It’s time for some good ol’ Irish shenanigans – St. Patrick’s Day is this Sunday! While this holiday is traditionally known for wearing lots of green and us parents indulging in a few extra libations, it’s also great fun for kids of all ages.
Here’s a little bit more on the history of St. Patrick’s Day, and St. Patrick himself, via the History Channel:
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated annually on March 17, the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast–on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.
Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people.
In the centuries following Patrick’s death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.
Super Duper 4-Kid Dome Tent
Come one! Come all! There’s room for everyone in our Super Duper 4 Kid Dome Tent! Made of high quality Polyester Taffeta and constructed around safety-coated poles to prevent splintering or shattering, this durable tent stands at 58″ x 58″ x 46″ to accommodate both children and adults alike, whether you play inside or outside. The Super Duper 4 Kid Dome Tent features a waterproof floor for easy clean-up, color coded poles and reinforced pole pockets for fast assembly, and double stitched seams along stress points for reinforcement.
This tent also includes No-See-Um Mesh to allow for ventilation while keeping bugs at bay, and two tunnel ports with roll-up flaps and hook and loop fasteners that can be connected to your favorite Pacific Play Tents tunnels. Once playtime is over, simply tuck the tent into its sturdy carry bag for convenient travel and storage. Everyone is sure to feel welcome in the Super Duper 4 Kids Dome Tent!
DIY St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Necklaces
If you’re ready to rock the luck of the Irish around your neck, keep reading for this super easy and fun St. Patrick’s Day DIY!
What You Need
- This printable
- Green paper
- Scissors
- Pasta (We used rigatoni, but you can use anything that is similarly hollow)
- Green paint
- Green string
- Hole punch
How You Make It
- Use the printable to print the shamrock shapes onto green paper. You can also print them onto regular, white paper and color them in. It’s up to you!
- Cut out the shapes from the paper
- Punch holes near the top
- Grab your uncooked noodles and paint them green
- Once they are dry, take the string and feed the shamrocks and noodles through, spacing out one or two noodles between each shamrock.
- Once your string is filled up, tie off the end and wear as a necklace!
More St. Patrick’s Day Fun!
If you’re looking for some more good ol’ fashioned Irish craic this St. Patrick’s Day, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite kid-friendly games and activities. The fun doesn’t stop here, though – take a look at this blog from last year for even more fun and games!
Catch the Lucky Charms
In this game, you will need some Lucky Charms cereal and two bottles. Fill up one bottle with Lucky Charms, and keep the other one empty. When the clock starts, they will have to try to get all the Lucky Charms from one bottle to the other in one minute. If they succeed, they get a prize. If not, it’s someone else’s turn!
You can also play this game head-to-head style without a clock. Whoever is first to get all the Lucky Charms into the other bottle wins, and the winner plays against another person.
Who’s the Leprechaun?
We found this awesome game via The Spruce. To play, choose one child to be “it” and send her out of the room. The rest of the kids choose one of them to be the leprechaun. Play some Celtic tunes and have the kids start dancing. The leprechaun chooses an Irish dance move and all the other players have to follow along and do the same move.
Bring the “it” player back to the room. She will observe the dancing and try to guess which player is the leprechaun. While she is observing, the leprechaun should randomly change the dance moves. It is up to the other kids keep an eye on the leprechaun and quickly change their dance moves as he does without letting on which player is leading.
When the guessing player correctly identifies the leprechaun, she gets to choose the next person to be sent out of the room as the guesser.
St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Scramble
For this game, print out another set of four leaf clovers from our printable, enough to have one less than you do amount of children. Scatter them around the room – on walls, the floor, anything. Play some St. Patrick’s Day music and have the kids walk around the room. When you stop the music suddenly, the kids have to each put their hand on a shamrock. You can only have one hand on each shamrock – no sharing! Whoever is left without a shamrock is out, and the game continues.
Let Us Know!
How do you enjoy spending St. Patrick’s Day with your kids? Did you make our DIY shamrock necklace? Let us know in the comments below, or reach out to us on social media! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!