St. Patrick’s Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. Perhaps it stems from my Irish roots, my love for gold or my mild (or not) obsession with holidays in general. Whatever the answer may be, I tend to be a bit extra when it comes to March 17. So, if you are looking to spread a bit O’ Irish magic and cheer this year, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve gathered up some of my favorite St. Patrick’s Day activities (kid-friendly, of course), crafts and treats for you below.
FESTIVE OUTFITS
To successfully celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you obviously need cute and festive outfits for your kiddos. Nothing gets me more hyped than a new custom holiday tee and matching accessories. You can go with the typical “Kiss me I’m Irish” shirt or think a bit outside of the box with shirts like the ones I found this year from The Dreaming Daisy that really embody the spirit of the holiday, but can also be worn year-round. Pair them with a tutu, bow/bow tie, leprechaun hat, and other Kelly green accessories and you can’t go wrong!
LUCKY BREAKFAST
On St. Patrick’s Day morning, I like to treat my kids to a Luck O’ the Irish breakfast. This consists of green milk, green shamrock and rainbow pancakes, and a rainbow yogurt parfait!
- Green Milk – Add a few drops of green food coloring to your carton of milk, shake it up and blame it on the leprechaun!
- Shamrock and Rainbow Pancakes – Make pancake mix according to the box and separate into different squeeze bottles. Add a couple of drops of food coloring to each squeeze bottle of batter and mix until you achieve your desired colors. Squirt out shamrock shapes using green batter and rainbows using a variety of colors. I like to give my rainbows clouds at the end!
- Rainbow Parfait – Layer yogurt with strawberries, blueberries, bananas, etc. and then sprinkle the top with gold sprinkles.
LEPRECHAUN MISCHIEF
Growing up, a leprechaun always came to visit my brothers and me the night of March 16. He would sneak into our house and play practical jokes, and leave magic and treats for us to find when we awoke. I have since passed this tradition on to my own children. Here are some fun leprechaun activities you can incorporate into your next St. Patty’s Day!
Leprechaun Footprints
Find a template on Pinterest, cut out footprints and tape them all over your house; especially in places where the leprechaun has visited! Use construction paper if you want different colored prints!
Green Milk
Like I explained above, dye your milk green and leave a few leprechaun footprints or confetti inside of the fridge so your children can see that the leprechaun turned the milk green!
Green Pee
Just like with the milk, add a few drops of green food coloring to your toilet bowl water and tape two footprints to the toilet seat. Now it looks like the leprechaun had to stop for a potty break!
Green Bath
Toss a green bath drop into the top for some added green fun!
Pot O’ Gold
When the leprechaun visits your home, he can leave a “Pot O’ Gould” either hidden for your children to find or in plain view! The Pot O’ Gold is basically a black plastic cauldron filled with St. Patrick’s Day goodies and treats for your little ones. Here is a quick list of items to include in your pot:
- Shamrock print, green, gold or rainbow hair bows
- Patrick’s Day t-shirts
- Green bow tie
- Green plastic top hats
- Shamrock glasses
- Patrick’s Day socks
- Green bead necklaces
- Stickers
- Gold coin chocolate
- Other green/gold wrapped candy & treats
Shoes by the Door
Another tradition in my household consisted of leaving a pair of shoes by the front door. On St. Patrick’s Day eve, when the leprechaun visited, he would leave “gold” in our shoes! The gold was either gold chocolate coins, gold plastic coins, loose change or a combination.
Window Paint Message
Leave a message for your kids using green window paint on a mirror or window.
Magnet Letter Message
Rearrange your refrigerator letters to spell out something silly from your tiny guest.
LEPRECHAUN TRAP
Now that you are aware of all the mischief the leprechaun is bound to get into, you should probably build a trap and try to catch it! Now the key here is that you never really catch the leprechaun. Instead, he can leave a note telling your kids they did a great job trying, and that he has hidden a Pot O’ Gold (see above) in the house for them to find. Check out this post on my personal blog for step-by-step instructions for making your own!
I hope the above activities are enough to make your St. Patrick’s Day EXTRA fun this year!
 obsession with holidays in general. Whatever the answer may be, I tend to be a bit extra when it comes to March 17. So, if you are looking to spread a bit O’ Irish magic and cheer this year, you’ve come to the right place!){kind=link}