St. Patrick’s Day Activities for Families
About 13 years ago, my husband & I came really close to getting married on St. Patrick’s day, but we decided against sharing our anniversary with the holiday and got married one week later! It turns out that it was a good idea, because on the St. Patrick’s day, 10 years later, we had our 4th child!! And now that I have a St. Paddy’s baby girl! Since then, I have become much more invested in this holiday & all of the fun St. Patrick’s Day activities that can be enjoyed!
Learning About St. Patrick
To start with, you may want to learn a little bit more about this holiday! If you are anything like me, you have worn green every March 17th for years, but you may not know one thing about why we celebrate St. Patrick’s day! If you are looking for a kid-friendly book to help you and your children learn more about this fun holiday, you might want to look at one of these:
St. Patrick wrote in one of his books that he was taken from his home in England when he was 16 & was taken to Ireland & was enslaved for 6 years. After escaping, he returned home to England, but later went back to Ireland to preach the Gospel!
It’s good to know that the man behind this popular holiday was a man on a mission for the Lord!!
Fun (& Delicious) St. Patrick’s Day Activities
Decorations
The beginning of almost any holiday in our home is decorating!! I didn’t typically decorate my house for St. Patrick’s day until my daughter was born on that day. Now, we combine our St. Patrick’s decor with whatever our birthday theme is!!! I have become a lot more fond of shamrocks over the past few years!!
If you are looking for some quick & inexpensive decorations, check out your local craft store! I found the cutest mossy shamrock at Michael’s! You can usually find a good assortment of decorations there! However, if you are feeling crafty, roll up your sleeves & get started on one of these fun projects!
Rainbow Garland
Check out this adorable garland from Tikkido! It would make a cute decoration for the whole month of March!!
Mason Jar Centerpiece
Looking for a festive centerepiece? This Leprechaun mason jar craft from cute little idea that won’t take too long to put together!!
Mantel Decor
Decorating the mantel is often where I start when I am getting ready for an upcoming holiday! Look at this great idea from One Thousand Oaks for a St. Patrick’s Day Farmhouse Mantel! It’s super classy & adorable!
Letter Board Banner
Letter boards are super popular right now, and this simple tutorial from Our Crafty Mom for a sparkly green banner to go across your letterboard is such a great idea! This banner tutorial uses a cricut, but I feel that it could be easily made without one also.
Party Ideas
Thinking about having a shindig for this festive holiday? Get inspired by these fun decorations from Elva M Designs! And this beautiful & colorful spread from momsandmunchkins.ca is so adorable!! Who can resist a pom pom cloud!?!
Do you need help planning for your upcoming St. Patrick’s day party? Be sure to check out my post on Essentials that You Need for throwing a party here!
St. Patrick’s Day Activities: Fun Food
One of my favorite parts of most holidays is having a festive (usually colorful) meal with my kids! I love one of the ideas that I found in Simply Traditions by Kierste Wade. She says that when she was a little girl that she would wake up on St. Patrick’s morning and find green milk to go in her cereal! Kierste always wondered how her mom turned the milk green, and her mom told her that when she would learn when she grew up & was a mom!!! What a fun, little magic that you can add to your children’s day with just a little effort!
One of my favorite St. Patrick’s day treats is a Shamrock shake! A shamrock shake is a delicious milk shake with a hint of mint!! This recipe from Eating On A Dime is a simple copycat of the McDonald’s favorite! If you love the shake, but not the calories, try this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie. It is a great slimmed down version of this yummy drink!
Reubens
I love a reuben sandwich. Do you know what I love even more? A homemade reuben! I have made these yummy sandwiches (here’s a great recipe) for my daughter’s first 2 birthdays (my new favorite St. Patrick’s day tradition!) & they are wonderful! And if you want, you can use this Slow Cooker Corned Beef recipe from Swirls of Flavor for your sandwiches or just add some yummy Irish potatoes!
For a little variation on the traditional reuben, try these delicious reuben pinwheels from HomeCookingMemories.com. These would make great party food too!
Irish Soda Bread
This is one St. Paddy’s tradition that I have never tried, but it sure does look delicious! This recipe from Coupons for Your Family is pretty simple & doesn’t have to rise!
Rainbow Chocolate Truffles
Are you a chocolate fan? Then you will NOT want to miss this recipe from Tasty Galaxy!! It’s made with dark chocolate & heavy cream & then covered with rainbow sprinkles… Yum!
Mint Chocolate Trifle
Forget waiting until St. Patrick’s Day, this yummy mint chocolate triffle from DancingThroughTheRain.com combines 2 of my favorite flavors… who can resist?
Lucky Charms Treats
If you like Rice Krispy Treats, you’re going to love these Lucky Charms Treats from momsandmunchkins.ca! They are full of that magically delicious cereal & lots of extra marshmallows!!
St. Patrick’s No-Bake Cheesecake
Who doesn’t love cheesecake!?! Ok, if you don’t, just don’t let me know!! These no-bake cheesecakes from DownRedBudDrive.com are the perfect combination or green & bright colorful rainbows!!! I love these perfect mini desserts!
Stained Glass Shamrock Cookies
For another show-stopping dessert from DownRedBudLane.com, check out these beautiful shamrock cookies!! I haven’t made stained glass cookies since I was a kid, but the best I remember, they aren’t as hard as they look! So, if you’ve got a little extra time, try out these cookie… you’ll be the talk of the town…school.. church… wherever!!!
Irish Marshmallow Pops
If you are looking for something super cute AND easy to make for a school party or snack, check out these Irish Marshmallow Pops from momlikestocook.com. They are so cute & you could add rainbow (and maybe even gold) sprinkles if you just wanted to go crazy!!!.
Pots of Gold Pretzels
Now these little treats from CrayonsAndCravings.com would make an adorable surprise after-school snack for your kiddos! I know these would make my kids’ day… or maybe letting them make them for themselves would!!! This only requires 4 ingredients, so super fun, and super easy!
Layered Rainbow Jello
This fun St. Patrick’s day treat from House of Nash Eats is SO COOL!!! I have never made layered jello or made any that you cut, but I might have to try this one for baby girl’s birthday this year!!
Green Day Snacks
This is a great idea from DailyMomitivity.com… green snacks! All kinds of green foods placed in a muffin tin (hey, I don’t know about you, but when you turn a snack into bento-like box, I’m all about it!).
Leprechaun Loot
Ok, so this could fall in each category of St. Patrick’s day activities! It could be used for a party, game/craft & for sure food! Your kiddos will definitely love these Leprechaun Loot treats, and, I’m betting, the candy won’t last long enough for the leprechauns!
St. Patrick’s Day Activities: Games
Rainbow Treasure Hunt
Ready to hunt for some gold? This fun little treasure hunt from Momsandmunchins.ca is one of the simplest St. Patrick’s Day activities… all you need is time & the free printable!
Rainbow Relay
If you are looking for a great party game, check out this awesome Rainbow Relay from creatingreadersandwriters.blogspot.com. This is a Minute to Win It game with bright-colored props that the kids (& adults) will love!
Green Tinker Tray
Ureadyteddy.com has SUCH a fun idea that I haven’t heard about before… a tinder tray! A tinker tray is a tray full of loose objects (for St. Patrick’s day it’s all GREEN!!) that promotes creativity & open ended play! I love this!
St. Patrick’s Day Bingo
Need a fun St. Patrick’s Day activity for your kiddos that won’t take a lot of time on your part? Just print off these cute little bingo cards from NatashaLH and your ready to go!
Crafts
Rainbow in a Jar
This cute colored sand craft from mamalikesthis.com would be fun & super simple for kids or adults to make!
Golden Nuggets
These adorable shamrock painted rocks from sustainmycrafthabit.com are so cute!!! These would be so much fun to paint with your crafty kiddos!
Leprechaun Rock Painting
If you love painting rocks, here is another perfect St. Patrick’s day activity for you!! These little rocks are so adorable & look like they would be so much fun to make!!
Rainbow Necklace
One simple craft for small kids that I really like, it a fruit loops (or even gummy lifesavers) necklace. Just let the kids go… lacing their cereal on a string… they’ll love it!
Rainbow Heart Clovers
You’re going to love these bright Rainbow Heart Clovers from AsForMeAndMyHomestead.com. This craft is much more simple than it appears & the kids can totally do it with little to know help depending on their age! Make them in early March & enjoy them all month long!
Top Hat Craft
No St. Patrick’s day is complete without a green top hat! This cute craft from partywithunicorns.com would be a fun St. Patrick’s day activity for the kids (with a little help). This project only needs the printable template, scissors, craft knife, glue & a ruler.
St. Patrick’s Day Activities… Try to Pick Just One!
As with any holiday, there are LOTS of ways that you can celebrate! But the best thing is to find one or two ideas that your family will enjoy that doesn’t cause a lot of stress, and MAKE SOME MEMORIES!! Because in 20 years, it won’t be how many St. Patrick’s Day activities that you checked off of your holiday “bucket list”, but rather who you were with & the memories you made together!
Save all of these fun St. Patrick’s Day activities to your favorite Pinterest board (click below), and while you are at it, follow me on Pinterest!!!
I love all of these great ideas! Thanks for sharing my green day snack in this awesome roundup!
You’re Welcome Shannon! Thank YOU!!! =)