Our Tradition

Picture from Amazon.com

Now... remember this is St. Patrick's Day, so wearing green is a must! Not only will you get pinched if you don't but at my house it's worse! You see... Leprechauns love green and turn everything green. When you are wearing green it's like camo and they will NOT turn YOU green!

Now... that being said... First we put on the movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People. I know... it's strange, but there aren't that many St. Patrick's Day movies out there and for some reason this one interests my kids. I loved it when I was little too, so perhaps they truly get their weirdness from me! Or perhaps they also thinks it's funny to see such a young Sean Connery!

When they start getting into the movie I go to the kitchen to "start" lunch so we can have a living room picnic. Then I pretty much make lunch, but dye everything green I can. This way when I go back to the kitchen to get it I can say, "Oh NO! The Leprechauns were here! They got mad because they couldn't turn us green so... they turned the food green!" I remember falling for it forever more because I wanted to believe in the little green men than anything!

Food ideas I have done or remember my mommy doing!

Drinks: Green Milk, Green water, Green Lemonade, Sprite or 7-Up

Food: Cheese Quesadillas using the green tortillas, Sandwiches painted with green butter or cut into shamrocks

Sides: Pears, pistachio pudding, Picked out all the green fruit snacks, fish crackers or m&m's, green jell-o, pickles, broccoli (See my kids are weird! They would eat the Broccoli before the m&m's!)

We then spend the day painting little rocks gold and devising all sorts of traps. Every now and then I go behind my kids and take the rocks to make them think a Leprechaun out smarted them! I love celebrating!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!