Everyone mark your calendars! Saint Patrick’s Day is right around the corner. This year it falls on Friday, March 17th! With it falling on a Friday, this holiday is basically begging to be celebrated. Lucky for y’all, I have so many ideas (pun intended:) )! I will use any excuse to celebrate something and Saint Patricks Day is no exception! There is nothing not to love about this holiday.

Here’s a little background on Saint Patricks Day to know what it is we’re celebrating! Saint Patrick’s Day originated in Ireland as a day designated to celebrate one of their most beloved saints. Saint Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to the Irish people which is what makes him the patron saint of Ireland. What started as a religious holiday from over 1,000 years ago in Ireland has now evolved into a celebration of Irish culture in America today! I love celebrating different cultures and Saint Patrick’s day is no different.

Before we get to fun Saint Patrick’s Day activities, I need to make sure you all take advantage of an American Saint Patrick’s Day tradition: the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake! Mcdonald’s Shamrock Shakes have been around since the 1970's and have been a cult favorite since. Vanilla ice cream blended with Mcdonald’s “Shamerock Syrup”(a minty concoction) and topped with a dollop of whipped cream makes the perfect Saint Patrick’s Day treat! These shakes typically come out a month before Saint Patrick’s Day so take advantage of these limited edition menu items as much as you can.

Now that you have the perfect Saint Patricks Day treat, you are ready to plan those Saint Patrick’s Day activities! One of my favorite ideas for a Saint Patrick’s Day activity is a scavenger hunt. I am all about family friendly activities, and this one is perfect for the whole family. Have fun coming up with clues that lead to fun Saint Patrick’s Day inspired treats! You could make this scavenger hunt outside or do it within the comfort of your own home. You can decide how extravagant to make this scavenger hunt! Some ideas for rewards along the way are gold coins, lucky charm rice krispies, and mint brownies! This scavenger hunt would obviously have to end with a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and there are so many ways you could go with this! Pictured below are cute ideas for treats to make inspired by a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Another Saint Patrick’s Day activity centered around food is baking soda bread. Soda bread is a staple of Irish Culture, and this would be such a fun activity to do with your family! I know I went through the baking bread stage of quarantine and I bet most of you did too! That has only prepared you for this moment. This bread doesn’t use yeast, so if you are wanting an easier bread to make, this one is an awesome option. If you are really in a cooking mood, this bread would pair perfectly with an Irish Beef stew!

One of my favorite elementary school memories is creating leprechaun houses in the 1st grade. When I started to brainstorm for this blog post, this idea instantly came to mind! It is a super easy activity that I can still remember being so fun to this day. Essentially what a leprechaun house is is a shoebox that you decorate to make look like a leprechaun’s house. I would get construction paper, crayons, fake grass, cotton balls etc. Once all your kids are done decorating their leprechaun's homes, leave out candy so the leprechaun (A.K.A you:) ) will want to come grab the candy!

The point of this is for the kids to be able to see a leprechaun in real life. This is why they will set out candy. As the person running this activity, make sure to make a big deal on if the leprechaun will come to their homes or not. Leprechauns are little tricksters so they’ll want to grab the candy without being caught! Once the candy is left out, take the kids to go do something away from their leprechaun homes. For me in elementary school, this was recess! While you all are away from the leprechaun homes get somebody to take the candy and run with it. Have some fun with this! When we came back to our leprechaun homes in elementary school there were candy wrappers all over the place. Gold, black, and green glitter was strewn everywhere too. The “leprechauns” had even left us a taunting but funny note! Even though the leprechauns “got away” we ended up with little treats or rewards inside our homes too. I just loved this activity when I was a little kid, and I think that would still hold true for little kids today!

My last idea to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day is to simply throw a party. The great thing about this idea is that you can make it however you want it! If you are wanting this party geared toward little kids you can. If you want it to be for yourself and friends, you could also do that! Decorating this party would be so fun. Gather up as many green decorations as you want and have fun with transforming your space. You could make food and have it all dyed green. You could play Saint Patrick’s Day bingo! You could create mocktails that are dyed green. Another fun idea would be to watch an Irish movie or at least have it on in the background while you do other activities! The sky's the limit. From Halftee to you, have a safe and especially fun Saint Patrick’s day this year!