St Patrick's Day games

Need some St Patrick's Day games for kids?

Here are some fun ideas for St Paddy's special day, sure to keep your children busy and in great spirits!

You've heard of the three or four leaved clover, or shamrock - so why not try a three-legged-clover race? Or hunt the shamrocks... particularly the golden shamrock!

Kissing the Blarney Stone is just made for little kids - or how about getting your kids to make their own small Blarney Stone? Let's get started:

Shamrock themed St Patrick's Day games

Print out and color in as many shamrocks as you need from the Pattern Station at Preschool Express - you'll find the shamrock pattern under the Spring Activities.

Hunt the shamrock
Hide shamrocks all over the house or even outside. You could ask the kids to find just one shamrock each, or two, or as many as they can - and why not color in a special golden shamrock and hide it? Whoever finds the golden shamrock wins a special prize!

The three-legged-clover race
Prepare a kiddie race course, and place shamrocks along it - an equal number for each team.

Get kids into pairs, tie their adjoining legs together, and let them run/toddle up the course collecting their shamrocks as they go. The first pair to get to the end of the course with their shamrocks are the winners!

Blarney Stone fun

Prepare a heart for each child, symbolizing a kiss. Personalize each heart with the name of each guest, using gold markers.

It's easy to prepare a large piece of card with the outline of your Blarney Stone. Either draw a stone shape - or a castle battlement, seeing as the real Blarney Stone is set into the walls of Blarney Castle, pictured here!

Add a smiling sun, a few clouds, and you're ready to play. Blindfold each child and let them put their "kiss" onto the stone!

Why not take pictures of the kids when the kisses cover the Blarney Stone!

Make a Blarney Stone
There are great St Patrick's Day crafts from Enchanted Learning including a cute kissable Blarney Stone!

You'll also find ideas for a

• rainbow streamer
• rainbow mobile
• leprechaun marionette
• - or leprechaun hat!