Confession: I’m the mom at daycare that signs up for class parties first — to ensure that all I have to bring is a pack of holiday napkins or paper plates.
I’m intimidated by the healthy snack thing. What constitutes healthy? What can I bring it that’s both prepackaged and fun for the kids? Also, what meets all of these requirements without costing $25 to feed 18 three-year-olds?
I can’t help you with most holidays, but I’ve got you covered for St. Patrick’s Day. With a little bit of cutting and taping, you can create leprechaun hats from applesauce cups — a snack that satisfies all of the above requirements for the preschool holiday party snack.
It starts with my free printable. Get the leprechaun hat detail, complete with glittery gold buckle, to wrap around the applesauce cup and transform it into the signature bowler hat of the Irish imps.
Download: Leprechaun Hat Applesauce Snack Free Printable
(PDF – 8.5 x 11 paper – 8 per page
Embellish with a shamrock sticker on top, and that’s it!
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure policy for all the boring details.
Healthy St. Patrick’s Day Snack: Easy Leprechaun Hat Applesauce Cups
Supplies
- Mott’s Applesauce Cups – Pear flavor (the only flavor that’s green!)
- Leprechaun hat printable (use full-page labels or regular paper)
- Scissors
- Scotch tape
- Shamrock sticker (surprisingly hard to find – check the dollar store or buy on Amazon)
Instructions
1. Print the #NeverDoneWithFun Leprechaun Hat Applesauce Snack free printable. I used Avery full-page labels so that I could stick the printable to the applesauce cup, but it turns out it still required a piece of Scotch tape.
2. Cut out leprechaun hat detail printable. I used scissors for this project; I felt using my favorite paper cutter would not be precise enough for the thin black band of the hat.
3. Turn the applesauce cup upside down and wrap the cut-out around the widest part of the cup, securing with a piece of Scotch tape where the two ends overlap.
4. The cut-out will not lay perfectly flat because of the shape of the applesauce cup. This is why the label backing is helpful instead of regular paper, but regular paper and tape still work too.
5. Add a shamrock sticker to decorate the top of the “hat.”
7. Voila! Cute, healthy snack for the kids in your life.
If you want to get extra-fancy, you can cut green circles out of construction paper to tape or glue an extra green brim onto the bottom of your hat. But honestly, by the time I was done cutting out 24 of the hat details, I was done with scissors and paper craft.
If you can’t find pear applesauce at your local grocery store, though, adding a green brim and using regular applesauce cups would work just as well.
For another kid-friendly recipe to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, leprechaun bait trail mix is easy and fun; add the easy gold cookie coins if you’re feeling Pinterest-inspired. Or these cute shamrock chocolate pretzel cookies come together in 20 minutes or less.
Let me see how your leprechaun hat snacks came out by sharing with #NeverDoneWithFun on social and keep following along on Instagram and Pinterest for daily ideas and inspiration!
