Can you believe St. Patrick’s Day is only a couple of weeks away? With the holiday rapidly approaching it may be time to start planning what you’re going to do to celebrate the Irish holiday. If you have kids then this may be a bit more problematic than other holidays. Most St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are based around adults and alcohol which makes finding a child friendly holiday event on a budget a bit of a needle in a haystack. Have no fear though as there is actually quite a bit you can do with your children to help them enjoy the holiday just as much as the adults. With these ten ideas you can put away your credit card and enjoy good quality family time this St. Paddy’s Day!
1. Check Out the Parade
Just as with all great holidays, the St. Patrick’s Day parade is an amazing experience for young and old. A lot of cities will host their own parade so this is something to look out for in your area. If you don’t live in a city hosting a parade see if one of your neighboring areas is doing so. It may be worth it to take a morning drive to see what the parade has in store for visitors. You may also consider looking around to see if there is any activity you can join that may put you and/or the kids in the parade. This will add extra magic to the experience and will give you something to do that makes the holiday stand out. A lot of scouts or other children’s programs may already have a spot in the parade, so make sure to keep up to date to see if this is something your children may qualify for. If there’s no parade in your area then try to find a parade on TV or stream one on the internet. It shouldn’t take a lot of browsing to run across one if not more parades that will keep the family entertained for an hour or two.
2. Make Green Clothes
You can’t go without green clothes on St. Patrick’s Day unless you want to spend the day running away from pinchers. Rather than going out and buying new clothes you can easily have some fun crafting your own green clothes. For starters, tie dye kits are a great way to have some fun with the kids and they’re incredibly inexpensive. However, if you don’t want to spend money on a kit then you can easily make up the dye on your own. Simply take some old shirts and have a blast making different designs! If you’re not sure how to go about tie dye designs there’s a lot of tutorials online that may be able to instruct you on how to make four leaf cloves designs. Another option is to use fabric paint to make your green clothes. This paint allows you to work on a variety of colored or white clothing so you have more options. Kids can paint on cloves, leprechauns, a pot of gold and cold coins amongst other design options. You can also use a series of household items as stamps for the clothing. For instance, if you slice a bell pepper in the middle it’ll create a fun clover design or you can use a slice of apple to create clover pedals.
3. Plant Clovers
Clovers are all over the place when you see St. Paddy’s Day décor, so why not plant some of your own? This is a great little project for most school aged kids and is pretty green too, so you’ll be able to have fun while doing the environment a favor. You’ll need to start out with a container to plant the clovers in. Jelly jars are always a great idea as are other glass or plastic items you may have in your recycling bin. If you don’t have any of these then simply cut a plastic water or soda bottle in half and use that. This is incredibly eco-friendly so you can give yourself a pat on the back for keeping Mother Nature healthy. If you want to make it more festive then head to your dollar store and buy mini flower pots, or see if they have holiday inspired pots. If you pick up the clay flower pots then these can be painted with festive designs which will make the project go even further. When you have your container ready fill it with soil from outside, or from a bag. Then, carefully root some clovers from outside and place them in the pot, or use clover seeds. Make sure to water regularly and place the clovers in the sun!
4. Green Foods
Usually kids aren’t too keen on green foods, but given it’s a holiday they may be on board! This is especially true when you transform some of their favorite snacks into green foods. For instance, turn your Rice Krispy Treats into a festive snack by adding a couple dabs of food coloring to the marshmallow mix. You may also consider adding the marshmallows from Lucky Charms to the mix to make it even more festive. You can do the same thing with sugar cookies. Once they’ve baked add green icing or holiday designs to the top. For beverages, try transforming apple cider into a delicious green treat. You can even make the cider at home to ensure it has less sugar. Green Jell-o is also a hit amongst kids and won’t take long to make! Of course, if you’re looking for healthier options then try green apples, celery, cucumber and broccoli with a dipping sauce. For a lunch time treat try whipping up a green pizza dough. Cover the pizza in cheese and then add basil leaves in the shape of clovers or bell pepper slices.
5. Pot of Gold Scavenger Hunt
Nothing keeps kids entertained quite like a scavenger hunt! While the kids are sleeping make them a list of clues that will lead them to a pot of gold. You can fill up the pot with a variety of candies, treats or even a couple of holiday inspired toys. Make sure to add chocolate gold coins to the pot too to make it feel more authentic. You may even consider using green foot prints to guide the children to the next clue, or let them know when they’re getting close. The kids will love looking for items and if you plan accordingly it could keep them busy for a couple of hours. If you have children of various age groups then you could create different hunts, or have the older children help out the younger children. This is a great activity for St. Patrick’s Day parties too, and will ensure kids have as much fun as the adults.
6. Share Celtic Fairy Tales
Although St. Patrick’s Day is about the saint who brought Christianity to Ireland, the holiday as become a giant celebration of everything Irish/Celtic. So, why not take this time to share some of the most memorable Celtic Fairy Tales with your children? You can choose the stories based on age group as some may seem frightening for younger children. However, there are stories that have been edited to suit any age group. If you don’t own any books on Celtic fairy tales then head over to your local library. They should have one if not more books on the topic. If you’re lucky they may even have a whole St. Patrick’s Day section which will make picking out a book a lot easier and more fun. If you don’t want to go to the library or can’t find what you’re looking for, there are many stories published online that you can print out and share with the family. Some of these stories have even been transformed into movies which may also add some fun to your evening.
7. Traditional Games
There’s a lot of games that we play today that derived from Irish games. For instance, baseball, bowling and chess have all been linked back to Ireland during the Middle Ages. So, you can connect with your roots and have the kids enjoy some of these activities. There’s also many other Irish games you can choose from. For instance, you can play a game of Corners which is a lot like Musical Chairs. You may also want to give the children a chance to try Hurling. Of course, you will have to base this game around the child’s age and strength, but it may bring a few hours of joy. If you don’t have a clue where to start, check online to see if there’s any ideas that strike your fancy.
8. Try River Dancing
This traditional Celtic dance is a lot of fun to watch, but is even more fun to try. Look around to see if there’s anyone in your community that offers lessons to get you and your family started. You may even see if you can find a Groupon or other social media deal to help with the price. If spending money on lessons is an issue then simply take to the internet. There’s a lot of great free streaming sources that will guide you through basic lessons. You can also watch videos of popular dances and try your luck with the steps. Although it may not be professional and it may not look great, the kids will have a blast simply trying. To make things even more fun try streaming Celtic music to dance to!
9. Fun Lessons
If you’re short on ideas then try transforming the holiday into a great learning experience for the kids. You can take the time to teach them about Ireland as a nation as well as their history and current affairs. You should also go into the meaning of the holiday so that children will understand why it is a day of celebration. Trivia games and flash cards are perfect methods for teaching the material, but you may also want to use some print outs. For instance, printing out a coloring page of the country could help children understand it better. Also, if you have traced your ancestry back to Ireland then this is a great time to talk about those relatives! This could be especially fun if you have pictures or other memorabilia for a show and tell!
10. Traditional Foods
Although green foods are a lot of fun, you may want to consider trying out a few traditional Irish recipes as a treat for the family. Look around online or in a cook book to see if there’s anything you’d be interested in making. If you choose a meal that offers smaller tasks then it makes a perfect learning experience for older kids. With the whole family working together in the kitchen, the holiday may bring even more meaning especially if you transform it into a family tradition. Once the meal is done have everyone sit down to try out the new dishes. You may find that the kids will be more open to try it if they helped you cook it. Not to mention, seeing parents try new things is a great step to help children follow suit. You may even want to share stories about what each of you learned during the day to help make the meal seem even more incredible.
St. Patrick’s Day doesn’t have to be all about pinching and drinking. If you’re celebrating with kids this year then these budget friendly ideas will ensure you have the best holiday yet. You may even decide that the green holiday is more than just a cultural celebration but a great stress free holiday for you and your kids to learn and try new things as a family!
