Make a heart-shaped cake for your Valentine. Bake both a round and a square cake. Cut the round cake in half, then turn the square cake so that the corners face you in a diamond shape. Place each half of the round cake on the two uppermost sides of the diamond (figure A). Frost with pink icing and decorate with cinnamon candies (figure B).

Instead of wasting time and money buying a heart-shaped box for a Valentine, make one at home. Start with a jewelry gift box and glue heart-shaped tag board to both the top and the bottom. Then cut strips of colored paper to line the outer sides of the box (if it is not already colored). Decorate the hearts with items such as doilies and glitter. Any Valentine gift would be special in this homemade box.

Get children involved by making Valentine's Day mobiles. Cut various sizes of heart shapes out of construction paper and glue them lengthwise on a pretty piece of ribbon. Hang on a window or door, or send to a grandparent.

Make Valentine's Day sachets to hand out to friends or loved ones. Pick a decorative piece of fabric and cut out two hearts. Sew the two hearts together, leaving a small opening. Stuff with potpourri and sew shut. Decorate further with ribbon or glitter if desired.

Nothing shows children how much you love them like a big heart-shaped pizza. Order or make a pizza, then cut it into a heart shape. Deliver it to the children in the lunchroom at school. This is one Valentine's Day they won't soon forget.

Another activity children can enjoy is making their own Valentine's Day cards to pass out at school. Make a lace heart by cutting out a piece of heart-shaped cardboard. Using a hole punch, make holes along the edge of the heart. Weave a piece of ribbon in and out of the holes, then tie to form a bow.

A heart-shaped picture card is a neat gift for the grandparents. Begin with a piece of construction paper and cut out two heart-shaped pieces. Cut a heart-shaped opening in one of the cards. Glue a photo onto the center of the second piece, then glue the piece with the hole in it on top so the picture shows through.

Use candy hearts to form sentences, then glue the hearts on the front of a blank card.

Christmas doesn't have to be the only holiday with a tree. Decorate a small indoor tree, such as a ficus, for Valentine's Day. Look around the house for items that are pink or red. Red-rope licorice makes a good decoration, as does a garland with small hearts (that can be found at party-supply stores).