Fun and Affordable Ideas to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Kids
On March 12, 2021 by Megan FolsomGrowing up, we never missed a year of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in my family. A lot of this had to do with the fact that my little brother’s birthday is March 17th, so we always knew what day it was!
St. Patrick’s Day is one of those very low-key, no-stress holidays that we can just enjoy together. We don’t worry about gifts and coordinating large family gatherings. We can just sit back, pick a few fun things to do together and enjoy a fun day different from our same old, daily routine.
Kids find joy in the smallest thing and families thrive with traditions. Pick out a few age appropriate ones for your family and try them out! Most of the props or crafts needed can also be found at the dollar store or Walmart for hardly any money.
Fun St. Patrick’s Day Ideas on a Budget
1. Serve a green-themed breakfast.
So many different foods can be made for breakfast that are already green or can easily be made green. A classic would be green eggs and ham. You could also make green pancakes, green juice, use green veggies, serve Lucky Charms with green milk, etc.
2. Leprechaun Hats
There are plenty of different templates, patterns and ideas to follow depending on how crafty you want to get. Here’s one fairly simple idea that can be made even more simply for younger kids, but there are tons of other ideas on Pinterest. In other words, you can pick something as complicated or as simple as you’d like, or you can even just make it a coloring activity for littles.
3. Green Clothes
This one is a pretty classic tradition originating from Ireland itself. Everyone knows that if you don’t wear green, you’re at risk of being pinched – especially if you’re a kid at school!
4. Leprechaun Traps
Create and set leprechaun traps with your kids. This is another craft that can be as simple or as elaborate as you’d like. It’s kind of like a one-day version of Elf on the Shelf… kind of. I would say it’s much less stressful than a month-long Christmas tradition, though.
If you want to go all in, you can have the leprechaun leave things behind like green pee in the toilet and green footprints around the house.
5. Gold Coin Hunt
Host a gold coin hunt at home or outside. Think Easter-egg hunt, but with plastic gold coins from the dollar store or the gold coin chocolates. You can do this with just your kids, make it a fun activity with grandparents and cousins, or invite some neighbor kids and friends to join.
6. Pot O’ Gold Toss
Play a fun game of Pot o’ Gold Coin Toss with all of those gold coins from your gold coin hunt! You can use regular baskets, or gold pots in holiday decor sections of stores. You could also spray paint an Easter basket or Halloween candy bucket black.
7. Green Drinks
Make festive drinks like green smoothies or green-tinted Sprite to serve at meals or while doing crafts. You could also put a little bit of green dye in milk, or buy the green Hawaiian Punch.
8. Plant Shamrocks
Help your kids plant these (unofficial) flowers of Ireland in your home. You can keep them in pots as houseplants or you could even plant some out in your yard.
9. St. Patrick and Irish History
Read books with your kids and teach them about St. Patrick and Irish History. Learn about why it became a holiday and how the Irish celebrate it in Ireland. You can teach them about the symbolism behind their traditions and why it’s an important day.
10. Shamrock Shakes
Starting on March 15th each year, McDonald’s offers Shamrock shakes and Oreo Shamrock McFlurry’s. Take your kids to grab a fun, St. Patrick’s day treat after school!
11. Traditional Irish Dinner
Make a traditional Irish meal for dinner. You can look up recipes for corned beef, cabbage, rye bread, etc. and help your family experience a bit of another culture.
12. Cookie Decorating
Grab an inexpensive set of festive cookie cutters and make some cookies with your kids. Frost and decorate them together.
Keep an eye out for a fun Easter post, too! If you have a toddler or older kids, check out these fun “field trip” ideas to keep them busy!
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