Valentine's Day Gingerbread Cookies - Putting the Pretty In Preschool

Candy hearts and red, pink, and white sprinkles adorn these Valentine's Day gingerbread cookies. An all-ages activity to do.

After Christmas, there was enough undecorated gingerbread cookies leftover for another activity, so I thought my preschoolers could decorate Valentine’s Day gingerbread cookies.

But I wondered if it would be appropriate. I thought to myself: “Anything gingerbread is so popular at Christmas, but is doing activities with these spicy cookies a thing at other times of the year?”

An online search revealed the following:

Each year there is a National Gingerbread Day on June 5 and a National Gingerbread Cookie Day on November 21.

A website called Favorite Family Recipes has a lovely post about making a Valentine’s Day Gingerbread House.

Recipes By Diane showcases gingerbread Cupid Cookies.

And The Savvy Age features quick and easy heart-accented gingerbread cookies.

Armed with all this inspiring information, I decided that yes, decorating our saved cookies with a Valentine’s Day theme would be just fine. I headed out to shop for heart-themed decorations and prepared the activity for my class.

Decorated gingerbread Valentine's Day cookies.

The preschoolers relished decorating a Valentine’s Day gingerbread cookie. And your early learners would love it too.

What To Collect

gingerbread cookies (store-bought or homemade)

cookie or cake frosting (store-bought or homemade)

Valentine’s Day sprinkles

heart candies

cinnamon hearts

candy eyes

disposable plates

dull butter knives or tiny spatulas

Decorating The Gingerbread Cookies

For each child participating in the activity, set an undecorated gingerbread cookie on a plate. Add a dollop of icing and candy decorations to another plate.

Heart and sprinkle decorations to decorate a Valentine's Day cookie.

Set up a cookie decorating station for each child with candy decorations, a cookie, and a knife or tiny spatula.

Gingerbread cookie decorating station with Valentine's Day-themed decorations.

Invite your early learners to decorate their cookies by spreading on icing and adding candy eyes and a nose, mouth, eyebrows, jewelry, buttons, etc.

Wrap the cookies up for the children to take home.

Gingerbread cookies decorated with hearts and candy sprinkles.

Our undecorated cookies were store-bought. If you have time to bake the treats, try a tangy gingerbread cookie recipe. The recipe is adapted from George Washington’s mother Mary Ball Washington‘s version.