St. Patty’s Day Playdate

to live — By Angie on March 10, 2010 at 10:04 am

What do you need in order to have a fun St Patty’s Day playdate? Shamrocks, pots of gold, lots of green and some little Leprechauns, of course!

Since everyone seems to gather in the kitchen, let’s start with food. This can be as easy or as involved as you want it to be. For a simple plan, make some PB&J sandwiches and grab a shamrock/clover cookie cutter to cut them into festive, party appropriate shapes. Throw in some green veggies/fruits like celery, broccoli, green apples or pears. If your kids are like most and won’t touch a veggie with a 10 foot pole, try some sour cream and onion potato chips. Since not all moms care to eat PB&J, get more “sophisticated” with some chicken salad, any type of sandwich can be cut into cute little shapes. You could also try a yummy pasta salad using tri-colored pasta.

For desserts, if you want to go the super easy route, you can buy the pre made cookies with shamrocks already in the middle, or bake some up and use that handy cookie cutter again. Ice cream sandwiches with chocolate chip cookies and mint chocolate chip ice cream would also be a tasty treat.

If you want something other than standard juiceboxes to drink, try making some “Leprechaun Punch” by letting some lime sorbet thaw a bit in a punch bowl and adding some Sprite. Lime Koolaid would also work.

So everyone is fed, now what? How about a craft or a game, or both?

Check out this site for some free downloadable color pages, or this game compliments of Examiner.com:

Leprechaun Search: Put together clues ( a clue, a clue!) and send your children on a scavenger hunt in search of a green leprechaun. Reward them at the end with wonderful green candy treats such as green jelly beans, M&Ms, sourballs, etc.

There are endless ideas for crafts. One of our favorites is this Handprint Rainbow, it’s easy and if you make it a tradition, you can see how much the kiddos have grown each year. This one is also great because you can do it with all ages.

If you aren’t able to host a playdate, then load up and head downtown for Birmingham’s annual St Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday March 20th. The parade begins at 11:30am on 20th and Powell, then heads up into southside. Get the kids ready for candy, beads, music and dancing. Don’t forget to wear green so you don’t get pinched!

Erin Go Bragh!