St. Patrick’s Day Activities for Kids
My kids love all the holidays, and St. Patrick’s Day is no exception! They always want to catch a leprechaun. I know that there are a lot of parents out there who embrace this holiday trend, as well as a lot of parents who are exhausted by the thought of it. I think it’s so fun to see how excited the kids get, but I also do not love putting all of my time and energy into making it happen. So I’ve rounded up lots of quick and easy St. Patrick’s Day activities for kids. Most of these involve little to no work on the parents’ part, and the kids love it. Win-win!
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St. Patrick’s Day Activities for Kids #1: Leprechaun Traps
This is the number one most-requested activity in our house on St. Patrick’s Day. There’s just something hopeful about catching a magical creature that makes this so much fun. Obviously, you can use items around the house and create your own trap together. It can be simple or elaborate.
The simple version would be to buy a green paper bag and use popsicle sticks to make a ladder for the leprechaun. Then, use rainbow stickers or gold coins to decorate the bag and ladders. You can even add a cute sign that says “FREE GOLD”.
But if you want an even simpler version, you can buy a leprechaun trap kit. Whatever option you decide on, this will be a memory your kids will never forget!
Activity #2: Leprechaun Tricks
My kids love waking up and seeing what tricks and pranks the leprechaun has done in our house. We’ve done a couple of different things in years past, and it’s always worth the reaction we get from them. Some fun ideas you can do are:
- Dye your milk green or make green pancakes for the kids in the morning using food coloring
- Leave leprechaun footprints around the house (You can use your hand to make footprints, or you can buy stickers from Amazon)
- Sometimes the leprechaun makes a mess of the house. He has turned over chairs, taken off the couch pillows, gone through the books, etc. But he usually leaves a treat of some sort to compensate for the mess he made. Our favorites are candy gold coins, Rolos, or Lucky Charms!
St. Patrick’s Day Activities for Kids #3: Books
Kids will be over the moon with a fun holiday book! I’ve rounded up some favorite St. Patrick’s Day books that are sure to provide a fun reading activity for your family!
Activity #4: St. Patrick’s Day Food
There are so many different options for meals, snacks, and drinks on St. Patrick’s Day. You can go traditional Irish (if your kids aren’t super picky like mine are), or you can go fun and just add in green or rainbow colored food everywhere. It can be fancy or as simple as a box of Lucky Charms. No matter what option, your kids are sure to love the fact that you’ve made this a special day for them. Here are some fun ideas I’ve found for different St. Patrick’s Day Food!
Traditional Americanized Irish Meal: Corned Beef and Cabbage
I have just learned that in Ireland, bacon and cabbage is the tradition. In the late 19th century, Irish immigrants introduced this meal substituting the bacon for corned beef!
Whatever you decide to do with your family on St. Patrick’s Day, big or small, will be a memory that lasts with your family forever. You will not regret taking the time to add a little bit of magic to this fun holiday! Comment below if you decide to do any of these options, or tag me in your holiday fun!
