directions:
- Cut out a large heart from your piece of red construction paper. This will be your tic-tac-toe playing board, so make it as large as your paper will allow.
- Using a ruler and the black marker, draw the tic-tac-toe lines over the front of your heart.
- You will need to make 5 little heart “pillows” of each color, so cut 10 smaller 3 inch diameter hearts of both the red and pink felt.
- Using your needle and embroidery thread sew two red heart felt pieces together using a blanket stitch or stitch of your choice; leaving a hole for stuffing. I used pink thread on my red felt hearts, and red thread on my pink ones.
- Stuff each heart and finish stitching around its edge.
Game play:
I’d like to think everyone knows how to play tic-tac-toe, but in case there is someone out there reading this who doesn’t know the game, here is a brief explanation:
Two players, each with a different color of heart playing pieces take turns placing their color heart on the tic-tac-toe grid. Your goal is to get three of your hearts in a row, either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Thinking a few moves ahead, and strategically forcing your opponent to place their heart somewhere can ensure you are the victor. If no one gets three hearts of their color in a row, it’s called a “cat’s” game and no one wins that round. Even the best of players occasionally won’t pay attention, so keep at it and you’re bound to win a few rounds.
Taking the time to stitch little pillows for game pieces makes this special version of tic-tac-toe more aesthetically appealing, but it’s not an absolute necessity. You could whip this up even faster by using foam or even paper hearts. Or, you could go ahead and use the felt, but just make a simple one-piece heart cut-out instead of a pillow. (This is a good choice for younger kids, as they might be frustrated by trying to sew the hearts together.)
Perhaps you want to make the game even fancier or more personal, instead? You could embroider X’s or O’s on your little pillows, or even words or messages of love. How ever you decide to make your board and playing pieces, the end result is the same: a special, memorable game that your child can play over and over again. Setting aside time to play and create with your child is where the love comes in … and that’s the ultimate lesson to take away from this project.
Looking for more ideas to celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Check out some of our past posts: HERE … or HERE … or HERE!
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