One of my very favorite days of the year is St. Patrick's Day...there are so many fun ways to celebrate with your kids! Here are my top 5 ideas for a free or cheap celebration for your family and friends.
Lucky Little Leprechaun
Starting a few days before St. Patrick's Day, a little leprechaun visits our house each night while the kids sleep! He makes mischief of all kinds...spreads shamrock confetti on the floor. buries himself in a bowl of Lucky Charms, dyes the toilet water green, leaves chocolate coins for the kids, and puts green things in unusual places. I bought a little $3 leprechaun statue from Target who serves as our sneaky guy...you could find a little leprechaun statue or stuffed toy at party stores or really, you don't even have to have a leprechaun...he may just make his mischief and leave at your house!
Three Words: Green Food Coloring
Use green food coloring generously on St. Patty's Day! Green Eggs and milk for breakfast, green noodles for lunch with green cupcakes for dessert, and green mashed potatoes with your shepherd's pie at dinner! Serve with some green fruits (kiwi, grapes) and vegetables (cucumber, green pepper, green beans, etc) and you've got an all-green menu! Go to Coupons.com to print a coupon for any McCormick food coloring (while supplies last).
Lucky Pennies
Check out these adorable downloadable templates from Pumpkin Petunia to make your own lucky pennies to hand out on St. Patty's Day. Best of all...they are FREE to download and only cost a penny and the cost of your paper and ink. These make great party favors for children and adults!
Fruit Rainbow
I made this cute fruit rainbow for a snack at my son's class St. Patty's Day celebration and it was a HIT! Just get out a big platter and arrange different colored fruits into the shape of a rainbow (I used strawberries, mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks, kiwi, and purple grapes). Then make a "cloud" of marshmallows and place a pot of "gold" (chocolate coins or banana slices) at the end of the rainbow. While fruit can be expensive, this is a quick and easy way to provide a healthy and festive snack for kiddos at school or at your St. Patty's Day party. You could even make little individual rainbows for your kids' lunch!
Potato Stamps
Use a couple of raw potatoes, slice them in half, then cut out shamrocks, four-leaf clovers, or circles for gold coins from the sliced end of the potatoes. Let your kids dip the potatoes into green and yellow paints and stamp them onto paper to make St. Patty's Day cards or posters. For a tutorial, go here. Cost for this one? Just the price of a potato or two!
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Tis a great day to be Irish!! Have a great time celebrating this week!