Does anyone else smell mischief in the air? Now that the holidays have passed, the Valentines have been exchanged, and we are fighting our way through the last throes of Winter (does March ever actually “go out like a lamb” as the saying goes?) we at What Moms Love have the distinct feeling that cabin fever naughtiness is brewing…it must be the impending arrival of St. Patrick’s Day!
In order to keep our own little leprechauns at bay, we’ve been spending our time collecting ingenious St. Paddy’s ideas from around the blogosphere. Whether you’re straight-off-the-boat or just Irish for the day, here are some ways to inject a little more luck into the 17th of March for you and your wee ones!
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FOOD THAT WILL MAKE YOUR KIDS DANCE A JIG
We know that the traditional Irish fare tends to be treat enough (hello, corned beef and soda bread speak to my soul!), but we have some St. Patrick’s themed meal ideas that will knock the wool socks off of your littles, while still making sure they get their fruits and veggies for the day.
Breakfast
(1) Say “Top o’ the mornin’!” to your kids by serving them Shamrock Fried Eggs (via Zestuous) nestled in a shamrock-shaped green pepper.
(2) Let them have a special treat of A Lucky Breakfast (via Thoughtfully Simple) with a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal and green milk (we suggest mixing yellow and blue natural food dyes like these ones).
(3) Or you could go all out to give your kids a lucky start to the day with a big St. Patrick’s-themed breakfast, complete with green pancakes and pot o’ gold eggs! (via Eighteen25)
Lunch
Since St. Paddy’s falls on a Friday this year, inject some magic into your child’s school day by packing them a special green lunch.
(1) We love this one from Little Passports (featuring out favorite Planetbox lunch box which we included in our Back to School Lunchbox Guide).
(2) Get plenty more great ideas for going green at Stuffed Suitcase…
(3) and lots of fun St. Paddy’s Bento Box creations (think Shamrocks, rainbows and leprechauns!) from Creative Food.
(4) To make it extra special, slip in some applesauce adorned with this adorable printable top from Nest of Posies.
(5) Or leave a leprechaun-inspired note for your kids to discover like these printable ones from Kiki Comin.
RELATED: Lunch Box Containers, Accessories & Tools To Take Your Kids’ School Lunch From Boring To Blast-Off!
Dinner
Keep the holiday spirit through dinner, and you’ll have your kids saying “Kiss me!” while serving them these festive plates including:
(1) These delightful Shamrock Pizzas from Blissfully Domestic
(2) Yummy Green Mac ‘n Cheese from Weelicious
(3) or Pesto Shamrock Tortellini from Meaningful Mama
Healthy Snacks
When your little mischief-makers come home from school famished, delight them with a snack that has nutritional leprechaun-power!
(1) Try making these adorable Cucumber Leprechaun Hats (via Creative Food)
(2) or a Green Hummus Dip with Irish Flag Veggies (via Home Is Where the Boat Is)
Your kids will feel like they’ve reached the pot of gold when you present them with these rainbow-themed fruit and veggie snacks:
(3) Veggie Rainbow (via Little Food Junction)
(4) Rainbow Fruit Parfait (via Thirty Handmade Days)
(5) Rainbow Fruit Kabobs with Yogurt Dip (via Dinner at the Zoo)
(6) No Sugar Rainbow Popsicles (via Eugenie Kitchen)
(7) Healthy Rainbow Fruit Tray (via Mama Papa Bubba)
On a day where so many snacks are normally artificially-colored green, you can make sure your snacks stay “pinch proof” while still being natural by sneaking in some green. We loved these St. Paddy’s Day takes on an old favorite:
(8) Tropical Green Smoothie featuring Pineapple, Banana and make-it-turn-green Spinach (via Fearless Homemaker)
(9) Spinach Cupcakes – replace the Irish Cream frosting with a dollop of whipped cream for the kiddos! (via Renee’s Kitchen Adventures)
(10) Copycat Shamrock Shake – a delicious Dairy Free, Vegan and Dye-Free alternative (via Petite Allergy Treats)
Special Treats
While we at What Moms Love love our fruits and veggies, we couldn’t resist keeping these beautiful treats from you (or your kids!). Your wee lassies and laddies will be delighted by these St. Patrick’s Day goodies that look at good as they taste:
(1) Mint Oreo Truffles (via Hoosier Homemade)
(2) Paddy’s Puppy Chow (via Gal on a Mission)
(3) Clover Rice Krispie Treats (via i heart nap time)
(4) Shamrock Bark (via Passion for Savings)
(5) Leprechaun Hat S’mores (via The Cake Blog)
(6) Shamrock Pretzel Pops (via Pretty Little Bakers)
(7) Lucky St. Patrick’s Day Rice Krispie Treats (via Classy Clutter)
(8) Rainbow Cupcakes (via Skip to my Lou)
(9) Rainbow Weather Snacks (via Kristen Duke Photography)
(10) And just try to contain the family’s excitement when you reveal a gorgeous Lucky Charmed Cake (via Alana Jones Mann) to add some vibrant color after finishing your stewed potatoes and cabbage dinner.
ACTIVITIES + TRICKS
Incorporate a wee bit of Mom magic through special St. Paddy’s activities and tricks.
Leprechaun Traps
Did you know that trapping a leprechaun was a thing? Maybe we aren’t the only ones who were unaware of this Irish folklore-based tradition for kids, but the ideas that we found for them couldn’t be sweeter.
If your child can trap those wily leprechauns (as they are, no doubt, running amuck on this day of all days!), they are said to either grant you three wishes or lead you to their gold. As they are some of the most clever creatures out there, they will oftentimes escape from even the best traps…but may leave some gold (or chocolate coins!) in their wake.
(1) How about a donut-inspired trap complete with miniature Cheerio “donuts” as bait?! (via What Will We Do Today)
(2) We love this creative Leprechaun Trap with free printable signs (via Sweet Metel Moments)
(3) This trap uses a simple glass or vase with a clever swinging trap door (via Martha Stewart), though we feel that the extra fancy “Martha” details are optional!
Leprechaun Treasure/Scavenger Hunt
Send your kids on their own leprechaun treasure hunt using these clever ideas:
(1) Have them follow a trail of shamrocks like this “You’ve been Shamrocked” treasure hunt from the Dating Divas
(2) Or send them off on a scavenger hunt like this one from Love Grows Wild with printable clues for them to solve and discover (with a special surprise waiting at the end!)
(3) Get your kids moving like a Leprechaun (get ready for high kicks and skips!) with this fun Exercise Treasure Hunt complete with printable treasure map, exercise cards and treasure box template (via The Dating Divas)
(4) Your kids can even see what treasure lies beneath the bottom of the rainbow by following a Rainbow Yarn Trail (via Oh Happy Day).
Leprechaun Photo Fun
Everyone likes a little photo fun; whether those sneaky leprechauns made their way into all of your beloved family photos (like this idea from Kiki Comin (1)) or by allowing your kids to “leprechaun themselves” with fun props like these from Kristen Duke Photography (2).
ARTS + CRAFTS
Be as crafty as a leprechaun (but not nearly as mischievous) by making some Irish masterpieces that (sham)rock!
Shamrock Inspired
Your kids will love these shamrock-inspired crafts:
(1) We love this incredible printable “adult” coloring page from Balancing Home
(2) Or have some leprechaun-style fun with items that you might already have around the house, like these Bell Pepper Shamrock Stamps (from Craftaholics Anonymous)
(3) …this Lucky Clover Patch (via Lisa Storms)
(4) …or this sparkly Lime Jello play dough (via Plain Vanilla Mom)
Over the Rainbow
Whether it be rain or shine, these rainbow crafts will make your Irish eyes smile big!
(1) We love these easy Rainbow Paper Plate Twirler and (2) 3D Over the Rainbow crafts, both by Crafty Morning
(3) Or let your kids create their own lucky treasures by making them a whole rainbow of colored play dough (via Tinker Lab)
(4) Who needs a pot of gold when you have this 3D Pipe Cleaner rainbow craft (via One Time Through)
(5) …or this adorable Loopy Rainbow (via One Artsy Mama) around your home!
Fun to Wear
Get into the spirit of the day (and avoid any pinching!) by making these crafty and fun wearables for your kids:
(1) Try your hand at this beautiful eraser-stamped shamrock t-shirt (via Cutesy Crafts)
(2) A rainbow pot of chain necklace (via Crafty Morning)
(3) these printable shamrock glasses (via Everyday Posh)
(4) or a Clover Leaf Lei (via Simple As That) that is perfect for any St. Paddy’s occasion
BOOKS
Brew up some St. Paddy’s Day excitement with our favorite books for the season:
For the wee ones, we love St. Patrick’s Day Touch and Feel (recommended ages 1-3) and A Fine St. Patrick’s Day (recommended ages 3-8) to give them a taste of the Irish season.
For our kindergarten through elementary school Irish laddies and lasses, we love:
- Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland (ages 4+)
- That’s What Leprechaun’s Do (ages 4-7)
- Fiona’s Luck (ages 4-8)
- O’Sullivan Stew (ages 4-10)
- The Leprechaun’s Gold (ages 4-10)
- How to Catch a Leprechaun (ages 4-10)
- Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk (ages 5+)
Late-elementary to middle school aged children will treasure the Magic Tree House: Leprechaun in Late Winter (from one of our favorite Chapter Book series) and its companion guide.
May the luck o’ the Irish be with you and your families this March 17th… now we’re off to brainstorm how to catch those clever leprechauns!
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These are so cute.
St Patricks day is my birthday! I must try a few of these ideas with my grandkids. Then on to some adult St Patricks day celebrations with my favorite beverage, the Shamrock
I’m so ready for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations! Thanks for all the great ideas!
Amazing job rounding all these up! So stinkin’ cute….I love the Leprechaun traps! lol I may have to hide those all over the house 🙂
These are great ideas for St. Patrick’s Day! Thank you for sharing this fabulous round up.
We have done some of these things but certainly not all of them. Now to choose which new ones to try.
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These are all really great ideas for St Patrick’s Day! So many fun things that I can do with the little man, I’m pinning this!
LOVE that lucky charm cake! So doing these activities too! First year for some green fun for my kiddos!
My family has a big “Green Dinner” every year in March to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, where everyone has to bring a green food to go along with our corned beef. Thanks for sharing so much inspiration for me this year!
So many great ideas! I will start with the treats of course. Yum
I never realized there were so many St Patricks Day things to do!
Wow! Talk about the ultimate Saint Patty’s round up! Everything is so cute!
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what a fab round up! i’m loving all the fun food and rainbows !
Wow, TONS of great ideas! I love all the rainbow colors and fresh fruit–I am SO ready for spring. That Lucky Charms covered cake is adorable; I know my girls would love it! Thanks for sharing : )
So many cute ideas! I love st patricks day!
These are such adorable ideas! I love the leoprechan photo fun
The green hard boiled eggs make me smile. Such a fun list!
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