Let’s have a St. Patrick’s Day treasure hunt! Don’t stress about it! With my FREE printables, it’s fun, easy, and fast to set up!
When is St. Patrick’s Day?
The main celebration is on March 17th. This year that falls on Wednesday, which is just a couple of days away. If you’re scrambling for an activity, don’t worry! A treasure hunt is so fun and I’ve made printables so you don’t even have to think up the clues!
My city often has events for several days leading up to a parade on the 17th. It’s a lot of fun!
What is St. Patrick’s Day and Why to We Celebrate it?
The short answer is: St. Patrick was a priest who brought Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century. He’s the patron Saint of Ireland. We celebrate him and Irish culture. When immigrants left Ireland and settled in other countries, they brought their culture and celebrations with them. Wonderful!
Here’s a short video from PBS kids about St. Patrick’s Day.
Why do people wear green?
Irish people wear green as a sign of pride in their culture. The silly reason people wear green is to avoid getting pinched. Leprechauns supposedly can’t see green. It makes you invisible to them and they can’t pinch you 🙂 Pretty fun, right?
I remember one kid in elementary school who never wore green on St. Patrick’s Day because he had green eyes. Lame. He got pinched anyway because most kids are: A) not that observant B) looking for an opportunity to be mildly irritating.
A St. Patrick’s Day Treasure Hunt
It’s simple. Print and cut out the clovers and the clues. Glue or tape the clues onto the back of the clovers and tape them where the clues indicate. Print out the Leprechaun and tape him up where you hide the treasure.
Give them the 1st clue. Place clue #2-on the fridge. #3-under the pillow. #4-under the bathroom sink. #5-behind the computer. #6-on the window. That should lead them to the couch where the “gold” is!
Hide a pot of “gold” under the couch for the surprise. You can get a cauldron from any St. Patrick’s Day decor section at the store or you can re-use one from Halloween. I usually just use a basket or a literal pot from the kitchen. Make sure to cover the treasure if it’s visible under the couch!
For the pot of “gold” I use whatever gold candy I can get my hands on. Usually Rolos, Twix bars, Hershey’s gold nuggets, almond Hershey kisses, and chocolate gold coins.
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Products you might like for your treasure hunt
Jessica’s tips
- I’ve included a black and white printable to make it easier on your ink budget.
- You can use these clues in whatever order you like. Just remember which one has the treasure and make sure the kids end up there last!
- With lots of kids, supervise and make them stay together as they read the clues. If your kids are like my kids, they’re too excited to pay attention to each other. The little ones get left out if they’re lucky. Unlucky children get trampled and left for the buzzards.
- For really little kids: draw a simple map and read them the clues. Walk them from clue to clue.
Have fun on your treasure hunt! What do you remember doing on St. Patrick’s Day as a kid? Tag me on instagram with your stories and pictures of your treasure hunts!
Don’t forget to pin it!
Printables!
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