This year, St. Patrick's Day falls on Saturday, March 17th. Probably best to hold your Shamrockin' Club the week before. If you have a Monday club, you potentially could have it on March 19th.
If you do it after the actual day, you can get cheap deals at Walmart on leftover St. Patty party favors. Below are 13 lucky club ideas.
Wear Green, Win Green
You could call it "Green Club." Encourage everyone to dress in green. Some folks may even paint their faces. Most green on one person wins "green," $50 off of summer camp.
Have a skit character host the evening. He/she could be "Patty O'Furniture" wearing green tights, red wig, bow tie, shamrock shades (see "party favors" below), Irish hat, beard, etc... A terrible Irish accent is a must. He/she should repeat Irish phrases like "top o' the mornin' to ye" and "let go of me Lucky Charms."
Ms. Shamrock
Host a "Ms. Shamrock" competition for the ladies similar to the "Mr. Christmas Tree" for the fellas, just tweak things to be "Shamrock-y" instead of "Christmas Tree-y.
Party Favors
Order party favors to pass out at club.
- 36 St. Patty's Rubber bracelets for $11.99
- 108 Shamrock Party Favors for $11.95
- 32 Piece Accessories for $9.95
- At Oriental Trading Post you can buy all kinds of novelties for cheap and they have 2-3 day delivery.
Irish Tunes
Irish Wristwatch
Invite 3 contestants to leave the room. Call them in, one by one, and have them see how many times they can correctly say the phrase "Irish Wristwatch" in 30 seconds. Don't say the phrase out loud. Just have them read the phrase off the screen or a piece of paper. Award either a green watch or a box of Lucky Charms as a prize to the winner. Nostril Shooters
Have a relay race where teams race to shoot marshmallows out of the noses into a bowl of Lucky Charms sitting on someone's head. At the end, if you want it to be over the top, you could have a leader pick up a spoon and start eating the marshmallows out of the bowl.
Classic YL Lucky Skit
It's an oldie, but a goodie! Based on an old Monty Python sketch. You can watch a video of the skit here. And another version here. There are quite a few on YouTube. You can download a script here, but I would edit it to make it your own with some lines that were tailored for your school's club.
Gettin' Jiggy With It
Have leaders or kids learn an Irish Jig ahead of time and perform the dance for everyone. You could then open up the stage for a competition. Watch videos on YouTube like this one to learn how to do an Irish Jig.
Feeling Lucky Mixer
It's an easy mixer with no prep other than going to the ATM. Give one student a $10 bill and tell him/her to give it to the 11th person that shakes their hand and says "Top of the mornin to ye laddy." Have everyone shake hands and meet someone new and tell them that someone has been given $10 to give to the 11th person that shakes their hand. Play some Irish Jig in the background.
Just Dew It
Have 3 teams of two come up and whoever finishes a two-liter of Neon Green Mountain Dew and a small bag of Lucky Charms wins!
Leprechaun Skit
If you haven't used the classic YL skit "Little Nemo" in a while, now's a good time to do it with Lil Nemo being a Leprechaun. Here's a YouTube example.
Irish Trivia
(shared by Wes Wilson)
Here are the questions and answers below.
Q: What is the name of the lead singer of Irish band U2?
A. Bono
Q: What are the colors of the flag of Ireland?
A: Orange, white, and green
Q: What university’s mascot is The Fighting Irish?
A. Notre Dame
Q: According to legend, Saint Patrick drove what creatures out of Ireland?
a. Snakes
b. Spiders
c. Banshees
d. French people
Q: The shamrock has been used over the centuries as a specific remedy for what?
a. Dehydration
b. Snake bites and scorpion stings
c. Urinary and kidney stones
d. Girl cooties
Q: According to legend, leprechauns all engage in what trade?
a. Tailoring
b. Shoe making
c. Blacksmithing
d. Mattress testing
Q: Some traditional Irish St. Patrick’s Day foods include what?
a. Corned beef and cabbage, soda bread
b. Sweet potato bread, soup
c. Mashed potatoes, carrots, rye bread
d. Mint pie, pretzels, curly fries and a large milk shake
Q: The most common hair color in Ireland is what?
A. Brown
Q: Which holiday’s origin traces back to Ireland?
A. Halloween
What is the most important crop grown in Ireland, both historically and now?
A. Potatoes
Tie Breaker
Q. What is the cereal Lucky Charms’ tagline?