10+ Ideas for St. Paddy’s Day
A little bit of St. Paddy’s Day origin and 10+ ideas for celebrating St. Paddy’s day.
St. Paddy’s Day Origin
Story: St. Paddy’s day celebrates St. Patrick, an Irish patron saint who converted many Irish to Christianity. Ireland celebrates this day with religious celebrations and feasts.
When Irish immigrants came to America, the celebration transformed into more of an “all things Irish” celebration with parades, wearing green (shamrocks), and watching for leprechauns. These are some of the most common ways to celebrate St. Paddy’s day 2022, and I have many more favorite ideas below.
Before we dive into this post, make sure to grab your FREE St. Paddy’s Day Party Plan. It includes two printable games, recipe and drink cards, and more to make celebrating St. Paddy’s day super EASY and fun for you.
St. Paddy’s Day Spirit ideas
Start the month off with St. Paddy’s Kids Activities and Printables:
Kids Irish Tea Cafe Themed kitchen and play space by The Magic Playbook
Kids festive bookshelf
Create a festive bin for the week of St. Paddy’s Day.
Bin full of St. Paddy swag the week of St. Paddy’s Day: necklaces, green mustaches, tattoos, stickers, wrist bands, etc.
St. Paddy’s Day Irish Dance Party
Turn up the Jams for St. Paddy’s Day!
Traditional Irish Music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdxGhKbdjxU
Irish Jig Music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf8U9Z3XUIw
Classic Irish Pub Music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgSZgakakLw
Pandora Irish Pub Rock:
https://www.pandora.com/genre/irish-pub-rock
Pandora Irish Folk:
https://www.pandora.com/playlist/PL:281475066129714:1405445400
Leprechaun Shenanigans
Party Notes: Beyond the Gold coins in shoes, there are so many fun things that the Leprechauns do. One tradition in Ireland is to turn furniture upside down so that when kids wake up on St. Paddy’s morning, the house is all crazy! Another more mainstream activity you can do is create and set a Leprechaun Trap with your kiddos. I also personally like creating a scavenger hunt with clues around the house that leads to a big “pot of gold” a.k.a. a bunch of candy. For older kiddo’s, maybe it is truly a pot of coins!
St. Paddy’s Day Food Ideas
Gold Coins in Shoes
Party Notes: This tradition is an actual authentic tradition from Ireland, but they use real coins (which you totally could too) or candy. This is such a simple way to celebrate and will take you only a few minutes to setup. After your kiddo’s go to bed, slip some gold coins into their shoes for them to wake up to.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Check out this easy crockpot recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage
Party Notes: Although this is not technically an authentic Irish tradition, it was adapted by Irish-American immigrants back in the day. It’s not a dish that I grew up with, but something that I started incorporating into our St. Paddy’s Day after our first son was born. I needed an easy, plentiful, and festive meal. As a new mom, the crockpot was my best friend (and still is), so crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage became a St. Paddy’s staple that I now make every year.
Breakfast or brunch
St. Paddy’s Day Rainbow Donut Wall + Shamrock Plates + Festive Napkins
Party Notes: This year I am creating a St. Paddy’s Day Donut Wall with this amazing rainbow donut wall kit from The Party Darling. For under $50, you can have a rainbow donut wall, grab some festive donuts from a local bakery (I use Krispy Kreme) or DIY your own with green icing and sprinkles. Add some shamrock plates and festive napkins (I am actually subscribed to the Sassy Napkin Society that sends me festive napkins each month), and you’ve got yourself a really special breakfast #momwin. It’s these little memories that kids grow up cherishing.
Check out this super cute idea for green pancakes by Craft Morning.
Party Notes: Since St. Paddy’s Day is usually during the week, breakfast is always the easiest way to pop in a little celebratory spirit. Green food coloring will be your best friend on St. Paddy’s Day. You can color drinks green, pancakes for breakfast, muffins, icing, just about anything! You can even pack a green inspired lunch with things like guacamole, cucumbers, celery, and kiwi.
Because St. Paddy’s has become such a special and fun holiday for our family, I wanted to make it SUPER easy for other busy moms to do the same. That’s why I created the St. Paddy’s Day Printable Party Plan, which you can grab for free.
There are also ton’s more ideas on my St. Paddy’s Day Pinterest Board as well as all the décor I shopped this year from The Party Darling.
