St. Patty’s Day Family Fun
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Photo by: Flickr user perfecteau
St. Patrick’s Day gets a bad reputation as a holiday for adults, but it can be just as much fun when you stay home with the kids! By treating your children to some St. Patty’s Day crafts and activities, you show them the lighter side of the holiday. When March 17 rolls around this year, stick close to home and show your children the best part about the holiday.
Green Root Beer
Adults partake in millions of gallons of green dyed beer every year. While your kids cannot drink the real stuff, you can have just as much fun by making your own green root beer. Use a light shade of root beer, as this project does not work well with the darker colors or use cream soda, which is naturally light. Add a few drops of green food coloring to the root beer and share with family and friends.
Irish Cooking Ideas
Teach your children about traditional Irish cooking by hosting a special St. Patrick’s Day dinner for family and friends. Start with Irish soda bread, which has a richer flavor than ordinary bread or use potato bread. Make a traditional boiled Irish dinner with beef, cabbage, potatoes and onions or offer your guests corned beef and cabbage. Finish off the dinner with sugar cookies shaped like clovers that you make yourself and decorate with green icing.
Host an Irish Parade
Photo by: Flickr user christopherallisonphotography.com
If you have more than one child or your children have a few friends, host your own Irish parade through the neighborhood. Poke a hole in the top two corners on two pieces of poster board. Tie the poster board together with pieces of rope or string to make a sandwich board. Make one sandwich board for each child, and let the kids decorate the pieces with Irish symbols or phrases. Have each child put on their own sign and walk down the sidewalks of your neighborhood for a fast and easy holiday parade.
Make Irish Flowers
With a little green dye, you can turn almost any flower into an Irish flower. Go on a hunt around the neighborhood for white flowers or if the flowers aren’t out yet, purchase white flowers from a florist. Cut the end of the flowers on an angle and set to one side. Fill a large glass with tap water and add green food coloring to the water. Place the flower inside the glass and watch what happens. The flower slowly absorbs the color, transporting it through the blossom and turning it green. The process is different with every flower, and your kids can all make their own.
Four Leaf Clover Hunt
As long as you have a relatively dry patch of grass, you can launch your own four leaf clover hunt. Talk to your kids about the significance of a four leaf clover, including its rarity and how it brings luck. Give the kids 15 minutes and award a prize to the first person that finds the lucky clover.
* McKinney Mommas thanks Megan Gates for writing this guest blogging post! Happy St. Patty's Day, ya'll! *
