I don’t know much about St. Patty’s Day beyond shamrock shakes, but I do know that come March, four leaf clovers seem to be everwhere! So I asked Jocelyn of My iTwins to clue me into some ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with my family.--Diana
My "Irish Twins" (who are given that name for being less than 12 months apart in age) are actually part Irish from my husband's side of the family. Each St. Patrick's Day we always celebrate with the traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage feast that my mother-in-law prepares. My children love it as much as I have come to also enjoy this tradition.
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year on March 17th because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It has become over time, a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history. In Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, people traditionally wear a small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps while children wear orange, white and green badges (the colors in Ireland’s flag). The women and girls wear green ribbons in their hair.
Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.
While I'll leave our fantastic meal up to my mother-in-law, here are a few fun ways we're going to have some St. Patrick’s Day fun with the Irish Twins. Try these ideas out with your little leprechauns this year too!
Little Leprechaun Attire
Put together a fun Irish-spirited outfit by dressing your children in ALL GREEN clothes and accessories. It's a perfect opportunity to go over naming their colors with emphasis on, of course, the color GREEN! Make sure YOU wear green too!
Green Finger Foods.
Make a festive tray of green veggies to snack on. Some of our favorites that we'll be bringing to the table are:
- celery sticks
- cucumber sticks
- halved green grapes
- edamame (baby soybeans in the pod).
My children LOVE popping out the little green beans and eating them! It's a fun & healthy way to keep them entertained while feeding them some essential greens.
Green O’Jello
Some lime Jello set in a shallow pan and then cubed makes a fantastic St. Patty's dessert for little fingers. (Don't forget to dip the bottom of the pan and your knife in hot water to make releasing and cutting the cubes easier.)
A GREEN Play Day
Even though it sounds like a simple idea, sort out ALL of the GREEN toys your children have and play with them! You’d be surprised at how entertained they will be when you group them together according to their green color. They will find a new way to relate to the different toys when they are sorted this way.
Shamrock Hop!
Print out the pattern provided and cut out about a dozen shamrock-shapes from different colored construction paper. Or you could have your child color each one a different color with crayons or markers. Place them on the floor all around the room. Then shout out a color and have your little leaping leprechaun hop on that color shamrock. If they get it right, they get to pick up that color and hold it while they continue to hop and collect them all. Add a little Irish music for some extra fun!
Shamrock Pattern
Rainbow Roll Coloring
Wrap clear tape around multiple crayons of varying colors to create your Giant “Rainbow Roll” crayon. Have your child draw with the Rainbow roll. Show them how to draw a big arch across the paper to make a big rainbow.
Hope you have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day and find a little pot of gold at the end of the rainbow through making it a fun day with your children.
When my son Peter was in preschool, a naughty leprechaun used to invade his classroom and make mischief on St. Patrick’s Day. Chairs were overturned, papers thrown on the floor—the kids loved it. I’m glad that leprechaun never found his way to my house to make a mess, although I know my kids would have enjoyed the visit!
Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at your house?