If you need inspiration for some fun, festive, and family-friendly activities to do with your little leprechauns on St. Patrick’s Day, we’ve got you covered. From creating festive bites in the kitchen to searching for some holiday magic in your own backyard and beyond, we’ve got plenty of ideas to make this St. Patrick’s Day absolutely sham-rockin’. Are you ready to get your green on?

Pick out your greenest outfit and wear it all day long

If there’s one day of the year to make sure you’re wearing green, St. Patrick’s Day is that day! Show your holiday spirit by decking yourself out from head to toe in all of the green gear you can find.

Set up a leprechaun trap

One of the time-honored traditions for children on St. Patrick’s Day is setting up leprechaun traps! This awesome activity will keep your little ones busy and enthused for hours on end as they’re driven by their motivation to catch their very own leprechaun. You can use whatever items you have around the house in the creation of your traps, but the important materials you will need include:

  • construction paper or poster board for the base of the trap
  • pipe cleaners or popsicle sticks to construct a leprechaun-friendly ladder
  • bait for the leprechaun – chocolate gold coins work the best!
  • decorations for some added flair (stickers, glitter, etc.)

Check out this post by Better Homes & Gardens for some awesome ideas to get you inspired! And don’t be afraid to take some creative liberties. After the traps are complete, make sure your little ones keep an eye on them, or any captured leprechaun might just escape.

Make Irish potatoes

For a sweet snack that’s easy to make and perfectly themed for St. Patrick’s Day, Irish potatoes are a no-brainer. These timeless, tasty treats are quick and simple to make and are even quicker to get gobbled up. To make Irish potatoes, all you’ll need is butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, coconut, vanilla, and cinnamon – that’s it! Check out this full recipe with step-by-step instructions on BakedBree, gather your ingredients, and get ready to chef it up, Irish style.

Plan a scavenger hunt

A backyard scavenger hunt is a perfect activity to get outdoors on St. Patrick’s Day. With any luck, spring will have sprung, and the weather will be warm enough to actually get outside and, more importantly, not be freezing your green-clad butt off. If you don’t have the yard to host a scavenger, a local park or any large area with good hiding places will work just fine. Hide festive things around your space and have your little ones hunt for them! Holiday-themed essentials to add to your hunt include gold coins, four-leaf clovers, and green candies. Once the hunt is complete, reward participants with a huge pot of gold coins!

Get creative with some festive crafts

Let your creativity shine and get into the holiday spirit with some St. Patrick’s Day-themed crafty activities. Here are just a few fun ideas to get your little ones excited to celebrate the holiday:

  • Pot of Gold: All you’ll need is a mini black pot or cauldron and your favorite chocolate gold coins (or any other gold-wrapped candies), and you’ve got yourself a mini pot of gold! Decorate it with glitter, shamrocks, or a rainbow for some added flair.
  • Leprechaun Hat: Making a leprechaun hat is so simple and will make your little ones feel like leprechauns themselves when they try theirs on! Check out this link for step-by-step instructions and you’ll be doing a jig in your leprechaun hat in no time.
  • Shamrock Planter: Put your green thumb to the test and bring festive foliage indoors this St. Patrick’s Day! Take some shamrocks in from outside and rehome them in your very own planter so you can watch them grow. Who knows, you might just end up sprouting a four-leaf clover.

Blend up some minty green milkshakes

Satisfy your sweet tooth on St. Patrick’s Day with a homemade minty green milkshake! The only ingredients you’ll need to create your festive milkshake are vanilla ice cream, milk, mint extract, green food coloring, and any preferred optional add-ons including chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and green sprinkles or sugar. Check out this post on AllRecipes for step-by-step instructions and get ready to sip on this refreshingly cool treat.

Bake shamrock-shaped cookies

If you’re going to be baking cookies on St. Patrick’s Day, it would be a missed opportunity not to make them shamrock-shaped, right? Maybe it’s all the angles and perfectly bite-sized spots to munch, but we’re pretty sure that shamrock-shaped cookies just taste better. Check out the recipe with step-by-step instructions on If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen. Let your Irish spirit shine through when you whip up a batch of these sweet and sugary shamrocks!

Feeling inspired? Make some of these activities a new holiday tradition with your family this year and you’re sure to be feeling the Irish spirit in no time.