St. Patrick's Day Party

So St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner.  Even though there are two main types of people who celebrate...those who recognize the religious contributions made by St. Patrick, a British man who became a missionary to Ireland, or those who just want to enjoy Irish traditions and Guinness beer; celebrating with kids can be very fun and educational!

Let's start with decorations...my favorite part!  Green, white and gold are the most common colors for this holiday.  Green shamrocks are the most common decor; although, leprechauns, rainbows, gold coins,  the Irish flag and many other decorations are also acceptable.  You could do centerpieces with just about anything...like a black pot filled with gold coins and a leprechaun hat!  Here are some photos to inspire you!

Food!  Certainly Irish food is the best choice on this day.  Corn beef sandwiches, potatoes & green sour cream and fried green beans are a great start.  If you were thinking more of snack foods, spinach artichoke dip, green chips and avocado dip and soda bread would look great too.  And for kids, try green jello jigglers cut from a shamrock design, green m&m’s, green shamrock sugar cookies, a rainbow cake, skittles, jelly beans or lollipops in rainbow colors, green fruit: kiwi, green apples, green grapes, green pears, honeydew, or green veggies: broccoli, celery, cucumbers, pickles and green olives.

Drinks!  Anything Green!  Green mint milkshakes, green lime sherbet in 7-up, green kool-aid, ect.  Food coloring would come in handy in this category!

Activities!  Well of course there is your city's Irish Parade and Festival!  What a great way to start the day!  Don't forget to wear your green for the day or else you'll get pinched.  For kids, teaching them some Irish dancing would be fun, reading some St. Patrick's Day books from the library, showing them Ireland on a map and coloring pages would be fun too.  Or a craft making Shamrocks or singing an Irish jig' (if you know any) would be a blast!

Whatever you choose to do on this day, it will be fun for your family because you put a lot of love and thought into it.  They will love it!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!