This was my second year as a class room party parent volunteer at my daughter’s school—but this time I signed up to be the party committee lead. Having observed how a more experienced parent led the Valentine’s Day Party last year, I thought I could handle the duty. The problem was…this one activity that I want to champion seemed a little too complicated.

Figuring Out The Love Potion Craft

Making a love potion has also been a craft that I’ve loved the idea of doing since I was a little girl. Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Charmed were such popular tv shows when I was growing up, and potions definitely popped up in their storylines. But I really got the idea first from my daughter, who got into the MGA Make It Mini Harry Potter Potions this last year after my in-laws gifted her a Harry Potter playset.

If you’re familiar with the Harry Potter books, you may recall the love potion Amorentia, “the most powerful love potion in the world!” ( Chapter 9 of “The Half-Blood Prince”).

And so I was off on my search to figure out a safe and fun love potion making craft.

I knew that schools now are very strict about bringing anything ingestable due to liability concerns with allergies. So a love potion juice or anything like that was off the table.

As a parent I did not want parents to have a headache on their hands when their child would bring this craft home. So anything like a slime craft and the like were a no for sure!

Bath bombs have gotten so popular we even threw a bath bomb making party for my husband! However, making a bath bomb love potion would require more time than a class Valentine’s Day party can allow. 

So the idea that felt the safest and still kid-friendly was a spin on the classic romantic brew: bath salts! 

Luckily it went way better than I thought, and I figured out a way to do it that I think you’ll find the most efficient too.

Supplies List and Cost

This is not a cheap kids craft, it cost me $163, but it was worth it! Happy to say I am able to use what’s left for next year.

These are the essentials for the craft, but get what your budget will allow for, because more isn’t always better.

• Small glass or plastic heart shaped bottle.
• Salt crystals (pink salt is perfect for Valentine’s day).
• Dried flowers.
• Lots of glitter and/or confetti type material.
• Shimmery powder.
• Ribbon to wrap around the neck of the bottle. 
• Paper to cut into 2 to 3 in heart shapes for the bottle labels.

Valentines Day Class Party Day

During a class party, two to three other activities are usually going on at the same time, and that is to your advantage. You want to be hands on with this craft because it is very easy for it to get chaotic with first or second graders. With so many different ingredients and materials, the kids are going to want to jump ahead, overly pour into their bottles, and so forth. Having another parent on hand to work with is a plus, but if you’re solo like I was, here’s how I led the craft:

The Love Potion Making Craft Steps For The Classroom Party

Ask the teacher to have 3 to 5 students come to your love potion making table at a time. Wish classroom parties usually just 1 hour or more long, 10 minutes per group gives a 15 to 25 student class enough time to complete and enjoy the craft without feeling rushed.

1. Step 1: Make the love potion labels before the day. Cut paper the size of one side of the heart shaped glass.
2. Step 1: Like a mama bird, fill each child’s love potion bottle with the salt crystals as the base.
3. Step 2: Pour the dried flowers in the center of the table, let the students put whichever dried flowers they’d like into their bottles.
4. Step 3: Now go student by student and askwhich colored glittery powder they’d like in their love potion bottle. You’ll do this for each ingredient, one by one. This method will help you make sure there is enough of every ingredient for every student at the party.
5. Step 4: Help the students tie the ribbon color of their choice around the neck of their bottle.
6. Step 5: Tell them they can pour the dry contents in their bath tub at home, or just enjoy looking at the bottle at home as decoration. Do not let students put water in their bottle at school—if they want they can do so at home with a parent or guardian’s supervision.
7. Step 6: Have them go back to their seat to decorate their love potion label however they would like. They can do it at home if they’d prefer. They can use tape or glue to place it on on whichever side of their bottle they wish.

The Results

Every child’s love potion with turn out differently based on the ingredients and color combinations they choose. Pictured below is my daughter’s and the test bottle I made.

The Love Potion Bath Salts In Action

This is how my daughter’s love potion mix turned out for her bath time. It didn’t smell like anything, but made very lovely bath water. Next time, I think it might be a good idea to get a perfume fragrance for the kids, so that there is a smell to the bath salts.

My daughter said her classmates loved this activity the best from her class party. And the parents of her best friends said no disasters at their homes. Yay!

I hope you have as much luck as I did with this Valentine’s Day craft.