Are you looking for fun St. Patrick’s Day activities for the kids? Now is the time to let them be creative and have fun. You’ll love this list of frugal, fun ideas—perfect for all ages!
With its emphasis on drinking and debauchery, St. Patrick’s Day can seem like a holiday more suited to adults than little ones. But these fun activities can make being Irish (or pretending to be!) a family affair.
What are fun ways to celebrate St. Patty’s Day with the kids?
When it comes to celebrating this lucky day, don’t make it complicated! You can easily plan crafts and games or create some lucky foods and have a blast all day long!
Don’t forget to check out a parade or two if you can, and head out the door to see if you can find any four-leaf clovers!
5 low-cost St. Patrick’s Day activities for kids
Save some money this year and create these fun ideas at home. You don’t have to spend a lot of green to make green activities!
1. Dye food green
This is an easy one – simply add a few drops of green food coloring to milk, scrambled eggs, pancake batter or other “dyeable” foods for a quick St. Patrick-ification of your meal. Or serve foods that are already green, like pistachio ice cream, lime gelatin or spinach salad.
Kids will get a kick out of funny color snacks, and might even be interested in helping you cook or bake the green dishes.
2. Hold a treasure hunt
Channel your kids’ inner leprechauns with a search for “gold.” For younger kids, hide loose doubloons in strategic places in the backyard and let them search, Easter-egg hunt style. For older kids, create written clues that will lead them to a “pot of gold” at the end. (DIY blog The Crafting Chicks has an excellent tutorial on a treasure hunt, complete with printable clues.)
Use plastic coins for your gold or an image of a pot of gold that can be traded for something your child values, such as Robux or a $5 gift certificate to an ice cream store.
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- Get a virtual item when you redeem a Robux digital code!
- Spend your Robux on new items for your avatar and additional perks in your favorite experiences.
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3. Eat like the Irish
Turn dinner into a cultural lesson by serving dishes native to Ireland, like soda bread, corned beef and cabbage or shepherd’s pie.
4. Stamp with shamrocks
This is a fun, low-cost activity especially suited for younger ones – cut off the top of a green bell pepper and dip the cut edge in green tempera paint, then stamp it onto paper or cardstock for a fun St. Patrick’s Day work of art.
Paint a stem on the bottom of the stamped shapes to make them more shamrock-like.
5. Build a leprechaun trap
Instead of building a better mouse trap, build a leprechaun trap. Those pesky little people like to make messes, dye water green and leave trails of gold dust. But if you catch one, you can force him to tell you where his stash of gold is.
Ask your kids to build a trap for the leprechaun (with real or chocolate coins or even Lucky Charms cereal as bait) out of craft materials and recyclables. It’s fun and a great STEM challenge.
Photo courtesy of MDGovpics via a Creative Commons license.
This post was previously written by Erica Silverstein but has since been edited and updated.
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