St Patricks Day

St Patricks Day

St Patricks Day(March 17), is the Irish feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

It is a legal holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the overseas territory of Montserrat and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

It is celebrated worldwide by the Irish and those of Irish descent and increasingly by many of non-Irish descent.

Many cities will color their rivers green for the day! This photo of St-Patricks Day in Chicago shows what a unique site it becomes.

Boston, New York and Savannah all celebrate the day with festivities and parades.

If you can't make it to one of the big parades, you can still celebrate the Luck of the Irish with some crafts for the kids and a menu of Irish items.

St. Patricks Day cards

This site has some wonderful, fun and colorful cards.
Free St. Patricks Day cards Send Free Online Greeting Cards to your friends & loved ones. ALL cards are absolutely FREE !!!

St Patricks Day Decorations:

St Patricks Day calls for the color green on everything.

Cut shamrock shapes from construction paper and paste onto your walls, windows and doors. Don't worry if they aren't perfectly shaped, they aren't perfect in nature either!
Save your hands from cramping as you cut out shamrocks....get the decorating kit below instead!

ShindigZ by Stumps

Decorating Kit

St-Patricks Day wouldn't be any fun without the little leprechauns sneaking around everywhere wreaking havoc. This may be your lucky year to catch one! Place pictures and cut outs of leprechauns in sneaky places around your house. Tape one up at the back of the commode, put one inside a cupboard door, sneak out while your husband is watching television and place on on his steering wheel. Have fun trying to find creative places to put them.

A table centerpiece doesn't have to be formal,they can be fun and whimsical and full of good things to eat. Afterall St Patricks Day is the Irish feast day. If I feast my eyes on chocolate, its mine!

Deck out your table with colorful green clover tableware, napkins and cups.
You can use a solid green tablecloth or if you happen to have a dark green shower curtain, you can use that for a temporary table cover!

Put green carnations into a vase and use as a centerpiece.

Have the kids make some tissue paper flowers with green paper and place those all over the house. I used to make inexpesive St-Patricks Day flowers with white toilet paper squares. Layer about 10 squares of paper on top of each other shifting each layer slightly. Grab the center of the stack, and tie with a rubber band. Spray lightly with water that has a drop of green food coloring in it!

Use four leaf clover coins as decoration only. They do not work in pop machines and the bartender definately doesn't accept them. You can put a small black kettle on the table and fill it with the coins, or just sprinkle them around. They are bright, shiny and green!

Tradition has it that if you don't wear green on St Patricks Day, then you can get pinched by whomever notices the lack of green on you!
Saying you are Irish does not give you protection!
That only worked once when I was a child, my grown up friends didn't buy it and I'm still bruised from last year!
Protect yourself... wear a traditional green derby

Be the hit of the party by using this really fun and unique shot glass when you want a drink!

ShindigZ by Stumps shot glass necklace

St Patricks Day Activities:

Leprechaun Chase:
Leprechauns are make believe little fairy shoemakers. If you catch one, you can make him tell you where he has hidden his treasure.
Assign one person to be the catcher. All the other kids are leprechauns and need to be in a circle around the catcher. On the word "go" the kids scatter in an outward motion. The catcher needs to tag all the leprechauns. When he tags one, they have to freeze.

Shaving Cream Paint:
Squirt some shaving cream onto a plastic plate.
Add a few drops of green food coloring to the shaving cream.
Let the kids create St Patricks Day pictures with the cream.

Green Necklaces:
Die some macaroni with green food coloring. Just put a few noodles into a glass cup, add a few drops of the coloring, stir with the handle end of a spoon, place onto a plastic plate to dry.
Thread the noodles on yarn or ribbon to create a quick necklace to wear on St Patricks Day.

Four-Leaf Jiggles:
Make lime jello in a rectangular pan, let harden.
Use shamrock cookie cutters to cut them into shapes.

Blarney Stones:
Clean some palm sized stones with bleach and water. Rinse well.
Allow the kids to decorate the stones with glitter and green paint. Make sure they leave an area open enough for kissing!

St Patricks Day Party Favors:

If you are having an adult St Patricks Day party, the lighted shot glass necklaces (shown above) would make a unique and fun party favor.

ShindigZ by Stumps

St Patrick’s Day Clover Beads This 33" necklace is a must-have favor for your St Patrick’s Day bash!

BUCKETS O' MONEY PAILS They'll be "rolling in the dough" with these bright buckets, holding $100 bill bouncing balls, glitter money stickers, tons of play money, and $100 bill pen necklaces, pens, playing cards, notepads, and key chains! The bright buckets are great for storing kids' treasures. (7 items plus play money per gift pail, 4 gift pails per unit) Pails 3".

St Patricks Day Food and Drinks:

Tradition has St Patricks Day being a feast celebrating the death of Saint Patrick.
Here you will find some fun recipes for kids involving green foods!

There are also recipes for Irish soda bread, Irish root beer(adults only!), Irish potato soup and a Grasshopper pie that is so yummy.

St Patricks Day Fun For Kids:

Shamrock Candles would look great on cupcakes for your little leprechauns on St Patricks Day!
Make up a bunch to take to school for their St-Patricks Day party.

Green Mashed Potatoes:
Make mashed potatoes like you normally would but before serving add a few drops of green food coloring.

Lucky St Patricks Day Milkshake:
1 cup milk
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
green food coloring
Combine the milk and ice cream in a blender. Mix for a little bit then add a couple of drops of the food coloring. Before serving add a small clover.

Adult Menus for St Patricks Day

Irish Soda Bread
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups raisins

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; set aside.
Combine buttermilk, butter, and raisins; add to flour mixture, stirring until moistened. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes).

Place on a greased baking sheet.
Press dough evenly into a 1 1/2-inch-thick circle.
Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove to a wire rack; cool 5 minutes. Cut into wedges.
Yield: Makes one 12-inch round loaf
(Southern Living, MARCH 1999)

ShindigZ by Stumps Irish Mug

Irish RootBeer Adults Only
In a chilled glass mug pour:
1 part rootbeer
1 part Bailey's Irish Cream
1 part vodka
This Rootbeer is only for adults as it contains alcohol.

Irish Potato Soup
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 leeks, sliced
3 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3 (14 1/2-ounce) cans chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Toppings: shredded Cheddar cheese, crumbled cooked bacon, chopped fresh chives

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat; stir in onion and leek. Cover and cook 20 minutes.

Stir in potato; cover and cook 15 minutes. Stir in broth, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until potato is tender. Remove from heat, and cool slightly.

Process soup in batches in a blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides; return to saucepan, and cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated. Serve with desired toppings.
Yield: 11 cups

(Southern Living, MARCH 1999)

Grasshopper Ice Cream Pie

1 cup chocolate wafer crumbs (about 20 cookies; such as Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk
1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1/4 cup green crème de menthe
2 tablespoons white crème de cacao
1 (8-ounce) container frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
3 cups vanilla low-fat ice cream, softened
2 teaspoons chocolate syrup

Combine crumbs and butter in a small bowl; stir with a fork until moist. Press into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Chill.
Combine milk and marshmallow creme in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute, stirring once.
Add crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and whipped topping, stirring until blended.

Spread ice cream into prepared pan; top with marshmallow mixture. Freeze at least 6 hours.
Drizzle with chocolate syrup before serving.
Yield: 12 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING CALORIES 234(17% from fat); FAT 4.4g (sat 2.2g,mono 1.1g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 2.4g; CHOLESTEROL 9mg; CALCIUM 54mg; SODIUM 139mg; FIBER 0.9g; IRON 0.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.6g

(Cooking Light, MAY 2002)

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