How to fill your day with shamrock-shaped activities

St. Patrick’s Day this year promises to be one of the biggest and best yet, so your main problem now is making sure that this Thursday lives up to the hype.

Get your thinking cap on and ensure that you leave your friends green with envy after seeing your family’s celebrations.

Patrick’s Day parades are back

Hotfoot it down to a parade and if you want to get a good view, you’ll probably need to be a bit early (which is normally nigh on impossible if you’re a parent). No doubt everywhere will be packed so be prepared to hoist the kiddies onto your shoulders and promise each other a neck massage later because you’re sure going to need it.

Look the part!

Of course, getting to the parade on time isn’t your only problem, you also need to make sure your children look the part. If your kids are anything like mine, they’ll want to look like Slimer from Ghostbusters has vomited all over them aka they need to be green from the top of their heads to the
tip of their toes. I on the other hand will be hoping to grab a shamrock headband last minute, green isn’t really my colour.

Eat (and drink) your greens

Regardless of the fact that we all get the 18th off too, as you’re a parent you probably won’t be able to indulge in too many green beers because there’s no such thing as a lie in when you have kids.

However, there’s nothing to stop you from concocting some green smoothies or milkshakes which the whole family can enjoy. Cheers!

If you need a green accompaniment, why not all snack on some Granny Smith’s, grapes or kiwis, and if baking’s your thing you could whip up some cupcakes and put shamrocks instead of cherries on the top.

Get active

Once your tummies are full, why not send the kids on a (pre-planned) scavenger hunt around the house or the garden. It’ll wear them out and you might even get a chance to sit down and have an Irish coffee. Let them search for lots of green stationary items which will lead us on to the next activity.

Get crafty

It’s time to get crafty. Get the kids to make Patrick’s Day decorations for the house and cards for each other and you’ll have some lovely little keepsakes to take out every year. There’s nothing to say you can’t join in too! Throw on some Irish music for a little inspiration and to get your creative juices flowing.

Movie night

After all that excitement, hopefully the kids will be so exhausted that they’ll go to bed on time. If you want to end the day with an Irish theme, why not stick on a movie that’s based here. You can’t go wrong with ‘P.S I Love You’ despite Gerard Butler’s dodgy accent…