Looking for St. Patrick’s Day fun on a budget? Here’s my favorite cheap and easy ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the kids!
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As a stay-at-home mom of 2 littles, I’m always looking for cheap ways to celebrate the fun holidays throughout the year. There are always tons of ideas on Pinterest, but we are a single income family on a budget, so I try my best to keep activities and decorations fun but within budget.I also try to find activities the kids will actually enjoy and crafts that won’t immediately get thrown away. If you’re in the same boat, check out these 10 cheap and easy St Patrick’s Day ideas!
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1. Window Clings
The cheapest window clings I’ve found are at the Dollar Store. My toddlers loved putting up these festive clings, took pride in their decorating work! Cheap window clings are great because you can put them all on one window or spread them around the house. They are small and easy to store in a Ziplock for next year or cheap enough that you can throw them away at the end of the holiday without feeling too bad.
2. Coin Hunt
Another cheap St Patrick’s Day activity is a coin hunt. The Dollar Store carries gold coins that are fun to set up in a hide-and-seek, or a scavenger hunt way, depending on your child’s age. You can easily hide them again and again or use them as pretend money for their toy bin when the game is over!
3. St. Patrick’s Library Books
Libraries have lots of themed books for every holiday, even St. Patrick’s Day! Try checking out a couple of leprechaun or clover books to read with the kids while you do a craft, eat a green snack, or head to bed! If your kids are older, consider checking out some educational books about the history of St. Patrick’s Day or an adventure book like the Magic Tree House Leprechauns in Late Winter.
4. Green Clover Pancakes
Start the day off right with adding green food dye to your pancake mix! Use a clover cookie cutter to shape the pancake for an even more festive meal! You can learn to cook pancakes in the metal cookie cutters here, or you can make regular round pancakes and cut them with a cookie cutter after. Personally, I had more luck with using the cookie cutter afterward because it made less mess and the kids could help without having to reach across the hot griddle.
5. Rice Krispie Treats
Rice Krispie treats are one of the cheapest and easiest desserts to make. To keep them on theme, add green sprinkles or drizzle green icing over them! This is one of my favorite ways to celebrate because it’s an easy recipe to have the kids help make, and kids and adults of any age love them!
6. Brownies
Like rice krispie treats, box brownies are another cheap and easy St Patrick’s Day idea! Add green sprinkles or drizzle green icing on top to keep them on theme! You could even cut them into clovers or other Irish shapes with these cookie cutters. The best part about box brownies is that you can get them for usually under $3 and they take minimal effort or clean-up!
7. Clover Sandwiches
Need to pack a lunch for St Patrick’s Day? Use a large clover cookie cutter to cut the sandwich into a fun shape! You could also do with toast or bread of any kind. My son loved his shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he’s started experimenting with other shapes as well. This is a super easy idea that any toddler can help make!
8. Printable Coloring Pages
If your child likes to color, Crayola has a whole page dedicated to free St Patrick’s Day coloring pages. All you need is a printer and something to color with. If you don’t have a printer, you can usually print at your local library for free or cheap! If you want to tie in a learning component, St. Patrick’s Day is a great holiday for learning the colors of the rainbow and their order.
9. St. Patrick’s Day Bingo
Bingo is a fun and simple game for all ages. It’s easy to play at home with just your own kids or bring to a family gathering or playdate too. Amazon carries pre-made St. Patrick’s Day bingo cards for kids but if you’re on a tight budget like me, you can easily DIY cards by drawing them yourself, printing a free PDF card, or using this Dollar Store stamper pack!
10. Green Slime
If your kids love easy crafts, they’ll love making green slime for St. Patrick’s Day! Add green or gold glitter for extra shimmer. Slime is similar to Play-Doh but is slipperier and is more for squishing in your hands than cutting into shapes. Of note, the above recipe linked does use Borax as an ingredient. You can make slime without Borax with this recipe, just remember to add the green dye to yours!
What other cheap ideas have you found for your kids? I’d love to hear!
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