Celebrating St. Patrick's Day: From Pub Crawls to "Going Green"

Whether you're Irish or not, St. Patrick's Day is a good excuse for breaking out the Guinness, wearing green and getting your Irish on (ancestry not required). If you've never celebrated St. Patrick's Day, then perhaps this is your year to claim your stake in that much talked about pot 'o gold.

Here are some tips for making your March 17th the best ever. With or without the lager.

* Instead of the traditional pub crawl, rent some Irish themed movies and have an Irish movie night. Some movies you could include are Circle of Friends, Into The West and Waking Ned Devine. Make sure to serve plenty of "green" food including that obligatory green food dye in your drink.

* You don't have to go to Dublin to attend a really big St. Patrick's Day celebration. Many cities and towns host their own parades and celebrations including Chicago, New York City, Jackson, Mississippi and even Sydney Australia.

* Really go green. Get together with some friends and do something for the environment. Switch out all the light bulbs in your apartment to energy efficient ones. Collect all your recyclables and take them to your local recycling plant (if you don't already have a city-wide effort to pick up your recycling).

* If you're a teetotaler or have friends who are, don't drag them to a pub. Instead, plan a get together at home with non-alcoholic drinks. Drinks such as Sprite and Sierra Mist can easily be made green with just a little food coloring.

* Use St. Patrick's Day as an excuse for throwing that elaborate dinner party you've been wanting to host. Prepare a meal with all the Irish staples such as Irish stew and boiled potatoes.

* Throw a limerick writing party. The dirtier, the better.

* Irish lore tells of those who searched for a pot of gold. Why not organize your own treasure hunt? If someone has a portable GPS unit, then today's the day to begin a new hobby: geocaching! And if not, see if you can track down someone with one of those nifty metal detectors. You may only find a few old aluminum cans, but you're sure to have a lot of fun and you never know what you might find.

* Last, but not least, if you really want to celebrate the spirit of the Irish (with spirits!), go out for that traditional pub crawl. Extra points if you can find a local karaoke bar that will let you sing Irish ditties.

And it goes without saying: if you're drinking, call a cab or designate a driver. The luck of the Irish doesn't cover blatant foolishness.