12 Colorful St. Patrick’s Day Crafts for Kids

Lisa Storms

St. Patrick's Day is coming up on March 17! For anyone looking for some fun crafts for kids beyond the usual shamrocks and Blarney stones, how about making some rainbows — you know, where Leprechauns keep their pot of gold. Rainbow crafts are the perfect place to start when getting crafty for St. Paddy's Day. 

We've rounded up some fun and cheery kid crafts that are perfect for everyone's favorite Irish holiday. Each project is simple and calls for a pretty basic list of materials found at any craft store — and maybe even around the house! 

Added bonus: since rainbows are pretty and happy-making but aren't tied exclusively to St. Paddy's Day, kids (and their parents) can enjoy these homemade creations well beyond the holiday. So consider these crafts the perfect rainy day activities year-round! 

Check out all these colorful crafts that kids can do. The rainbow is at the heart of each project, but each one offers its own unique look and feel. A few of them even double as snacks! Yum.

Bubble Wrap Rainbow

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What kid doesn't love bubble wrap? Instead of causing a racket by popping them, your kids can create a cool bubble wrap rainbow by painting the surface and pressing it on a sheet of paper. Bye bye headache — hello cool craft!

Rainbow Sponge Painting

Hands On As We Grow

What could be more fun than creating a rainbow with one swipe of a sponge? The simplicity of this rainbow sponge craft makes it particularly great for toddlers, although you'll need to prep the sponge.

Rainbow Pour Painted Pots

dilly-dali art

Here's a fun way to paint that doesn't involve a brush: pouring the paint instead. These rainbow pour painted pots look amazing, and you can teach the kids to garden with them later on.

Fruity O's Rainbow

Hands On As We Grow

Got some Fruit Loops or colored Cheerios in your kitchen cabinet? Then they're the perfect material to build a fruity O's rainbow with glue and some cotton for clouds. Bonus: the act of placing each O in the right spot will occupy your kids for a good chunk of the afternoon.

Rainbow Pretzels

Frosting and a Smile

This rainbow pretzel sticks craft doubles as a snack: all you need are various colored sprinkles and some white chocolate to make them stick (yum). Have your kids lay out lines of sprinkles (or do this step yourself), then all your kids need to do is roll them across, let dry, then eat!

Cupcake Liner Rainbow

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If you've got cupcake liners of various colors, a cupcake liner rainbow is easily within your reach! Even toddlers will have no problem putting this one together, and you can practice their color recognition while you're crafting.

Rainbow Tree

dilly-dali art

Want a craft that'll get your kids outside and climbing trees? Then consider creating a rainbow painted tree. Don't worry — this is not an environmental hazard. The tutorial from dilly-dali art actually suggests you use water-soaked chalk instead of paint; that way the colors will eventually fade. And if your little ones are too young to be climbing trees just yet, they can still cover the lower trunk to create the same effect!

Rainbow Necklace

Hands On As We Grow

This simple rainbow necklace craft made out of construction paper and string is particularly perfect for toddlers, since it can teach them a thing or two about sizes. Plus, they'll love using the hole punch to put their necklace together!

Washi Tape Rainbow

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Washi tape of various colors can go together to create a cool-looking washi tape rainbow art — plus, the green tape's shamrock pattern drives home the St. Paddy's vibe.

Rainbow Meringue Cookies

my man's belly

Want to satisfy your kids' sweet tooth in a crafty, creative way? Then grab some egg whites and gel food coloring to create rainbow meringue cookies — the perfect snack for a St. Paddy's party with the little ones. They're much easier than they look: you make the meringue, then have your kids paint the inside of the piping bag with different-colored stripes of gel. Insert meringue, then help your kids squirt them onto the pan.

Rainbow Pencil Eraser Painting

Bolling With 5

Are your kids bored of painting with a brush? Hand them a pencil instead and have them dip the eraser end in paint. The result: a pencil eraser dot painting that's loads of fun to create.

'Lucky' Rainbow Box

Lisa Storms

Colored cardstock and styrofoam go into building this "lucky" rainbox box, where kids write on shamrocks what they feel lucky to have in their lives. It's a great way to get kids to express some gratitide and remember that, hey, they've got it pretty good!