Moms Talk Q & A: Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Family

Each week the Hillcrest Patch Moms Council answers a question on parenthood posed to them by readers or another member of council.

What are some fun ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with your kids?

Kim Zannetti: Luck O' the Irish be with you!
 
It is certainly a time to be creative. With the younger ones, it is a perfect time to have some fun with Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham. Since March 2 is Dr. Seuss' birthday, this is a wonderful way to combine beginning readers with the St. Patty's Day tradition.

We can throw in some math and measuring skills by baking green muffins, pancakes, etc.  Finger painting is always a hit with the younger ones, and creating green paint by combining blue and yellow is a wonderful art lesson, and is always good for smiles. Just put the paint on some cookie sheets, and away you go. For children learning to write, try adding some food coloring to shaving cream. Children can practice letters and numbers, and your table will smell wonderful and shine afterward.

For our older children, attending the St. Patty's Day parade is a fun way to begin the day. Exploring the history of St. Patrick's Day is also a way to work in a little bit O' history for discussion. Perhaps discovering how this holiday is celebrated in Ireland will also keep things interesting. Allow your older children to help you in preparing a traditional St. Patrick's Day meal. We had fun one year dyeing our bathtub water green in keeping with Chicago's tradition of making an entire river the emerald color.
 
The possibilities are endless, just let your mind go, and have fun with your little Leprechauns.

Kelly Brindle: It’s only proper for a girl with the name Kelly and Irish relatives in her lineage to celebrate. In the past, I haven’t really given it much thought, but now
with my kids growing fast I want to infuse some of that “Irish” heritage in them.

So, my inner geek said “Google” search and using “kid friendly St. Patrick’s Day menu” as my key words I found an excellent link on eHow.com. They discuss creating shamrock-shaped pancakes, green-themed veggie lunch items, a favorite pasta dish with the tri-colors (that happens to be Ireland's colors), making green soda or Kool-Aid, and readymade shamrock sugar cookies.

You might also want to take your family to the Cleveland St. Patrick's Day parade. Begun in 1867, it is the oldest in the state and one of the oldest in the country. The parade begins at 1:04 p.m. at Superior Avenue and East 18th Street in downtown Cleveland.

I went with my mom and my daughter two years ago and even though my daughter was fidgety before the parade (waiting to a 3-year-old is always an eternity), everyone had a great time. If you don’t like packed, close-together crowds, don't go. Take the rapid in to Tower City, take a blanket, hot cocoa, some light nibbles, and chairs if you don’t mind carrying them. Pray for no rain or that ugly “s” word.