Whether your family actually hails from The Emerald Isle or you just like to pretend you’re a wee bit Irish every March, St. Patrick’s Day can be a fun excuse to enjoy festive food, drinks, music and more as winter winds down. Since my days of bar crawls are over, we keep our festivities kid-friendly. Here’s a list of local events I found in the Bucks County, PA (and nearby) area, and ways you can celebrate at home, too!
Local Events
St. Patrick’s Day Fun at Sesame Place
When: March 5, 6, 12 and 13
Where: 100 Sesame Road, Langhorne
Sesame Place is hosting special St. Patrick’s Day themed Dine with Elmo & Friend events the two weekends before St. Patrick’s Day. There’s going to be a themed menu, and furry hugs are BACK! If you don’t want to pay extra for the dining event, you can still enjoy rides and the new Mardi Gras Parade. Plus, get some cute pics around the park wearing your green attire.
Newtown Irish Festival at the Green Parrot
When: Preview Weekend March 10-March 13, then continues March 16 – March 20
Where: 240 Sycamore Street, Newtown
9 days of live entertainment, festive food and drinks!
St. Paddy’s UnWINEd Weekend at Shady Brook Farm
When: Friday, March 11 – Sunday, March 13
Where: 931 Stony Hill Road, Yardley
The party will take place in the barn to the side of the Farm Market and also in a large, heated tent. There will be live music, Irish dancers, food, drinks, free balloon twists for the kids and other outdoor activities. Tickets are $8 online, $10 at the door.
Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day Parade
When: Saturday, March 12 at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Begins at Conwell-Egan and ends at the Levittown American baseball fields on New Falls Road, Levittown.
Dancers, Mummers, scouts, and more! The parade usually goes until around 1:30 p.m.
St. Patrick’s Day at The Five Four Bar & Grill
When: Saturday, March 12 (Parade Day) and March 17
Where: 8919 New Falls Road, Levittown
The Five Four is always a popular spot after the Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day Parade. They’ll have live entertainment both Parade Day and the actual holiday on the 17th. They typically have some Irish specials on the menu, too.
The Great Narberth Leprechaun Hunt
When: Saturday, March 12 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Downtown Narberth
Kids start at the Blarney Booth located on the corner of Haverford and Forrest Aves to pick up a game card, clues and plastic pot of gold collection pot. Then they frolic with their parents through downtown Narberth searching through quaint shops and restaurants to find leprechauns and some of their golden coins. Find 10 leprechauns, collect 10 chocolate coins and turn them in for one shiny gold dollar! The event is free and hosted by the Narberth Business Association.
Conshohocken St. Patrick’s Day Parade
When: Saturday, March 12 at 2 p.m.
Where: Fayette Street, Conshohocken
The annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in Conshohocken will Start at 11th and Fayette Street and travel down to Elm Street. Restaurants and pubs lining the one-mile parade route typically offer specials and host events both during the parade and after.
Funzilla St. Patrick’s Day Gruffalo Party
When: Sunday, March 13 from 9 a.m. to noon
Where: 500 Lincoln Highway, Fairless Hills
Straight from the deep, dark wood the Gruffalo is coming to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! Enjoy a fun morning of jump/play plus story time, themed games, crafts, snack and more surprises! You must purchase tickets in advance.
Shake Your Shamrock Fun Run at Peddler’s Village
When: Sunday, March 13 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: 2400 Street Road, Lahaska
There are only a FEW Spots left to register for this event! There will be an 8K, 5K, Kid’s 1/2 Mile Fun Run, and a 2 Mile Fun Run Walk.
St. Patrick’s Day Fun at the Warminster Township Library
When: Week of St. Patrick’s Day
Where: 1076 Emma Lane, Warminster
The Warminster Library was the only one I saw that has planned events on the calendar. There’s a “Take & Make” Mosaic Shamrock craft that you can pick up to do at home starting March 14. There will be a rainbow scavenger hunt all day March 15 and March 16 that kids can do with a grownup’s help and then receive a surprise. (Check with the library on this one. I’m hearing you need to register in advance!) There will be a St. Patrick’s Day-themed story time on March 15 and March 17 from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
NOTE: I wouldn’t be surprised if other libraries are doing a St. Patrick’s Day theme for Drop In and Play events that week, but they’re not called out on the library calendar.
St. Patrick’s Day Open Play at Playpad Bucks
When: Thursday, March 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where: 860 Town Center Drive, Langhorne
Playpad is hosting a special Open Play for St. Patrick’s Day with a craft and scavenger hunt, all included with the regular price of open play. (If you haven’t been to Playpad before, read my post about it HERE.)
St. Patrick’s Day at Steam Pub
When: Thursday, March 17, starts at 3 p.m.
Where: 606 2nd Street Pike, Southampton
Steam Pub will have Irish menu items and specialty cocktails all day long, plus live music from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., Irish Dancers at 5 p.m., and a DJ from 9:30 to 2 a.m.
St. Paddy’s Day Party at Brittingham’s
When: Thursday, March 17 and Friday, March 18
Where: 640 Germantown Pike, Lafayette Hill
There will be live music and Irish food/drink specials!
Celebrate the Green at Peddler’s Village
When: Saturday, March 19 and Sunday March 20 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: 2400 Street Road, Lahaska
Visit Peddler’s Village for special menus, live entertainment, and a kid-friendly leprechaun hunt. To participate in the Leprechaun Hunt, stop by the Visitor & Event Center. It’s the red barn off Street Road. There will be prizes!
Celebrate at Home
If you can’t make it to a local event, or you just want to stretch the celebrating out even more, there are ways you can have St. Patrick’s Day fun at home, too!
Make a St. Patrick’s Day Craft
Cut out shamrocks from green construction paper and make a banner to decorate your home. Use scraps of colored tissue paper to make rainbow or shamrock suncatchers like the ones at this link. Cut out leprechaun hat shapes, decorate and glue to a paper band to wear on your head. Paint a rainbow. Or draw rainbows on your driveway with chalk to let leprechauns know they’re welcome! There are a lot of ways little ones can get creative with this holiday.
Tip: My ol’ stand-by for holiday crafts is to let the kids loose on canvases that I usually buy by the pack at Michael’s. (If you can’t get to the store, here’s something similar from Amazon.) To give them some direction, I’ll sometimes cut out holiday-themed shapes to tape on. They paint around them, and then I remove the taped shape for a reverse stencil effect. Or, like shown here, I had some wooden rainbows that they painted and then I glued on at the end.
Design a Leprechaun Trap
If your kids prefer a craft with some engineering involved, get to work on a leprechaun trap! The sky is the limit here as older kids can get more technical with their designs, while younger kids will be happy just decorating a small box with paint, markers or stickers. Tip: Legend has it that they’re attracted to shiny things since they love coins!
While those tricky leprechauns are tough to catch, they just might leave behind a few little treats (or a funny mess) in the morning!
Cook an Irish-Inspired Meal
While it’s always fun to “cheers” the holiday with the Irish folk in your community (even if they’re just Irish for the day), you can also make a perfectly festive meal to enjoy at home!
Here are links to a few of my family’s recipes that I’ve added to the blog:
Irish Soda Bread Muffins – Coming Soon
Other ideas include Irish ale cheese soup, Irish potato soup, shepherd’s pie, and corned beef and cabbage.
While this idea might seem like it’s just for adults, most kids love to help in the kitchen. Depending on the complexity of the dish and the child’s age, this can mean anything from helping with the measuring, stirring, reading steps from the recipe, chopping, or taking over a dish completely!
Bake a St. Patrick’s Day Treat
Get in the kitchen and make a tasty surprise for the family, or get the kids involved as an activity with a sweet reward at the end! Irish potatoes are a Philadelphia tradition that are easy to make at home. (Recipe below!) You could use some Guinness to make incredible cupcakes (don’t worry, it bakes off but makes them SO moist.) And if all else fails, just add some green sprinkles or food coloring to any favorite treat. You could even add some green food coloring and peppermint extract to milk and ice cream for a homemade shamrock shake!
Guinness Pretzel Truffles – Coming Soon
Irish Slammer Cupcakes – Coming Soon
And/Or Pick Up a Festive Treat from a Local Spot!
I love to bake, but it can be hard to surprise the kids without them knowing. (Plus, I don’t always want a big batch of something.) Last year, the Leprechaun left them adorable cupcakes that I picked up at The Market at Styer’s in Langhorne. (They’re under new ownership now, but probably still worth checking!) Apparently, it was a hit because my daughter is already talking about how she’s going to get a cupcake for St. Patrick’s Day! Take a look at your favorite bakery for something festive. I even saw that Merrymead in Lansdale has a special St. Patrick’s Day ice cream flavor with pots of gold!
Read a St. Patrick’s Day Related Book
I know I’m always saying this, but we’re a big “book family.” I give the kids books for just about every holiday, so I typically rotate the holiday/seasonal books in their rooms throughout the year. If you don’t want to add more to your home book collection, check out your local library to borrow a few this month. And if holiday-specific books aren’t your thing, maybe go with a story about rainbows to tie into the holiday.
Here are a few that are available through Amazon*:
The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover!
Pete the Cat: The Great Leprechaun Chase
The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever!
Pout Pout Fish: Lucky Leprechaun
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie’s Rainbow
How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow
(*As an Amazon Affiliate, I receive a small amount when you make a purchase through one of my links.)
Give the Kids a Festive Bath
This one might sound weird, but hear we out. My kids LOVE taking baths. If time allows, they both easily will spend 20+ minutes in the tub. Every once in a while, I’ll surprise them with a “special” bath, which usually means some type of surprise toy, maybe music or colored water. For St. Patrick’s Day, I’m thinking a little bit of green food coloring. (It’s so diluted that it doesn’t stain anything.) New tubes of their favorite Crayola Finger Paint Soap (I get it in the front section of Target!), and some gold coins that will be hidden at first by bubbles! I might even bring the Echo in and ask Alexa to play some Irish music.
Go On a Hunt
Here’s an idea so the kids can get out some energy! This can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. If you have some of those cheap gold coins (or you could always use pennies in a pinch), hide them around your house or yard. Or, plan a scavenger hunt to make them think a little harder. Or, keep it easy (especially for little kids) by requesting they find something for every color in the rainbow.
Listen to Irish Music
Before (or instead of) heading to a local festival, practice your best Irish gig with some music at home! Look some up on YouTube or ask Alexa to play some Irish tunes.
Sweet Mini Moments 
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