Free Printable St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt

Looking for a fun way to celebrate St Patrick’s Day this year? Send everyone hunting for shamrocks and gold with this free printable St. Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt.

Play this easy game for family game night, or as a fun way to get the kids up and moving at school. We’ve even got two versions for different reading levels, which means it’s fun for all ages. Grab your free leprechaun scavenger hunt at the end of this post and get ready to have some fun!

St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt for Kids

There are so many reasons to love scavenger hunts, but here are my top 3:

• You can play them anywhere. Holiday scavenger hunts are especially easy to take with you to a restaurant or when you’ll be driving around town. Instead of ‘gathering’ the clues, simply mark them off when you see them – kind of like a competitive version of I Spy.
• It gets everyone up and moving. Have you ever seen a kid running around to gather items while a clock is ticking? I rarely see them smile so much while moving so fast.
• They make teaching fun! Whether it’s learning to read the captions, learning all about a specific holiday, or even just learning how to participate in a game without being a poor sport…there are tons of life skills learned from playing scavenger hunts.

St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt Clues (Two Ways)

With three kids of my own, I know how hard it is to find games that the whole family can play and enjoy together. That’s why I created a picture based version in addition to the classic list style scavenger hunt.

• Little kids and pre-readers can find things based on the pictures,
• Early readers can practice those reading skills with the captions below the pictures,
• Older kids can help the little ones finding everything on the list, and
• Adults and older kids can all enjoy the text based scavenger hunt. (I bet they can get pretty creative with what they find!)

I know that young kids in particular can be very literal with games like these, which is why I also included a set of finder cards for the picture-based scavenger hunt. This way, you can avoid the tears of kids who can’t find what’s shown.

St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt Instructions:

Preparing for Your Scavenger Hunt

1. Print out your preferred scavenger hunt card design on your home printer on paper or white card stock.
2. Cut out the cards along the edges. (Or simply cut once down the center of the page to separate the cards, leaving the edges. Kids won’t care.)
3. If you’re using the finder cards, cut the individual images out along the edges of the designs.
4. Hide your finder cards/items around the room.

Decide Your Search Area

The fun thing about scavenger hunts is that they can be played just about anywhere. But it’s still important to make sure the players know where they’re allowed to go to find the items on the list.

Tip: I like to let bigger kids wander the main areas of the house, in addition to the front and back yard. That way they’re moving around as much as possible.

Two Ways to Play this St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt

1. Everyone for themselves: Pass out your Leprechaun scavenger hunt cards and have everyone race against the clock. Set a timer for a few minutes (5 or 10 minutes max) and see how many items players find before the timer goes off. The player that finds the most items wins.
2. Separate into Groups: If you have a large group, divide into teams of 3-5 players. Each group must work together to find the items on the list before time is up. The group that finds the most items wins.

When should you have a St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt?

Save activities like St. Patrick’s Day Bingo and St. Patrick’s Day puzzles for the times when you want your kids to be sitting down and quiet. Scavenger hunts are all about getting up and getting your energy out.

Here are some good times to pull these cards out:

• Having a kids party or play date? Print these cards out for a fun way to burn off some extra energy.
• Use the scavenger hunt as prompts for a virtual St. Patrick’s Day party game. Instead of printing off separate cards, name each item or show the finder card on your screen and have kids search their own homes for something that matches.
• Are you class mom this year? This is a great activity to do with the kids for the class St. Patrick’s Day party when they’re tired of sitting still.
• Too cold to play outside and your kids are bored? See if your kids can find these items around the house. They can search through your St. Patrick’s Day decorations, look at the pictures in mailers and advertisements, or even search through their toys.

Scavenger Hunt FAQs

Looking for a St. Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt with riddles?

This printable is a traditional scavenger hunt, which doesn’t include riddles. (Yes, there is a difference. You can read all about it here.)

If you’d like a St. Patrick’s Day treasure hunt with clues that lead to a big prize at the end, then leave a comment down below and I’ll get a set made.

Don’t want to wait? If you’re in a pinch, these St. Patrick’s Day charades cards are a great option. They come with a page of blank cards that work well for adding your own treasure hunt clues.

Scavenger Hunt Finder or Clue Cards

As I mentioned above, a set of finder cards is included that match the picture-based scavenger hunt cards. Simply cut them out along the black lines, and then hide them around your party space for the kids to find.

You can even hide more than one copy to make it more interesting.

Note: Finder cards are not currently included for the text based St. Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt cards.

St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt Prizes

Prizes for Kids

• Slap Bracelets – It cracks me up to no end that my kids love slap bracelets. Though, they don’t seem to hurt as much now as they did when I was playing with them in the 80s.
• Clover Keychain – Kids of all ages can use keychains as zipper pulls on backpacks and pencil pouches. With one of these, they can show off their Irish pride.
• Chocolate Gold Coins – Most kids won’t turn down a little extra candy…especially when it looks like a leprechaun’s favorite bait.

Prizes for Adults

Who says these games are just for kids? Get the adults involved…but make sure you’ve got a prize they’ll love too.

• St. Patrick’s Day Socks – Buy them in rainbow stripes or shamrock green, silly socks are a great way to bring a smile to someone’s face.
• Local craft beer – Even if it’s not Irish, it’s still a favorite on St. Patty’s Day.
• Rainbow pencils – These are good for kids and adults, and they look so fun when you sharpen them!

More Fun St. Patrick’s Day Activities and Ideas

• Cute St. Patrick’s Day Coloring Pages (Free Download) – This adorable set of four free St. Patrick’s Day coloring pages is an easy way to keep the kids occupied.
• St. Patrick’s Day Digital Paper Patterns – Downloadable paper patterns you can use as easy placemats, or for creating fun Irish crafts.
• No Pinch Zone Sign – Kids will get a fun giggle out of these printable signs telling the Leprechaun to keep his pinching fingers to himself.
• 15+ Tasty St. Patricks Day Treats – From simple to wow-em, here are 15 of the cutest St Patrick’s Day treats to make on this side of the leprechaun’s rainbow

More Scavenger Hunts and Games for Kids

• Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt
• St. Patrick’s Day I Spy – A fun counting game for kids. This set even includes a colorful version and a black and white version the the kids can color in.
• Christmas Scavenger Hunt

Download Your Free St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt Here

Whether you’ve got a class party coming up, or just want a fun activity with the kids, these St. Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt cards are a fun activity for everyone.

As a lucky treat, these St. Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt cards are available free to newsletter subscribers. All you have to do is fill in the form below to get them sent right to you.

Don’t want to subscribe? You can also purchase a copy of the St. Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt cards for a small price right here.

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