Four great ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with your kids

Looking for something fun to do with your kids for St. Patrick’s Day? Get into the spirit of the occasion with these four fun activities.

1. Adopt a green diet. Put green food dye in the pancake batter in the morning. For dinner, mix avocado in with your mac and cheese. And for dessert? Consider lime Jell-O or chocolate mint ice cream.

2. Explore Irish traditions. Listen to traditional Irish music, write your own limericks and read up on Irish folklore and legends, including those about leprechauns, banshees and giants. Get crafty by making a St. Brigid’s Cross, sate your appetite with a hearty bowl of Irish Stew or discover Irish dancing by taking a class or watching a performance.

3. Attend a parade. Gear up in green clothing then head to your local dollar store to buy St. Patrick’s Day themed accessories. Be sure to bring hot cocoa in a thermos to sip while you watch the floats go by.

4. Make a leprechaun trap. Leprechauns are said to hide pots of gold at the end of rainbows. Legend has it that if caught by a human, these trickster-like fairies must hand over their treasure. See if you can catch your own leprechaun by building a trap the night before St. Patrick’s Day.

The easiest way to make a leprechaun trap is to decorate an empty box and place it upside down. Use a stick to prop up one end and leave a few shiny coins as bait. Leprechauns can’t resist the lure of gold and, in their excitement, may knock down the stick and get caught in your family’s trap. If they’re quick, they might get away. But leprechauns are known to leave treats for crafty kids who make impressive traps.

You don’t have to be Irish to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day with your family — you just have to be willing to have a little fun.