Bento Boxes for Valentine’s Day and More
Create-Your-Own Conversation Hearts: A Sweet Valentine’s Day Bento Box Activity
Valentine’s Day treats don’t have to be complicated to feel special. A bento box activity is the perfect way to turn simple cookies into an interactive experience—especially when it lets kids (and adults, let’s be honest) decorate their own conversation hearts.
Using mini heart cookies, pastel icing, edible markers, and a few clever packaging touches, you can create a polished Valentine’s Day activity box that’s fun to make, easy to sell, and even easier for customers to love.
This create-your-own conversation hearts bento box is ideal for classroom parties, Galentine's day, or anyone who wants a Valentine's cookie activity that feels thoughtful without being fussy.
How to Create Your Own Conversation Hearts Activity Bento Box
1. Bake Your Conversation Heart Cookies
Start by baking your cookies using our mini conversation heart cookie cutter. Once baked, allow them to cool completely before decorating.
2. Mix Your Pastel Icing Colors
Prepare your icing in soft pastel shades for decorating. I used six colors for variety, but you can absolutely use fewer if you want to streamline the process or keep the kit more minimal. Use our tipless icing bags for smooth icing flow and easy control while decorating.
3. Bag and Seal the Cookies
Place the cooled cookies into 3” × 4” clear heat-seal or self-seal bags. Sealing the cookies keeps everything fresh and food-safe, and prevents icing colors or crumbs from transferring inside the bento box.
Pro tip: Self-seal bags allow customers to write on the cookies and then reseal everything to gift afterward.
4. Arrange Cookies in the Bento Tray
Set the bagged cookies into the food-safe 12-cavity bento box tray. Arrange them neatly so the box looks full and balanced when opened.
5. Add Edible Markers
Place one or two mini red edible markers directly into the tray. These are what turn the box into an interactive activity, allowing customers to write their own conversation heart messages.
6. Close the Bento Box
Insert the lid into the base of the box to fully close it. This creates a clean, compact presentation while keeping all components secure.
7. Attach the Tag with a Stretch Loop
Thread a 16-inch stretch loop through one of your die-cut “Happy Valentine’s Day” printed tags. Wrap the loop around the top left corner of the box, across the back, and over the bottom right corner to secure everything in place.
Pro Tip: Want to add an extra touch? You can remove the tie from our pre-tied bows and glue the bow directly onto the box. This is a good alternative if you're not using a stretch loop.
8. Add the Instruction Sheet
Print and trim your “Create Your Own Conversation Hearts” instruction sheets. Tuck one into the corner of the stretch loop or slide it into the outside window of the box. You can also place it inside the box if you prefer a more secure option.
9. You’re Done!
That’s it, your Valentine’s Day conversation heart bento box is ready to go!
Other Valentine’s Day Bento Box Ideas
Conversation hearts are a classic, but the same bento box setup works beautifully for other Valentine’s themes.
You can create DIY cookie kits with mini hearts, XO shapes, or love-themed icons paired with small icing bags and sprinkles. These are perfect for kids’ parties or classroom exchanges.
Bento boxes also work beautifully for Galentine’s Day or adult gifting. Use them to package a small assortment of decorated sugar cookies with clean designs, soft color palettes, or metallic accents for a more elevated feel.
Our bento boxes aren’t just for sugar cookies; chocolate-dipped pretzels, Oreos, brownie bites, cake pucks, and rice crispy treats all look beautiful in them too.
Pro tip: I use the Daisy Makes extra large size poppers for our bento boxes.
Bento Boxes That Work Beyond Valentine’s Day
One of the best things about bento boxes is how easily they translate to other seasons and occasions.
They’re perfect for holiday decorating kits, Easter eggs, Halloween pumpkins, Christmas ornaments, or spring florals all work in the same format with a themed instruction card.
For birthdays, bento boxes make great DIY party activities with no additional prep work or personalization from you!
If you sell at markets or pop-ups, bento boxes are an easy way to offer grab-and-go kits that feel premium while staying compact and stackable.
Add More to Your Valentine’s Day Lineup
Looking to expand your Valentine’s offerings beyond bento boxes? We just added new cookie cutters designed to match our fold-over toppers. These designs are available as physical cutters, printable STL files you can use at home, and coordinating Eddie images, perfect for building out a cohesive Valentine’s collection. Take a look at what's new!
A Sweet, Simple Way to Package Creativity
Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to refresh your offerings, whether that means introducing interactive bento box activities or expanding your decorated cookie designs.
Bento boxes offer an easy way to turn decorated sugar cookies into something more than just a treat. With a little planning, they become an interactive experience your customers can enjoy, gift, and remember.
From Valentine’s Day activity kits to year-round decorating ideas, this style of packaging gives you flexibility without adding complexity to your workflow. Once you’ve used bento boxes once, it’s easy to imagine all the ways they can fit into future menus.
