St. Patrick’s Day Games & Fun Ideas
By TMoM Team Member Sydney D. Richardson, Ph. D.
Be sure to wear green because St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner! What I love most about this day is that the kids can learn some fun facts about the actual St. Patrick, and I get to disguise the learning through crafts and games. Between my teacher friends, good ole’ Google, and Pinterest, I never run out of ideas for this holiday. So, if you’re looking for fun things to do on St. Patrick’s Day (aka St. Patty’s Day), consider the ideas below. Be sure to play traditional Irish music to set the scene.
Scavenger Hunt St. Patty’s style: This scavenger hunt is really simple to put together and fun for the kids. Take five index cards (you can add more if you’d like) and write the name of an object on each card that the kids have to find. Some ideas are:
- A four leaf clover (make this out of green paper and hide somewhere
- Leprechaun charms (I use a bag of Lucky Charms Cereal)
- A potato or bag of potato chips
- A top hat (cut out of construction paper and hidden somewhere)
- A pot of gold (bag of gold wrapped chocolate).
Each child gets a set of 5 index cards and they have to find each item around the house, or in the yard. After they find everything, meet them in a common area and tell them the significance of each item that they found.
Candy Rainbow- If your family’s into art, consider making a candy rainbow. Grab some Skittles or M&M’s, glue, and marshmallows (symbolizing the clouds) and create rainbows on construction paper!
Make dinner– Have the kids help a make a traditional St. Patrick’s Day dinner of corn beef and cabbage, shepherd’s pie, or Irish Stew!
Gold Hunt- Similar to the Easter Egg Hunt, place gold coins (I use gold covered candy) around the house or outside. Give the children a basket and start the timer. Have the kids hunt for the gold in a certain amount of time. Let them count how many “coins” they find and enjoy some candy.
Shamrock hands– Grab some construction paper and green paint. Paint their hands green and have the children finger paint (or hand paint) a shamrock.
Eat green/drink green- If your kiddos don’t like vegetables, St. Patrick’s Day is a great day to trick them into eating them. The rules are simple: whoever eats the most green foods/drinks gets a prize! You set the start and end time, along with the prize. If you have a competitive spirit in the house, this is a great game to play. You can even throw in green cupcakes for a treat.
As you’re doing the various crafts with your children, be sure to tell them about St. Patrick’s Day (the holiday and the person), the significance of different items (like potatoes), along with how and why the holiday is celebrated with National Geographic Kids and History- St. Patrick’s Day Facts.
For more ideas to celebrate this holiday, visit this blog “50 Ways to Have Fun this St. Patrick’s Day“.
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