You don’t need an elaborate leprechaun trap or an entire house covered in shamrocks to make St. Patrick’s Day fun for kids. A silly surprise at breakfast, a quick game, and a little hunt for gold can make March 17 feel special.
Start with two or three ideas that fit your family’s time and your kids’ ages. There are treats, crafts, games, and leprechaun surprises below, including several you can put together with things you already have at home.
Start the Morning With a St. Patrick’s Day Surprise
1. Leave a little pot of gold
This was one of my favorite ways to surprise the kids: fill a small pot, bowl, or green gift bag with treats and a note from a mischievous leprechaun. Gold-wrapped chocolates look the part, but you can add a favorite snack, stickers, or a small toy instead. Set it on the breakfast table for them to discover.
For another giftable version, see these St. Patrick’s Day gift basket ideas.
2. Make green pancakes
Add a little green food coloring to your usual pancake batter, or keep the pancakes plain and top them with green fruit. For a more playful breakfast, Crafty Morning’s lucky pancakes use whipped topping and cereal marshmallows.
Quick version: Serve regular pancakes with kiwi slices and a few rainbow sprinkles. The breakfast still feels festive without changing your batter.
3. Serve a rainbow fruit plate
Arrange strawberries, orange slices, pineapple, green grapes, blueberries, and purple grapes in colorful rows. Put a small bowl of yogurt at one end as the “cloud.” Kids can help sort the fruit by color before everyone digs in.
Cut fruit into age-appropriate pieces for younger children.
4. Hide a breakfast note
Tuck a note under a plate or beside a cereal bowl that says, “Follow the rainbow!” Then leave two or three clues leading to a small surprise. A sticker sheet or permission to pick the family movie is plenty of treasure.
5. Let everyone choose something green to wear
Make it easy: a shirt, hair bow, socks, bracelet, or even a paper shamrock pinned to a backpack counts. Take a quick family photo before the day gets busy.
Play St. Patrick’s Day Games at Home
6. Go on a gold coin hunt
Hide paper gold coins around one room and give each child a little cup to collect them. For toddlers and preschoolers, leave the coins partly visible. For older kids, add clues or a time limit.
Paper coins are an easy choice for little kids. If you use small toys or wrapped candy, choose pieces appropriate for each child’s age.
7. Try a rainbow scavenger hunt
Ask the kids to find one safe household item for every color of the rainbow. They might spot a red book, an orange toy, or a blue sock. Give everyone a basket, or work together as one team.
Make it harder: Find something green that starts with the letter S, something yellow you can wear, or something purple in the kitchen.
8. Play St. Patrick’s Day Would You Rather
This is an easy game for the car, dinner table, or a classroom party. Ask: “Would you rather find a pot of gold or slide down a rainbow?” Then let everyone defend their answer. You can grab more questions and a printable in my St. Patrick’s Day Would You Rather game.
9. Play Post-a-Leprechaun
Give pairs of players green sticky notes and set a one-minute timer. One teammate tries to stick as many notes as possible onto the other person’s clothes before time runs out. Switch roles for round two. The full instructions are in my Post-a-Leprechaun game.
10. Set up a pot-of-gold toss
Place a bowl or bucket a short distance away and give kids soft beanbags, rolled-up yellow socks, or crumpled paper “gold.” Take turns trying to land the gold in the pot. Move the pot farther away for older players.
11. Have a shamrock dance freeze
Play upbeat music and let the kids dance. Pause it without warning: everyone freezes like a shamrock statue. Nobody needs to be eliminated; just restart the music and see what funny poses happen next.
Make Something Together
12. Create paper shamrock decorations
Cut three green paper hearts and glue their points together to form a shamrock. Add a paper stem, then hang the finished shamrocks on a door or window. Younger kids can decorate pre-cut shapes with crayons or stickers.
13. Make a rainbow paper chain
Cut strips of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple paper. Loop and glue or tape the strips into a chain. Hang it over the breakfast table or use it to mark the finish line for your gold coin hunt.
14. Build a leprechaun hideout
Give kids a small cardboard box, blocks, paper, and tape. Let them design a cozy leprechaun hideout with a door, a tiny bed, or a paper rainbow. The fun is in inventing the story, whether or not a “visitor” ever appears.
15. Write kindness coins
Cut circles from yellow paper. On each one, write a small kind act: “Help set the table,” “Give someone a compliment,” or “Invite someone to play.” Let each child pick one from the pot. It gives your gold hunt a sweet second purpose.
Add a Little Leprechaun Mischief
16. Leave tiny footprints
Cut little footprints from green paper and tape a short trail from the breakfast table to the pot of gold. A few footprints are enough to spark a story; you don’t have to decorate the whole house.
17. Make a funny leprechaun note
Leave a note that says, “I came for the gold, but your snacks looked better. —The Leprechaun.” Add a harmless clue to where you hid a treat. For more playful ideas, browse my sneaky leprechaun surprises.
18. Try a silly treat surprise
A leprechaun visit can be as simple as putting a festive treat where the kids don’t expect it. My leprechaun boogers ideauses green cotton candy and leans fully into the kind of gross-out humor many kids love.
Keep glitter and other craft materials away from food and drinks. Paper clues and washable decorations make cleanup much easier.
Finish With a Rainbow Treat
19. Make rainbow candy favors
For a party or school celebration, Our Best Bites’ St. Patrick’s Day rainbow treats turn colorful candy into little take-home surprises. They’re especially fun when kids help assemble the bags.
20. Create a build-your-own rainbow snack
Set out a few colorful foods and let kids build their own rainbow on a plate. Use fruit, cereal, or whatever you already have. You can put a small bowl of vanilla yogurt or whipped topping at the end for a cloud.
An Easy St. Patrick’s Day Plan for Busy Families
If you only have a little time, try this:
- Morning: Leave a small pot of gold and serve a green or rainbow breakfast.
- Afternoon: Play one game, such as a coin hunt or Would You Rather.
- Evening: Let the kids make a paper shamrock or build a rainbow snack.
That’s a full day of memories without a full day of prep. Pick the ideas that sound fun for your kids and skip the rest.
St. Patrick’s Day Activities for Kids: Common Questions
What are easy St. Patrick’s Day activities for toddlers?
Try a rainbow fruit plate, a dance freeze game, or a paper shamrock craft with shapes you cut in advance. A gold coin hunt also works if you use large paper coins and hide them in easy-to-see spots.
What can I do for St. Patrick’s Day without spending money?
Use paper you already have for shamrocks, clues, and gold coins. Play Would You Rather, search the house for rainbow colors, or have a dance freeze game. The leprechaun’s “treasure” can be choosing a family activity instead of getting a new toy.
What are good St. Patrick’s Day games for a group?
The pot-of-gold toss, rainbow scavenger hunt, Post-a-Leprechaun, and Would You Rather are simple to adapt for a family gathering or classroom party. Set up stations if you have several children playing at once.
Do I need to do a leprechaun visit?
Nope! Some kids love the pretend mischief; others would rather make crafts and play games. You can celebrate with green pancakes and a family game and call it a wonderful day.
Make the Day Your Own
St. Patrick’s Day can be as small as a green pancake or as lively as a house full of treasure hunters. Choose one surprise, one activity, and one treat. Then enjoy the part your kids will probably remember most: laughing and playing together.
For more March inspiration, explore the St. Patrick’s Day ideas on Get Your Holiday On.
