St. Patrick’s Day celebrations for the family

Simple food, décor, DIYS and activities

By the time March rolls around, I’m sick of snow, cold and grey skies. As a result, I embrace St. Patrick’s Day as the perfect opportunity to celebrate with glitter, gold and rainbows. You don’t need to be Irish to plan a family-friendly St. Patrick’s Day celebration with simple food, décor, DIYS and activities.

When it comes to food, it isn’t necessary to get fancy. Traditional Irish faire, such as soda bread and stew, is perfect, but anything green- or rainbow-coloured fits with a St. Patrick’s Day theme.

In our home, I always serve a buffet of green food, including green pancakes and green milk with rainbow straws. To make a rainbow straw, thread a straw through the centre of colourful Froot Loop cereal.

A green candy charcuterie board, Lucky Charms, shamrock-shaped cookies, and cupcakes with green icing and rainbow sprinkles are fun options too.

When it comes to décor, the dollar store has fantastic finds, but for a more highend look, why not get a little crafty? A tiered tray can be the perfect way to add a little St. Patrick’s Day décor to your home.

Fill the tray with cardboard shamrocks wrapped in green yarn, small jars or pots painted black and filled with chocolate gold coins, sock gnome leprechauns, wood bead garlands, book stacks, and/or containers of rainbow-coloured candies.

You can also make DIY custom wreaths or artwork. I designed a print using Picmonkey.com and popped it in a dollar store frame.

I just wrote different St. Patrick’s Day words in different colours and fonts and added some clipart. It doesn’t get easier and more inexpensive than that.

A front door wreath is always a must have piece of holiday décor.

Pinterest has an abundance of inspiration, but to DIY your own unique wreath, all you need to do is wrap a wreath form in yarn and add felt shamrocks and green ribbon.

Kids can craft their own wreaths too. A paper plate with the centre cut out is the perfect starting point. Then, crunch up 1-inch squares of green and white tissue paper and glue them to the paper plate, add construction paper shamrocks, and hang from a ribbon.

Holiday crafting with kids is a great way to teach creativity and spend quality time together, and rainbow Froot Loop necklaces are a perfect option for St. Patrick’s Day.

Grab some shoestring liquorice, string on Froot Loop beads, and add a gold chocolate coin pendant.

To add a bit of whimsey to the holiday celebration, consider building a leprechaun trap.

Make a plan, build a trap from items in the craft cupboard or recycling bin, use Lucky Charms cereal as bait, and see if you can get lucky and catch a leprechaun.

They are pretty tricky, but even if they escape, they often leave gold chocolate coins behind (which is magical and fun!)

Making a rainbow is another wonderful St. Patrick’s Day activity. Simply make a circle of Skittles around the rim of a plate, slowly add warm water to the centre, and watch as a rainbow appears.

On March 17, I hope you take some time to eat, craft, decorate, and celebrate with family and friends. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

“May your troubles be less, your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door.” - Irish blessing

Gina Bell is a mother of three and can be found online at www.eastcoastmommy.com.