Because keeping the wonder alive in my life and the life of my children is so important to me, I enjoy giving holidays an extra special bit of magic. But I also love to keep things small and simple. Wonder doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy to be memorable. So this year for St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve created a little printable collection for a “Rainbow – Pot of Gold Treasure Hunt,” and I thought you might enjoy it too.
What’s unique about this treasure hunt is, it isn’t just about finding the candy! It’s about family connection, bonding time, and spending quality time together. The clues will help you learn more about each other, and the prizes at the end are unique and individual. Each child receives a special activity that they get to choose and plan to do with you (based on the color of the rainbow that they get). More on this below!
This free printable collection has everything you need to make a bit ‘o leprechaun magic for your children. Print and cut out the pages, then follow the instructions below.
- Hide the Rainbow Question Cards around your house and write clues if you wish on the back or print out the blank version to write clues on (scavenger hunt style). Make sure the scavenger hunt starts with red and goes on down the rainbow (orange, yellow, green, blue, purple). If you don’t want to do a scavenger hunt, you could just hide all the color cards and instruct the kids to find them. You could even hide each color card on something found in your house that is the same color. The sky is the limit!
- Buy a bag of original skittles (the red bag) and separate them into little bags for each of your children (you can include your spouse too if you’d like). Make sure for each bag, you put a few more of one color of skittle than the other colors. (You’ll see why in step 7).
- Buy a few chocolate gold coins, or use plastic gold coins, or real coins of any sort. Take your coins, your bags of skittles, AND the second Rainbow Card (the one that says: “It’s your lucky day!”) and hide them all together where the last clue directs.
- When you’re ready for the treasure hunt, give your children the Rainbow Card that says, “Follow the colors of the rainbow to find your pot of gold.” You can even tell them a leprechaun left this note if you want. Use your imagination!
- Next, have the children find the first clue (red question card). Gather together, read the question and have each person in your family answer the question. This is where the family connection happens! Enjoy learning about each other as your children find and answer each clue color.
- When they find the last color, they will be instructed to the location where you have hidden the coins and skittles. When they find it, pass out the coins and the bags of skittles and read the leprechaun note that says: “It’s your lucky day! Not only did you find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but you also get to enjoy a special color of the rainbow activity! Count the colors of your rainbow skittles to find out which color is yours!”
- Tell the children to dump out their skittles and sort them into piles by color. The color that has the most skittles is their special color. Hand them the Activity Card for their color and let them choose the activity they want to plan with you. (Bonus points if your spouse gets a special card, and EXTRA bonus points if you do it too! The kids would love making a day special for you. Or you could do a special date with your spouse.)
- Plan your activities together and put them on the calendar.
I hope you enjoy treasure making these special memories with your family this St. Patrick’s Day. To download all the printables for this treasure hunt collection (including blank rainbow printables and cards so you can customize your own treasure hunt), click below! Also included is one of my most popular prints:
