IF YOU WANT to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day quietly without all the hype, I offer several suggestions. These center not on drinking green beer, listening to Irish music and such, but rather on simple, fun ideas that hold a bit of magic.
First off—and this one takes the most effort—is shamrocking. And, no, this isn’t anything party-related. Rather, this is a way to surprise a friend, a neighbor, a family member with a field of shamrocks planted in their yard. About a decade ago, I was the recipient of this St. Patrick’s Day surprise. And I gotta tell you, this act of kindness left me smiling all day.
Here’s how it works. Draw and cut about two dozen black magic marker-outlined shamrocks from green paper or tag board (or buy them, maybe at a dollar store), write a fun/uplifting message on them (this is optional), then tape to a short dowel (or whatever you can stick into the ground). Next, draw and cut one over-sized shamrock from green paper and write this message on it: “IVE BEEN SHAM ‘ROCK’ ED.”
Then, and this is the tricky part, you have to plant these shamrocks when the recipient isn’t watching, perhaps under the cover of darkness. The element of surprise, of awakening to a lawn growing shamrocks, is magical.
Leprechauns, as we all know, are also magical. And especially mischievous. Last year, my two grandchildren built a leprechaun trap from Magna-Tiles, a plastic flower pot and a tissue box. They drew gold coins on paper to decorate the walls. They also placed fake coins inside the pot. The goal was to trap a leprechaun who would leave real, not fake, gold coins for them. A leprechaun (albeit paper) was, indeed, trapped in their contraption. He did not leave any gold, though. A quarter may have appeased the two of them. So if you have little people in your life, encourage them to craft a leprechaun trap. And then do your part to make some magic happen.
My third suggestion—and this is because I love books—is to read a book about St. Patrick’s Day, Ireland or leprechauns. Read it to yourself or aloud to a little person. I typed “leprechaun” into my local library’s online catalog search engine and 14 books, mostly children’s picture books but also some nonfiction, popped up. How to Catch a Leprechaun written by Adam Wallace and illustrated by Andy Elkerton would be a good reference for the aforementioned trap project. And Pete the Cat: The Great Leprechaun Chase, a picture book written and illustrated by James Dean, would surely delight any child as Pete the Cat starts a leprechaun catching business. Even if you’re an adult without a kid to read to, read a book written for children. I love children’s picture books for their art, their stories and their messages.
Finally, channel your inner kid and enjoy a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal. Sure they’re sugary and all that. But, hey, occasionally we have to treat ourselves, so says she who eats fruit-laced oatmeal nearly every morning for breakfast. Lucky Charms is about more than eating something sugary. It’s also about feeling like a kid again, recapturing youthful magic in every bite of those lucky charm marshmallows and toasted oat pieces. Who doesn’t believe in the magic of unicorns, rainbows, horseshoes and five other lucky charms? I do. At least on St. Patrick’s Day.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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