I will be the first to admit that holidays have gotten a little out of hand, at least, if you scroll through Pinterest, you feel like every other mom (that you do not know) is doing every holiday BIG! When I talk to my fellow mothers, I realize that we are not the only ones who haven’t decorated for National Wear Only A Left Sock Day. All kidding aside, I love that we have holidays that break up the norm of everyday activities and infuse a different subject into what I am teaching my children. I just don’t like investing a ton of time and money into creating a picture perfect holiday house…however, if this is your gift, keep on, girlfriend!
St. Patrick’s Day is holiday where we can put on our green and avoid being pinched at the grocery store, or we can take it up just a notch and celebrate The Luck of the Irish with our kids!
1. Shamrock Smoothies and Lucky Charms.
Help yourself out and take something you’d normally whip up for breakfast and put an Irish spin on it for your little leprechauns. I make green smoothies for my vegetable-hating children, pretty regularly. It is the best way to get good nutrients into their bodies without tears. It has yogurt, green apple, pineapple, banana, spinach, kale, avocado, green grapes and top it off with milk and ice to reach your desired consistency. On any other day this smoothie would be called a “Green Lantern” or a “Tinkerbell” smoothie, but on St. Patty’s Day it goes by the name of a “Shamrock Smoothie”. The only difference is I sprinkle some green sprinkles on top of it. Shamrocks would have been great, but the metro was picked clean when I was shopping.
If you and yours enjoy a bowl of cereal every now and again (or every morning), pick up a box of Lucky Charms or Fruit Loops and the work is done for you! I like to do both 🙂 And don’t forget to steep a cup of Irish Breakfast Tea for yourself.
2. Create Rainbow Necklace:
If your children stay at home, this falls into my mid-morning activity time. If they don’t stay at home, then I think making the necklace is a great bedtime activity. Simply take some fruit loops and identify the colors of the rainbow and thread onto a piece of twine or a shoelace. I think this could make a cute decoration as well as a necklace. Drape it over a mirror for a touch of a rainbow inside your house.
3. Plant Rainbow Seeds:
We’ve already planted spinach and carrots in our garden and the littles absolutely loved getting in on the action. You can take an empty pot and perhaps some leftover halloween candy and have a “pretend” potting station. You could use crushed up chocolate cookies if you were intending to eat this masterpiece, or just fill the pot with dirt and let them plant their rainbows.
4. Make the Color Green:
Fill a large mason jar with water and dig out your food coloring. If you are already going to the grocery store, I would recommend getting the RYBG liquid food coloring set that is by the sprinkles. It’s not the best set for getting true colors out of icing, but for this experiment, it’s perfect because the colors are thinned and in a squeeze bottle. This allows your children to be able to do it, without the mess of prep. Allow them to add one drop at a time of yellow, until they get a good, rich color and then slowly add the blue….volia! You have made green.
4. Search for a 4-leaf Clover:
Take a walk around your neighborhood or go to a park and hunt for a 4-leaf clover. This is a good time to tell a fun story about the legend of leprechauns and let them use their imaginations in hunting for one.
5. Taste the Rainbow:
Go ahead and dig out all the fruit and veggies in your refrigerator and come up with a rainbow. I opted for fruit for an after school snack. The fruit rainbow could include strawberries (R), cuties (O), bananas (Y), kiwi (G), blueberries (B), grapes (P) with a cloud of vanilla yogurt for dipping. A vegetable rainbow could be cherry tomatoes (R), carrots (O), Peppers (Y), Broccoli (G), Eggplant (P). I couldn’t think of a blue vegetable. I would also add a cloud of ranch yogurt dip, to complete the pictures.
6. An Irish Dinner:
For dinner you could fix corned beef and cabbage. It’s basically like a big pot roast. You buy corned beef at the store that has all of the seasonings included, saving you the preparation hassle, add carrots, potatoes, onions and top off with cabbage. Here is a link to the recipe I will be following. My in-laws make this every year and I think we will begin the tradition, as well. Irish soda bread and beer bread are another addition to the meal that could become a tradition.
7. Wind Down With A Classic:
I grew up watching a very young Sean Connery in Darby O’Gill and the Little People. I have to admit, this might be slightly disturbing for younger children because of the demon chariot at the end…you won’t find that in a Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. It is a classic and I love watching it. Babble put together a list of Irish themed movies for everyone, we seem to agree on the #1 spot :).
I hope you all have a fantastic St. Patrick’s Day! Don’t forget your green and have an adventure with your kiddos.
