DIY Basketball Themed Valentine's Day Box

Up until a few days ago, I thought my days of helping my boys prepare for their school Valentine's celebrations were over. I was feeling a bit sad about it too. They grow up way too fast! But then I read No. 3's teacher's weekly newsletter, and that fear disappeared!


Just like No. 2 did when he was in the fifth grade, he has been tasked with creating a Valentine's Day Box! Here are the rules:

1. Create a box to hold your valentines- it should be big enough to hold valentines from your classmates.
2. You must be able to transport your box to and from school on your own!
3. You can get help from your family, but you must be the creator and be involved in every part of building your box.
4. All boxes must be at school by February 14th.

Winners will be chosen for each of the following categories; traditional, most creative, "green", sports themed, animal themed, book/movie themed. The winners will each receive $500 in bonus bucks which the students can turn in for things such as extra recess! And because No. 3 is MY boy, I'm sure you can already guess what theme he chose... sports, of course!


He decided on making a basketball box. (Click HERE to see the football themed box No. 2 made a few years back).

Want to make one yourself? Here's what you'll need?

• Box (we used one of Coach Hubby's shoe boxes)
• Construction paper (orange, white, and black)
• Wood grain printed duck tape (tan construction paper will work if you can't find any!)
• Markers
• Scissors
• Glue (a glue stick and hot glue)
• Paper towel roll
• Rings from two Gatorade bottles (they will become the rims)

He began by applying the duck tape to the top of the box.

Once the entire top was covered, he used the orange construction paper to cover the sides.

The next step was to draw the lines on the court (half court, 3-point, etc.) We used a black sharpie for that. Quick tip: tracing a paper plate will help avoid wiggly lines!

Now that you have a court, it's time to make your hoops! Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of the actual process, but here's the finished product.

We made the backboard out of white cardstock. No. 3 wrote the words "shoot me a valentine" on them and glued on a basketball. The pole was made out of a paper towel roll. We simply cut it, colored it black with a sharpie, and glued them together. We then hot glued the Gatorade ring aka rim to the backboard, let it dry for a few minutes, and then glued the entire hoop to the box. He also made a scoreboard using the black construction paper. That's it!


As far as Valentine's cards, I found this super cool idea on Pinterest! I mean seriously, what can't you find on there?!?

(Click HERE for directions including free printable and 3 ingredient slime recipe!)

Happy Valenslime's Day, Sports Mamas! Wishing you love, health, and happiness today and every other day of the year!




*** Update 2/15/19- HE WON!!!!

*** Have a collegiate athlete? Click here for a care package idea!