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
Newtown Irish Festival at the Green Parrot
When: March 6 through March 17
Where: 240 N. Sycamore Street, Newtown
Make your plans (and optional reservations) NOW to visit Green Parrot for St. Patrick’s Day – always a local favorite.
St. Paddy’s UnWINEd Weekend at Shady Brook Farm
When: March 13, 14, and 15
Where: 931 Stony Hill Road, Yardley
UnWINED with Irish music, Irish dancers, and of course, IRISH FOOD! Playground and balloon artist (during select times) for the kids! Buy online HERE. Tickets start at $12 online (Friday is discounted to $7 right now!). Friday’s event is 6 to 10 p.m., Saturday is 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday is 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
TIP: Even if you don’t purchase tickets for the UnWINEd event, you’ll want to stop by Uncle Dave’s to get Irish potato ice cream this week!
St. Patrick’s Day Themed Art Classes at Blank Space Community Center
When: Saturday, March 14
Where: 85 Makefield Road, Unit 7, Yardley
Blank Space Community Center is offering St. Patrick’s Day themed art classes throughout the morning. Check out the schedule for your child’s age group. Each class is $10, plus there will be a photo booth and special prizes for all participants. Register HERE.
St. Patrick’s Day Weekend at Philadelphia Zoo
When: March 14 and 15 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: 3400 Girard Avenue, Philadelphia
The Philly Zoo is offering a sweet way to celebrate St. Patrick’s day with cupcake decorating for all ages. For $10, you can decorate a St. Patrick’s Day themed cupcake with icing and toppings. For adults, there are also Day Date packages that includes two drinks (green beer and green cocktails included) and two tickets to ride the giant Pherris Wheel.
St. Patrick’s Day Weekend at Elmwood Park Zoo
When: March 14 and 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: 1661 Harding Boulevard, Norristown
Enjoy live music and St. Patrick’s day themed specialty themed drinks at the Zoo Brew Beer Garden. There will also be a gold-hunting scavenger hunt, keeper chats, and animal greets. Plus, if you wear gree, you’ll receive $1 off carousel rides.
St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at Sesame Place
When: March 14 and 15 from 10 am. to 5 p.m.
Where: 100 Sesame Road, Langhorne
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with your favorite Sesame Street friends! Dance and sing along to the Opening Day Parade, Furry Friends St. Patrick’s Day Dance Party and Irish Dancing Shows! For an additional cost, you can also make a reservation for the St. Patrick’s Day-themed Dine with Elmo and Friends.
Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day Parade
When: Saturday, March 14 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.
Upper Bucks Celtic Festival
When: Saturday, March 14 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Downtown Perkasie
An afternoon of Irish music and performers, food vendors, artisan vendors, crafts, contests, etc.
St. Patrick’s Day at The Five Four Bar & Grill
When: Saturday, March 14 (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. Doors open at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 14. Connolly & Murphy perform at 1 p.m., Fitzpatrick Irish Dancers at 3:30 and Spareparts go on at 8 p.m. Come back on the 17th for even more fun!
The Great Narberth Leprechaun Hunt
When: Saturday, March 14 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Downtown Narberth
Kids start by going to the “Blarney” Booth at the corner of Haverford and Forrest Ave to get a game card with clues and an empty black plastic pot-o’-gold. They search all through the town, with parents in tow, to find hidden leprechauns in various shops and restaurants. When they find one, they get a “gold” coin to put in their pot. Once they’ve found all the leprechauns, and have all the coins, the kids return to the NBA booth for their prize. The event is free and hosted by the Narberth Business Association.
Conshohocken St. Patrick’s Day Parade
When: Saturday, March 14 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 and conclude in front of the Washington Fire Company. Restaurants and pubs lining the one-mile parade route typically offer specials and host events both during the parade and after. This year’s theme is “Irish Hands Building America.”
Shake Your Shamrock Fun Run at Peddler’s Village
When: Sunday, March 15 from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Where: 2400 Street Road, Lahaska
There will be an 8K, 5K, Kid’s 1/2 Mile Fun Run, and a 2 Mile Fun Run Walk. Register and get more details HERE.
Leprechaun Scavenger Hunt at Warminster Library
When: Monday and Tuesday, March 16 and 17
Where: 1076 Emma Lane, Warminster
Pick up a Lucky Leprechaun scavenger hunt and search the library for the colors of the rainbow. After finding them all, you’ll create a rainbow, and receive a prize.
St. Patrick’s Day Party with Bingo at Princeton Playspace
When: Tuesday, March 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Where: 745 Alexander Road, Princeton
Includes open play and meet & greet plus dancing with Bingo, St. Patrick’s Day sing-along with Ms. Sarah, and St. Patrick’s Day craft and balloon twists. $40 per child. Call 609-919-9600 for more info.
Jumping Beans St. Patrick’s Day Edition at We Rock the Spectrum
When: Tuesday, March 17 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Where: 12357 Academy Road, Philadelphia
Come out for a festive morning of movement and play. Includes a 30-minute Jumping Beans class from 10:30 to 11, plus open play and a coloring station. Tickets are $20 per child. Green attire encouraged! Reserve your spot HERE or call 215-904-6280.
St. Patrick’s Day Storytime at Warminster Library
When: Tuesday, March 17 from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Where: 1076 Emma Lane, Warminster
Listen to stories about leprechauns and rainbows and participate in the scavenger hunt.
Drop-In St. Patrick’s Day Craft at the Bristol Library
When: Tuesday, March 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Where: 680 Radcliffe Street, Bristol
Kids can stop in the library and make a craft to take home.
NOTE: Many of the Bucks County library locations will be hosting storytimes on March 17, and I imagine they will be St. Patrick’s Day themed!
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:
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!
And/Or Pick Up a Festive Treat from a Local Spot!
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 