St. Patrick's Day is the perfect time to get creative with fun, family-friendly treats and crafts that everyone can enjoy! From colorful cookies to easy no-bake treats, this rainbow of ideas is sure to bring festive cheer to your celebration.
Vibrant pinwheel sugar cookies are a simple dessert that’s sure to impress. With just a few easy steps, you can create this colorful dessert that starts with refrigerated sugar cookie dough. They bring a burst of color and joy, making them perfect for a family celebration—and it’s easy to include the kids in the entire process!
Another quick-and-easy treat, Froot Loops Marshmallow Bars are a fun, fruity twist on traditional Rice Krispies Treats. Kids will love making and munching on these no-bake bars. With their bright colors, these bars are a perfect addition to St. Patrick's Day festivities, school snacks, or parties. Feel free to swap out the Froot Loops for your favorite cereal to mix things up!
These easy treats are just the beginning—there are endless ways to add a little leprechaun love to your day. We even have a simple shamrock craft below that makes a great addition to your St. Patrick’s Day table. Some other cute ideas:
Make deconstructed rainbow snack cups by layering mini-marshmallows, Skittles or M&Ms, and Rolos.
Purchase plain cupcakes from the grocery store and decorate with gold and green sanding sugar, colorful candies, and rainbow Airhead Xtremes or store-bought shamrock toppers.
Swing by local candy store Sugar in Crestline for a mix of themed candies (69 Church Street).
Rainbow Pinwheel Sugar Cookies
adapted from Mom on Timeout
This recipe is super-easy and uses ready-made ingredients, but for an even quicker option, simply roll the edges of slice-and-bake sugar cookies in multicolored nonpareils.
One tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/3 cup flour, plus additional for surface
Sanding sugar in rainbow colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Knead together sugar cookie dough and flour until well combined.
Sprinkle a cutting board with flour and roll out dough into a 1/4-inch-thick rectangle (about 14 x 10 inches).
Sprinkle each color sugar in a stripe across the dough (go left to right, similar to flag stripes).
Gently roll dough into a log so the sugar makes a pinwheel design on the inside.
Slice dough in 1/2-inch-thick pieces and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Gently press cookies with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 to 3 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Froot Loops Marshmallow Bars
This recipe is also delicious with Fruity Pebbles or Lucky Charms.
4 tablespoons salted butter
10 ounces mini-marshmallows
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 cups Froot Loops or other cereal
Spray a 9- x 13-inch pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on all sides. Set aside.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low-heat.
Add marshmallows and stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Add cereal and stir until completely coated.
Pour mixture into prepared baking pan. Gently press with the back of a spoon coated in cooking spray.
Allow mixture to cool completely, then slice into squares. The bars will last up to 5 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature, but they taste best within 24 hours of preparing.
Pipe Cleaner Shamrocks
For this family-friendly craft, you’ll need green pipe cleaners colorful pony beads—that’s it! Pop one on each plate at your St. Patrick’s Day table.
Twist two pipe cleaners together. Leave them in a straight line.
Add some pony beads. We prefer making patterns, but you don’t have to. Don’t overload the pipe cleaner with beads.
Then fold the long pipe cleaner in half.
At the curved end of the folded pipe cleaner, make a simple heart shape.
Twist underneath the heart to help hold the shape.
Fold the remaining edges up and twist them all together in the middle where they meet.
Push the other 2 pipe cleaner loops into heart shapes.
Add another pipe cleaner to create the “stem” of the beaded shamrock.