scratch off ticket valentines: candy-free and totally fun

Every year the kids and I have a really fun time searching for cool Valentines to make for their class party Valentine exchange.

We don’t go super-crazy.

We just do something a little special that will hopefully make their friends and teachers smile.

It’s a yearly tradition–the search, the planning, the mess, the crafting, and the delivering. It’s a lot of fun, and honestly, I could weep thinking that this yera will be Maddy’s last year for a Valentine’s Day class party.

Next year, as a big sixth grader, there’s no time for parties. *Sob!*

So this year, we’re rocking it.

We made cool Scratch-Off Ticket Valentines that reminded us of the Scratch Off Tickets I gave them for New Year’s a few years back. But these Valentines are for their buddies.

Super easy, candy-free, and fun.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Scratch-Off Ticket Valentines–Candy-Free and Totally Fun:

So we knew the basic premise of how to make these–the scratch off part we did before. However, the Valentine’s messages and how we wanted to have kids scratch off was new to us.

What you’ll need to make thsese:

white cardstock
silver metallic paint
dish soap
clear contact paper
pennies!
fun, fancy tape to stick the penny on the card (you can eliminate this–I’m sure it’s not necessary!)

Here’s how:

1. Get the Scratch-Off Ticket Valentine template in your inbox when you subscribe to teachmama.com emails.

2. Print the Scratch-Off Ticket Valentines onto cardstock.

There are six Valentines on each sheet, for a total of 12 Valentines on the document. So print accordingly.

3. Mix the mysterious Scratch-Off paint:

2 parts silver metallic paint

1 part dish soap

So tricky, right? Don’t sweat the mixing part. I’m sure it will be fine.

4. Cut small pieces of clear contact paper to completely cover the part you want scratched off. Easy.

I helped the kids with this one simply by cutting a size that worked and then placing it on top of each card. Then the kids peeled and pressed.

Peeling and smashing contact paper can be so much fun. Come on, you know it.

5. Paint the Scratch-Off paint onto the card. Then let dry.

6. Stick a penny on the card.

This is totally not necessary, but Maddy had some fun, fancy tape that she wanted to use, so we added the penny.

Most kids will have something in their desks that they can use to scratch off the tickets, like the edge of a ruler or something.

Practice first before you sign and send them all!

7. Sign and send!

We always try to address Valentines to each individual child. I think it’s much more personal, and I think the writing can only help our kids. I find it amazing that my kids have gone to school with these friends for years now and still don’t know how to spell many names.

So if possible, grab a class list and have your child address each card. Extra reading and writing help? Yes, please.

If not, then just have him or her write any of the following in the ‘to’ line:

my friend
my pal
YOU!
classmate
2nd grader
buddy
amigo/ amiga

Easy, right? And very cute.

I love how Maddy, Owen, and Cora helped find messages and decide on what to add to the cards.

And we all agreed that it was cool how there was a lot of variety here–some were kind of question-answer Valentines, some were just Valentine-lovey, some were kind of gamey. You get it.

Need some other homemade Valentine ideas?

Here are a few of ours:

Originally published February 3, 2015 but updated in 2020 with better images and links!

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