Looking for ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with kids? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.
March is the month of green and a time when we celebrate the Irish culture by partaking in St. Patrick’s Day events, fun activities, and the Irish culture.
Many celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by drinking, eating corned beef and cabbage, and wearing green. For those of us who have kids, our celebration of the holiday has scaled back quite a bit (the drinking part), and we focus on more family-friendly activities and ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
If you are looking to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the kids this year, these activities will be a hit with everyone in the family.
Read Also: Fun and Simple Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as a Family
1. Make a Special St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast
Enjoy the green holiday by serving up a green-themed breakfast to start the day. Adding green food coloring to the cereal milk or pancake batter are just a few examples of how you can bring St. Patrick’s Day to the breakfast table.
2. Watch a St. Patrick’s Day Movie Together
Grab the snacks and watch a St. Patrick’s Day movie with the kids to celebrate the holiday. St. Patrick’s Day movies that are kid-friendly include:
The Luck of the Irish is a story about a popular basketball player in junior high who doesn’t know anything about his heritage. One day, someone has stolen his lucky coin, and things go terribly wrong, so he heads home to find out that his family is made up of Leprechauns. Without that coin, their true selves come out as they slowly turn into leprechauns.
The Last Leprechaun: Two siblings find themselves in Ireland because they must foil their future stepmother’s plans to destroy the Leprechaun King.
Others include:
- The Secret of Kells
- Song of the Sea
- Leapin’ Leprechauns
- Finian’s Rainbow
For the snack, make some rainbow popcorn by mixing your favorite rainbow-colored candy and popcorn together.
3. Plant and Grow Your Own Shamrocks
You can order a pack of shamrock seeds online and plant them for St. Patrick’s Day. The kids will love watching their shamrocks blossom and bloom.
4. Create a St. Patrick’s Day Plant Holder
Grab some terra cotta pots or pots from the dollar store and let the kids decorate them for St. Patrick’s Day. They can turn the pots into Leprechauns, paint a rainbow on the pots, or paint it gold and decorate it with their favorite designs.
5. Learn How to Do Irish Step Dancing
There are actually 6 Irish dance styles, and traditional step dancing is just one of them. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, the whole family can learn how to do Irish Step Dancing. You can check out videos on YouTube for detailed instructions. After you’ve mastered that dance, you can move on to the other 5 Irish dance styles. The kids will love showing off their new dance moves!
6. Build a Leprechaun Trap
Making Leprechaun traps has become increasingly popular over the years, and as you search for how to make one, you’ll find several different ideas and tutorials that will help you make your own. It’s fun to see if you can catch those tricky little clever Leprechauns.
Materials needed for this fun St. Patrick’s Day game are as follows: One plastic bowl per trap, four different colors of tissue paper (green, yellow, purple, and pink), and six packages or rolls of Double-Stick Tape
Directions: Before the children arrive, ensure all traps are set up using the double-stick tape, as it is very strong and won’t come undone. Each trap should have a different color of tissue paper lining the bottom, and the bowl should be tied in place to ensure it does not get knocked over or moved around. To celebrate, celebrate with all of the children by having them find out what type of candy was inside their specific trap!
Read Also: Teaching Your Kids About St. Patrick’s Day
7. Read a Book About Leprechauns or St. Patrick’s Day Together
There are many kid-friendly books about St. Patrick’s Day or stories about Leprechauns that you can read to commemorate the holiday. Have the kids read with you, be read to, or make up their own Leprechaun stories for extra fun.
8. Make Green Flowers
A simple but fun experiment the kids will love doing is turning white flowers into colorful green flowers. To do this, all you need are some white flowers (like carnations), a vase, and food coloring. Simply fill the vase with water, add a few drops of green food coloring, and place your flower in the vase. After a short time, the green will make its way through the stem up to the petals, turning them green.
9. Make Irish Soda Bread
Irish Soda Bread is a delicious snack that the kids can help you make. The best part about the bread is that you don’t have to let it rise, so you can mix, bake, and enjoy.
Irish Soda Bread is delicious and one of my favorite recipes for St. Patrick’s Day! It only takes a few minutes to mix up, and it doesn’t require any rising time, so you can eat it after it bakes. To make this bread celebratory, top with some colorful sprinkles or add fun shapes like shamrocks or leprechaun hats (instructions via Food Network below).
Ingredients: 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup of unsalted butter 1 tsp. baking soda 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. salt 3 tbsp. buttermilk
Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet.
In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, butter, and soda until well blended, then add in flour and salt and stir just until mixed. Add buttermilk and mix until it forms into a dough (don’t overmix). Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Shape the dough into a loaf about 9 inches long and 1 inch wide, and place it on a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy!
10. Make a Rainbow Craft
When we think of St. Patrick’s Day, one image that comes to mind is a rainbow. For some extra fun during the holiday, help the kids make a rainbow craft. Rainbow play dough, paper plate crafts, and pipe cleaner crafts are just a few St. Patrick craft ideas you can do.
11. Make & Wear Green Items or Clothing
Tradition is that you have to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day, or you will get pinched! Skip out on the pinching and make your own green accents or clothing that you can wear during the holiday.
12. Attend a Local St. Patrick’s Day Event
Be sure to also check your local area to see if there are any St. Patrick’s Day events or parades that you can take the kids to. You may want to stay clear of the major celebrations because they can be pretty wild and not so kid-friendly. You can find small, family-friendly parades in the area to celebrate the holiday together.
13. Make Shamrock Cookies or Brownies
The kids can help you make these fun treats that celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with shamrocks made from green frosting.
Ingredients: 1 box white cake mix, 1 tsp. green food coloring, 1 package vanilla instant pudding mix, 8 oz. sour cream or yogurt, 3/4 cup oil, 3 eggs
Frosting Ingredients: 3 tbsp. milk, 1 tsp. green food coloring, 1 lb. powdered sugar
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans or one 13×9 inch pan. In a large bowl, combine cake mix with green food coloring and dry pudding mixes, then add the remaining ingredients (sour cream through eggs). Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high for 2 minutes until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake according to directions on the back of the box (3–35 minutes for two 9-inch rounds) or 35–40 minutes for a 13×9 inch pan.
After baking, let it cool before frosting.
14. Make Leprechaun Hat Brownies
Ingredients: 1 box brownie mix, green food coloring, vanilla frosting
Directions: Bake according to directions on the back of the box (mix should be divided evenly between two bowls). Add 4 drops of green food coloring to one bowl and stir. Pour half of the batter into a greased 9×13-inch pan, then top with the remaining plain brownie batter and swirl it into the green mixture using a butter knife. Bake as directed on the back of the box. Let the brownies completely cool before frosting. Spread vanilla frosting on top of cooled brownies and top with colorful jimmies for a leprechaun hat!
15. Make Rainbow Cupcakes
Ingredients: 1 package white cake mix, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 3/8 cup vegetable oil, 3 egg whites
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients from the box mix, then add the remaining ingredients and beat until blended (don’t overbeat). Fill each lined or greased muffin tin 2/3 full with batter, then bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool completely before decorating with your favorite color decorating frosting. Enjoy!
16. Make Shamrock Playdough
Ingredients: 1/2 cup green crayon shavings, 1/2 cup water, 3 cups flour
Directions: Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until it forms into a dough (do not boil). Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. To avoid drying out, store in an airtight container when not in use.
17. Make Rainbow Pancakes
Ingredients: 1 package white cake mix, 4 eggs, 1 1/3 cup water, 2 tablespoons oil
Directions: In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients from the box, mix, then add the remaining ingredients and beat until blended (don’t overbeat). Lightly grease a skillet or griddle (I like to use Pam) and pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle. Let it cook for about 2 minutes until bubbles start to form on top. Flip it over and cook until done on the other side (about 30 seconds). Repeat with the remaining batter, or make all four pancakes at once by doubling the recipe (just make sure you don’t overcrowd your pan).
18. St. Patricks Day Scavenger Hunt
For this activity, you can either be the hunter or the hunted. To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the kids, have them create a scavenger hunt for you to find hidden in your house. Give each person 25 clues about their item being stashed somewhere in the house or yard, and time yourself to see who completes it first!
19. Make Rainbow Playdough
Ingredients: 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 4 tsp cream of tartar, 3 cups water
Directions: In a saucepan, combine all ingredients except food coloring. Cook over medium-low heat until it forms into a dough (do not boil). Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, then divide into five sections. Add four drops of each color of food coloring to each section, then knead until combined. Store it in an airtight container when not in use to prevent it from drying out.
20. St. Patricks Day Bingo
Materials needed for this fun St. Patrick’s Day bingo game are as follows: 8 one-inch or smaller prizes per child, bingo daubers, and bingo cards.
Directions: Have the children sit in a circle. Distribute one prize to each child. Tell the children not to show their prize to anyone else. Call out a color (green, for example). All of the children with green on their cards cover them up with a dauber. If two or more players have covered up the green, then they each say “Bingo” and try to be the first one to remove an item from their prize package without letting anyone see what it is. They are not allowed to say what it is that they got until everyone has had a turn trying to find the missing object in their prize package. The winner gets all of the prizes collected by other kids during that round, and the players who did not win get to keep their original prize. If there is a tie, then everyone wins!
21. St Patrick’s Day Silly Games
Materials needed for this fun St. Patrick’s Day game are as follows: One large empty roll of toilet paper per child (folded in half), one empty box (large enough for the children to fit inside) wrapped with colored construction paper (green or white) or green aluminum foil, two small boxes or two large marshmallows taped together, four pennies, and chocolate gold coins/quarters wrapped in foil.
Directions: Place the toilet paper roll at each end of the play area and place the boxes near them (but not too close). Give each child one of the wrapped objects. The child with the wrapped boxes goes first by placing their box on top of the toilet paper roll closest to them. They have to keep their hands behind their backs while pushing the box across the TP toward the other TP roll without letting it fall off. The next player has to place their small box or marshmallow taped together (for stability) on top of the TP roll before rolling it like a wheel toward the other player’s object.
If they knock down another player’s object, then that child is out of the game. If no one knocks anyone else’s objects over, then everyone has another turn, but this time all players must push both objects at once (one in each hand). When only two children are left, they move on to phase two of the game. In phase two of the game, only four pennies are used to play, instead of four wrapped objects. The first child has to try and make their penny land on top of a TP roll without it falling off. If they succeed, they get a chance to toss one of their opponents onto a TP roll as well. Whoever knocks over an opponent’s coin first wins!
22. St. Patrick’s Day Activity Bus
Materials needed for this fun activity are as follows: Paper plates, green tissue paper (cut into small squares), green pipe cleaners (or green yarn), glue gun (optional)
Directions: Have the children decorate their own buses in advance by cutting out paper plate wheels in advance and allowing them time to decorate. They can cut up the green tissue paper into small squares or use a glue gun to attach them to their vehicles. When they are finished, have them place one tissue paper square on each plate before attaching it to their bus with a pipe cleaner (or yarn). Make sure that the wheels turn and the children use their buses for pretend play after completing them!
23. Pot O’ Gold Hunt
Materials needed for this fun St. Patrick’s Day game are as follows: One fancy pot per child, three pots filled with yellow rubber ducks, three plastic leprechaun hats, chocolate gold coins wrapped in foil (three for each player), and two blindfolds (one per child).
Directions: Before the party, ensure that there is a small hole in each of the three pots without leprechaun hats on them. Fill these with rubber ducks and place one chocolate gold coin in each pot before covering it back up. Place two of the pots next to each other, and the third pot should be a good distance away. Divide the children into groups of two children per blindfold and blindfold one child while their partner leads them to the end of the room, where they can see all three pots.
The first player to spot the pot with gold inside gets to go toward that pot while their partner covers their eyes before they are allowed to uncover them again. If they are unable to locate it, their partner has a chance, but only four times in total! When there is a winner, congratulate them by allowing them to eat the three chocolate gold coins that are hidden inside the pot!
Whether you are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day at home or out and about, these kid-friendly St. Patrick’s Day activities will be a fun way to celebrate.
