Diane Small
2017-2018 National Youth Activities Ambassador
10 Festive Activities for Spring
There are still several weeks until it’s officially Spring, however, it’s time to think green and get ready for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter activities. Many Auxiliaries and Posts host annual events for one or both of these holidays and there are many ways for both younger and older youth to be involved.
For St. Patrick’s Day, ideas include:
- Paint a rainbow (use finger paint for extra fun!)
- Cut out shamrocks and decorate them with stickers, glitter or other items
- Create leprechaun hats
- Have a “Pot O’ Gold” scavenger hunt with the prize being a container filled with chocolate gold coins
- Include Irish and/or green food and drink in your festivities
- Corned beef and cabbage
- Shepherd’s pie
- Potato pancakes
- Lucky charms (not really Irish or green, but kids love it!)
- Green fruit (grapes, kiwi, apples, etc.)
- Green Kool-Aid, ginger ale with green food coloring, etc.
For Easter, ideas include:
- Decorate Easter baskets/buckets before the egg hunt
- Play Pin the Tail on the Easter Bunny and/or have an egg toss
- Dye eggs or fill eggs with candy
- Have a “Egg Carton” scavenger hunt and have youth fill the carton with items on a list
- Invite older youth to decorate for the event and hide eggs for the egg hunt.
Remember to have a card creation station for youth at your holiday events. Home-bound and hospitalized veterans love to get cards – especially cards created by youth!
While working with youth at these events, be sure to talk with them about areas of emphasis under our Youth Activities program. There is probably something else we do that they would like to participate in! Make sure to promote and use the new and updated items under our Youth Activities Program:
- Random Acts of Patriotism (R.A.P.) – NEW card design!
- We have suggested Departments purchase at least 100 R.A.P. coins and distribute to Auxiliaries.
- The updated printable R.A.P. card template is available for download from the Program & Publicity Resources page of the National Organization’s website.
- Patriotic Youth Award – NEW award
- This award is designed for individual patriotic youth.
- There are three designs to choose from.
- They are fillable, or you can print and write information in.
- Library of Congress – Veterans History Project (VHP) – NEW initiative
- High school youth are welcome to participate, however our organization is encouraging participation from students in grades 6-8.
- This age group is advanced in their understanding of technology.
- This is a great age for youth to meet veterans and begin or advance the understanding of their freedom and patriotism.
- We need to provide them with guidance and support.
We must always remember as we Catch the Dream for Our Veterans, the youth of today will be the leaders of tomorrow; the leaders of our country, our communities, and our own organization. By engaging them through the goals of our Youth Activities Program, we can enrich their lives while they learn about our veterans and the sacrifices our nation’s service members made so we can enjoy the freedoms we hold dear.
