Celebrating St. Paddy’s Day with Kids

St. Patrick’s Day is almost here, and the magic of it is so fun with kids! Rainbows, leprechauns, pots of gold, four-leaf clovers. It’s easy to get in the spirit with a little ingenuity, a lot of green, and our guide to celebrating with your family in Western Montana!

Get in the spirit early with the Run for the Luck of It! a 5- or 7-kilometer race hosted by Run Wild Missoula this Saturday, and sign ups are continuing until the morning of race day. If you’re not a runner, it’s still a great place to people watch. Hang out near the start line (location) to see people dressed head-to-toe in green. Even the littlest leprechauns get into the spirit with a kids’ run! Afterwards, make your way over to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Higgins Ave.

Now it’s time for the actual holiday on March 17th! You could start your day by making your kids Leprechaun Breakfast: You could go crazy, like this Pinterest mom, or you could keep it simple: Lucky Charms and milk that you tinted green with a few drops of food coloring.

Not going to lie: Our family stops in for a cookie at Mary’s Mountain Cookies downtown probably more often than we should. The kids LOVE the way the store always decorates their window with the seasons, and the inside matches the window display. You’re guaranteed to always find a treat that matches the nearest holiday or season. This time it was shamrock sugar cookies. My kiddo loved the frosting-topped sweet treat so much I couldn’t manage to snap a photo before he took a bite.

While you’re out and about, Check out Barnes & Nobles special story time on Saturday at 11 a.m., featuring Pete the Cat: The Great Leprechaun Chase.

Have a Shamrock Shake at McDonald’s. This is a St. Paddy’s Day right of passage in our household. I’m pretty sure all of us but our youngest has had one. I have no idea how long the Shamrock Shake will stick around, so hurry in and get yours.

Speaking of food (when are we not?), Stone of Accord is the best place to get your Irish food fix. They serve Irish pub-style dishes year round and have whiskey tastings (for adults) on the regular. With menu items like Corned Beef Horseradish Melt, Scotch Eggs, and Irish Stoner, you know they live by their motto: Irish Fare with Montana Flare!

Last but not least, St. Patrick’s Day is a great time to share the history of the real St. Patrick with your kids, and maybe even complete a craft or two.