How to Celebrate St Patricks Day at Home with the Family

St Patrick's day is right around the corner. For those of you looking for some budget friendly ideas to celebrate the holiday with your family, look no further.

First put up a few festive decorations. If you have preschoolers, this is the time to get them busy! Put their hands to work coloring some pages from Kaboose or DLTK.

Trace their hands on green construction paper and allow them to cut the hands out with child safe scissors. Glue the hands together in a circle to make a wreath. They can use markers or glitter glue pens to write out "Happy St Patrick's Day" on the wreath. This can be hung on the wall or the door.

For snacks, add a touch of food coloring to whatever you serve. The kids can help whip up some simple sugar cookies with green food coloring or green icing. For something a bit healthier, whip up some green popcorn. Use this recipe and change the desired color to green. You can also let the kids help you bake a cake. Decorate with white icing then use green sprinkles, green jellybeans, or other green garnishments to add pizazz to your dessert!

It's easy to make green punch to drink. Pour some 7 up into a pitcher. Add scoops of lime sherbet for taste and color. Kids will love it!

For dinner, the traditional corned beef and cabbage is easy to make. Peel and chop potato's. Get a bag of baby carrots. Get a head of cabbage and your corned beef. Throw it all in the Crockpot. Add salt and pepper and a bit of water. Let it sit on low and cook all day long while you play with the kids. Not only an easy meal, but tasty and in celebration of the holiday as well.

Wear green! If you can't find green items for everyone, let the kids help you make some. You can use beads to string together green jewelry. Or use construction paper and safety pins to make everyone a shamrock badge.

Instead of turning on the television, pick up a book. Scour the Internet or library for resources. Spend some family team reading Irish Folklore, these are cute and entertaining for everyone in the family. Read some Irish Poetry. Talk about famous Irish authors or poets such as Maeve Binchy.

Incorporate St Patrick's Day into your book club by reading and discussing an Irish novelist.

The ideas for St Patrick's Day are endless. It's a fun day of celebration that can give you some much needed break from daily routines and schedules. Use St Patrick's Day to spend some quality time with your family this year!