As we enter the month of March, the world happily welcomes all things green as winter begins to thaw into spring and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations begin! If your little ones are like mine, knowing that it’s March means all they can think about is the magic of leprechauns, delicious chocolate treasures, and spotting shamrocks as they start popping up everywhere.
There’s no shortage of fun when it comes to St Patrick’s Day, so whether you’re Irish or just Irish at heart, why not celebrate this lucky holiday all month long. To help you in the planning of your celebrations, I’ve rounded up 31 fun and educational ways to celebrate with your family!
1. Learn About St. Patrick’s Day
Fill the day with fun AND learning about the holiday itself. Did you know St Patrick wasn’t actually from Ireland or that though most associate a 4-leaf clover with St Pat when he used a 3-leaf clover? What fun facts can you learn about this holiday? Read more here!
Nothing says St. Patrick’s day like all things rainbows, and this is the perfect time to create a walking rainbow! Walking rainbows is a fun science experiment with just a few simple supplies that is sure to wow your little leprechauns!
3. Grab Some Irish Food Locally
I love any excuse to enjoy delicious themed food. Around Fishers, we’re so lucky to have many restaurants that serve Irish-American food! Two of our family’s favorites include Chatham Tap– Fish and Chips and Detour Grille – Reuben.
4. ShamRock Hunt
I love the recent trend of creating variations of the classic Easter egg hunt on other holidays. This year add a shamrock rock hunt to that trend. Gather rocks, paint a shamrock onto the rocks and hide them around your yard or local park. Then let the hunting fun begin!
5. Learn about Leprechauns
A quick google search will tell you a leprechaun is classified as a type of fairy and typically described as “a solitary and mischievous tiny old man with a pot at the end of a rainbow.” But did you know there’s more to the legend? Learn about this mythical creature with The Story Of The Leprechaun virtual storytime.
The leprechaun legend says if you catch a leprechaun, he MUST take you to his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Add a little STEM into the holiday while keeping the magical legend alive by building a leprechaun trap. These traps are easy and so fun to make with items found around your house. They can be as simple or intricate as you want; the options are limitless!! We love using “gold” (pieces of yellow paper or painted rocks) and rainbows to entice our local leprechaun to pay a visit.
7. Themed Scavenger Hunts
A perfect for indoor or outdoor set up a scavenger or treasure hunt. Here are a few favorites for all ages! Rainbow gross motor scavenger hunt, St Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt, leprechaun treasure hunt, and brain teaser scavenger hunt.
8. Take A Virtual Tour Of Ireland
If the leprechaun has sprinkled you with dreams of traveling to Ireland, check out these 33 virtual tours of Ireland!
9. Mini Celtic Maze
March is full of gorgeous spring days, so head outside and create a nature Celtic maze! If you’re not familiar with Celtic mazes, they’re are made of spiral designs that can be as simple as a snail pattern or as complex as a Celtic knot. Make your own mini Celtic maze, collect nature items like rocks, leaves, or sticks, then create your design. If it happens to be one of March’s less than gorgeous days, stay inside and get creative using household items or pull out art supplies and see how creative you can get! Need a little inspiration? Check out these Celtic mazes!
10. Read Irish Stories
Cozy up with a good book about Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day. A few of our favorites include Fiona’s Luck, St. Patrick’s Day, Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato, Ireland (Follow Me Around), and Let’s Learn About Ireland!
11. Lucky Charms Marshmallow Bars
Lucky Charms Bars are some of my kids’ favorite St Patty’s day treats to make! This easy 4-ingredient recipe is perfect for an afternoon treat for leprechauns of all ages.
12. ShamROCK
Create a playlist for the month consisting of traditional Celtic music from Irland with a good mix of modern Irish bands.
13. Have A Costume Contest
Wearing green is a must on St. Patrick’s Day, but why not take the day’s festive wear up a notch with an old fashion costume contest! Using leprechaun hats, party beads, and shamrocks galore, dress up and see who has the most festively creative outfit.
14. Rainbow Crafts
We love doing ALL the rainbow crafts throughout the month. Rainbow paper plate twirlers, 3D over the rainbow, and handprint rainbows are among our favorites. Is it even St Patrick’s day without Fruit Loop rainbow crafts? Not in our house! This cereal serves as a duel purpose, snack while crafting! A favorite each year in our house is using Fruit Loops to make rainbow necklaces and sorting the loops into colors, then gluing onto a paper to form a rainbow. A bonus, all these rainbow crafts add extra cheerfulness around the house.
15. Gold Coin Toss
Using a few Leprechaun pots, have players attempt to toss gold coins into leprechaun cauldrons. Score a point for each time a player’s coin successfully lands inside. The player with the most points wins.
16. Plant Shamrocks
A perfect way to celebrate the day of luck is to plant shamrocks! These lucky tiny plants are the perfect treat that will cultivate responsibility and build self-confidence in your little ones as they love and care for the plants.
17. Green Collage
With cardboard or construction paper in hand, head outside to take a walk. Look for green items to tape onto the collage. A fun twist on this mixed media art project is to make a rainbow collage finding things for each color of the rainbow. If the weather is less than ideal, create the collage inside! Instead of securing the items to cardboard, see how creative you can get.
18. Taste The Rainbow
A skittles rainbow is a simple experiment about the power of dissolving and color mixing! Using skittles and a pan, organize the candies around the plate in any pattern you’d like. Since it’s the month of rainbows, we love making ours in a “rainbow pattern.” Add warm water to the center of the plate, then sit back and watch as the colors slowly travel from the skittles toward the center of the pan. After the colors form a rainbow, shake the pan and watch as the colors mix, then slowly separate once more. This activity makes for fun hypnosis creating as to why the colors separate. If your kids are like mine, they like to finish this experiment by “tasting” the rainbow and swear the flavor has changed.
19. Lucky Traditions
Finding a 4-leaf shamrock is one of the most popular signs of luck. But there are so many more lucky traditions from Irland as well as around the world!! Have fun as a family researching good luck traditions from around the world, or if you want to read a quick list, check this out!
20. Learn Irish phrases
On a day where everyone is Irish, why not learn a few common Gaelic slang and phrases! A few include sláinte (health; pronounced slaan-sha), craic (fun or enjoyment; pronounced crack), erin go bragh (Ireland forever), Go raibh maith agat (thank you; pronounced guh ruh mah a-gut), and Failte (Welcome; pronounced fawl-cha).
21. Bake ALL the Green Treats
By adding green food coloring to any treat, it’s instantly St Patty’s day perfection, right? Need inspiration? Check out these delicious green treats!
23. Creative Mischief
Everyone knows those sneaky little leprechauns can be so mischievous, just like their Christmas counterparts. Using green washable paint (or flour), make small footprints around your house (inside or out)! Or maybe the leprechauns had a little fun and gave your memorable family photos a makeover! Decorate pictures in your home with leprechaun hats and shamrocks.
24. Leprechaun Lookers
Securing two toilet paper rolls together, decorate, and attach a string. These leprechaun lookers are a fun accessory for going on a walk around the house, neighborhood, or even as part of a leprechaun hike!
25. Shamrock Shuffle
Shamrock cutouts are perfect for gross motor activities. Set the shamrocks up as a balance beam or use them as part of an obstacle course. Floor is lava is with shamrocks is a fun twist on the classic game. Another great use is to label the shamrocks with moves to complete (jumping jacks, run in place, hop on one foot), then roll a dice to see how many times to complete the task. The possibilities are endless!
26. Freeze Jig
Play traditional Irish music while the kids dance along. Pause the music randomly. When the music pauses, the kids must freeze in place; the last player to freeze is out of the game, play until only one player remains.
27. Handprint Clover
For this memory-making craft, cover the child’s hands with paint. Then press their hands onto the paper and repeat one more time. Outline the handprints in the shape of a clover and add a stem.
28. Parade Your Irish Spirit
Since this St Pat’s day is slightly different from years past, watch a virtual parade or create a family parade. Have each member dress up and create a flag, then march around the house or neighborhood. Either option is a fun way to bring cheer on this lucky day!
29. Drink Green Drinks
Keeping in the theme of all things green, why not add some green to your favorite beverage! Most adults love green beer on this holiday, but there are also some delicious kid-friendly alternatives. Here are a few of our family’s favorites for your celebration! Add green food coloring to ginger ale or sprite. Try adding a pinch of good luck to a traditional root beer float with green ice cream. Also, who doesn’t love a McDonalds’ Shamrock Shake on St Patrick’s day? If you’re looking for a delicious and healthy alternative, try a green smoothie!
30. Leprechaun Dough
A quick and easy 3 – ingredient activity that is a crowd favorite in our house. Mix 2 cups flour to ½ cup oil (vegetable or baby oil) and green food coloring. Add small toys, sand toys, cookie cutters, or just instruments from the kitchen. The play options are limitless!
31. Magic Milk
You, too, can be magical like leprechauns with this fun experiment! Pour milk into a flat bottom dish, then drop in varying amounts (and colors) of food coloring. Then use a cotton swab dipped into dish soap and gently touch the swab to the surface of the milk and watch the magic happen! For added fun, throw in some glitter!
One of the best parts of a holiday is the opportunity to learn about and participate in all the unique and fun celebrations that are different than those you might typically do. How does your family celebrate St. Patrick’s day? Share all your month of lucky fun on social media using the hashtag #AroundFishers.
