This year is definitely different, when it comes to celebrating holidays, St. Patrick's Day included. That doesn't mean you can't have a blast with your family and keep everyone safe.
Here are some great games and activites to do with your family and enjoy the holiday. Perhaps, they'll be new to you and become yearly traditions, too!
Rainbow Toss
We all know there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. So, the prize for this game, ideally, is a sack of gold candy coins.
Fill quart size zip lock bags with dry beans.
Cut off the top of a gallon container, the kind that contains water or milk about 5 inches down from the top. Draw a red arch on one container. A bean bag tossed in this container is worth 1 point. A red and orange arch on the next, which is worth two points. A red, orange, and yellow arch on the third is worth three points. Red, orange, yellow, and green arch on the fourth worth 4 point. Red, orange, yellow, green and blue arch on the fifth worth 5 points. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo arch on the sixth worth six points. And the full rainbow, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet on the seventh worth seven points.
Place the red arch container closest to the players, with each container a little farther away, with the full rainbow container, the farthest away.
Each player gets 7 bean bags to toss. The winner is the player with the most points
Pin the Bowtie on the Leprechaun
The game is similar to Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Instead of a sharp pin, use double faced tape. Or you can make it ‘Pin the Shamrock on the Leprechaun'. Here's a simple leprechaun with bowties and shamrocks to cut out and use.
St. Patrick's Day Bingo
Cut green construction paper in 8 inch squares or print these cards out, Draw horizontal and vertical lines to divide the square into 16 equal spaces. Think of a bingo card. Glue a minimum of 16 different St. Patrick's Day graphics or stickers randomly on the squares. Each card should be different in the order of the stickers.
Place a sticker on cards. The announcer picks a card from the deck and shows it to the players. The players look at their card to see if they have that sticker on their card. The first player to get four in a row, diagonally, across or down, wins.
Race for the Rainbow
Harder than it looks and fun to watch too. Separate a bag of colored marshmallows by color. Each player gets the same number and colors of marshmallows and a spoon. The object of the game is to carry the marshmallows, one at a time, from the start line to the finish line.
If the marshmallow falls off the spoon before crossing the finish line, the player has to go back to the start line and begin again.
Some players will try to go as fast as possible, others will go slow and steady.
St. Patrick's Day Scavenger Hunt
The idea is to find items that begin with the letters of St. Patrick. For example, the “S” could be shoes, scissors, shirt, soap, sugar and so forth. You might help out the players by placing relevant items in the search area. Play as a team or as individuals. The winner is the one who finds items to complete St. Patrick.
Jelly Bean Rainbow
Separate out any black jelly beans. Each player gets about 30 to 40 jelly beans. The exact number doesn't matter as long as the same number goes to each player. The idea is to make a rainbow from the jelly beans. Players can help each other by trading jelly beans or combining them, For example, one player may have lots of red jelly beans but not enough purple jelly beans. Instead of jelly beans, you could use gum drops or skittles. The winner is the first player to complete the rainbow.
Go for the Green and Gold
Break the players into teams of two to five. The object of the game is to name as many items as possible that are green or gold (yellow). One player writes down the items. After a set time limit, say, five minutes, the team with the most items wins.
Find the Four Leaf Clover
Cut out regular three leaf clover shapes in various sizes from green construction paper. Cut one four leaf clover shape. Mix up the all the leaves. The first person to find the four leaf clover wins.
Dig for the Gold
Fill small terracotta pots with small pebbles. One pot for each player. Hide a pebble you've spray painted gold in each pot. Each player takes a plastic spoon and digs through the pebbles using the handle of the spoon until they find the gold pebble. If the player are older, use a plastic knife rather than a spoon. The pebbles roll off the spoon handle or the knife
Create your own games
Get creative with the kids and family. See what fun games you can come up with and share them with the rest of us.
