5 Fun Ideas to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick’s Day seems to get bigger every year and is definitely growing in popularity as a holiday for kids. I’m not Irish, but any excuse for having fun with my family seems like a reason to celebrate. You certainly don’t have to be Irish to have fun with the color green, shamrock shapes, hunts for gold, or tricky Leprechauns.

Just like the Christmas Holiday Elf on the Shelf tradition, you can be really creative with the idea that leprechauns play tricks on kids. After all, they are tiny, green, greedy, and grumpy. Back when my daughter was in day care, her very clever teacher decided to have the kids decorate the room for St. Patrick’s Day. When they came back the next morning, the “Leprechaun” had played a trick on them and shrunken all of the decorations to a tiny size. A year later, on St. Patrick’s Day, the kids found the Leprechaun’s pants, coat and underwear in the sandbox. In first grade, my daughter’s class made “traps” or little houses to catch the Leprechaun. However, “he” was too clever and replaced all of their traps with green hats.

Last year, my daughter wrote a note to a Leprechaun and put it outside by the mailbox. She was thrilled when “he” answered her letter and left a gold, half dollar coin. Here are 5 more ideas to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the kids.

1. Bake Treats – I saw this recipe a few years ago for Lucky Green Velvet Cupcakes from the Picky Palate so my daughter and I had to try them. Honestly, these are some of the best tasting cupcakes I’ve ever had. So moist! We made them again this year for a party this weekend.

2. Search for Gold – FamilyFun.com has a St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt Game that looks like fun to play at home or in a classroom.

3. Dinner Talk - For some silly entertainment at St. Patrick’s Day dinner, download this Super-cute, Super-Fun FREE family conversation cards from the HappyHomeFairy.com.

4. Be Sneaky Good - Here is a St. Patrick’s Day family tradition idea I saw over at TipJunkie.com. What I love about it is that the kids get to be sneaky and tricky like a leprechaun, but all in the name of doing something nice for another person. Kids will love doing something nice for their siblings or classmates and seeing if they can guess who did it.

5. Footprints of Fun – Here's a fun idea from Gourmet Mom on the Go where she took a bite out of her kids’ lunch and then left green footprints walking away from the scene of the crime.

Still want more ideas? Check out these St. Patrick’s Day family fun ideas and recipes or check out my St. Patrick’s Day Board on Pinterest. Have fun!

Does your family celebrate St. Patrick's Day? What are some of your fun ideas?

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Sue Kirchner is a family fun coach, blogger, kids party planner, and weekly contributor to Patch.com. Sue and her family fun ideas have been featured on TV, newspapers, magazines, blogs, as well as her own family fun site ChocolateCakeMoments.com.