St. Patrick’s Day is often treated like New Year’s Eve – an adults-only celebration with booze and big crowds. But these St. Patrick’s Day ideas for kids changes the game. Between the delicious green food and shamrock scavenger hunt, the pinch-me holiday becomes the perfect opportunity for much-needed family time.
St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast: Green Eggs & Bacon
Start the festivities at the top o’ the morning. This Irish breakfast features bacon, waffles and shamrock-shaped eggs:
- Slice a green pepper in half horizontally and remove the seeds. These pieces will be your “shamrock egg-mold.”
- Place green pepper halves onto a hot, buttered skillet.
- Crack eggs and pour inside green pepper halves (one egg per half).
- Fry them up, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, Celtic sea salt and pepper.
- Serve your eggs with bacon and rainbow-sprinkled protein waffles.
St. Patrick’s Day Activity #1: Shamrock Scavenger Hunt
Put that breakfast to good use with a brain-teasing scavenger hunt that leads participants to a treasure chest of goodies:
- Use green construction paper to cut out several shamrocks.
- Write an Irish-themed riddle on each shamrock that leads participants to the end.
- Hide them throughout the house and yard (weather-permitting).
- Grab an old jewelry box (or something of the like) and pack it with St. Paddy’s Day fare (cracklers, green glasses, chocolate coins, candies, etc.) or other trinkets the kids will like.
St. Patrick’s Day Activity #2: Race to the Pot of Gold
Give everyone another chance to try their luck in this race to the pot of gold.
- Pull out pieces of construction paper, using all colors of the rainbow.
- Use the pieces of paper to lay out steps from the starting line to your pot of gold.
- Create your “pot of gold” with an actual pot (or one from the craft store) and filling it with gold coin chocolates – or any candy you prefer.
- Write out a different action for each page (10 jumping-jacks, spin in a circle 3 times, jump up and down 5 times, do your best impression of a leprechaun, tell a story about a leprechaun, etc.) with a “go back to start” mixed in there every so often.
- Grab a pair of dice and roll to count how many “steps” you take. Whoever gets to the pot of gold first, wins!
St. Patrick’s Day Lunch: Spinach Hummus & Rainbow Skewers
All that running around will surely get stomachs growling. Go for this green-themed lunch.
- Serve up spinach hummus with a variety of dippers, including kale crackers, carrots and celery.
- For a sweet side dish, slice up a variety of colorful fruits. Think strawberries, raspberries, oranges, cantaloupes, bananas, pineapple, kiwi, blueberries and grapes.
- On a wooden skewer, add one piece of each color fruit in order of the rainbow (ROY G. BIV). Repeat to make enough skewers for everyone.
- Optional: Dip the rainbow fruit skewers into, “clouds” of whipped coconut cream.
St. Patrick’s Day Craft: Shamrock Slime
After lunch, whip up this all-natural, glue-free shamrock slime to keep those little hands busy (and out of trouble!):
- You’ll need psyllium husk powder, water and natural food coloring, plus enough bowls and spoons for everyone.
- Get the full slime recipe here and watch the video for step-by-step instructions.
Note: Be sure to store your shamrock slime in a sealed container and keep away from smaller children that may try to nibble on it.
St. Patrick’s Day Drink Recipe: Leprechaun Float
Wind down the day with an Irish fable (made up or recounted), while everyone sips on a leprechaun float. To make the float:
- Scoop either vanilla or lime sherbet into drinking mason jars.
- Pour lime-flavored sparkling water over sherbet.
- Place green-striped mason jar straws into each beverage.
- Recount your Irish fable with flair and in the best Irish accent you can manage.
Don’t forget to invite friends and neighbors to enjoy all these great St. Patrick’s Day ideas and recipes. You’ll feel lucky to know such great people – cheers to that!