I am grateful that we have holidays and special days throughout the year to celebrate.  I think we need them, to help us pause and appreciate life and the people in our lives.  It is so easy to get busy with work and life in general that we don’t take the time to have fun. 

Even if you don’t normally celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, I encourage you to do something with your family.  When I was younger I thought you only celebrate St Patrick’s Day if you were of Irish decent.  I used to think St. Patrick's was only about by drinking and alcohol.  Then one time at our church our Missions Director used the month of March and St. Patrick’s Day to promote World Missions.  He shared the history of St. Patrick and his missionary life.  I have never forgotten that and it inspired me to do more research of the holidays we celebrate and to look for the “message” I can share with my children around all the fun and crafts.  With younger children you can research the history, but I can see now with my 2nd and 4th grader, it is fun to include them in the research process.

There is still time to plan to do something fun with your kids for St. Patrick’s Day it is Friday, March 17th!  I also encourage you to look up the history and use his life to inspire your children.  My favorite things to use as a teaching tool is using the Shamrock 3 leaves to represent the Trinity and sharing with my kids how St. Patrick went back after escaping the people who held him captive and shared the gospel with them.  Here is a great link with the history of St. Patrick: http://bit.ly/2mkeQEx  

I used to not see myself as the Pinterest mom or craft centered mom.  I saw my sister-in-law Colleen who is a pre-school director as that type, I saw my other sister-in-laws twins Emily & Eleanor who both married my husband’s brothers as the craft centered, Cricut owning, design making moms.  You can check out some of the fun things they do on their Facebook Island Twins.  I used to frequently say "I don't do crafts."  You don't have to be a teacher or have the crafting gift to craft.  Just be willing to try and have fun.

Many times my sister-in-law Colleen and her kids, who are older than mine would come over my house, babysit my little’s for our date night and do a fun craft with my kids.  Also my sister Gabrielle who is single and doesn’t have any children of her own YET (do you know any handsome, rich awesome guys, lol) and my mom would frequently around holidays like Christmas and Mother’s Day come over babysit and do those fun and messy painting projects with my kids and I so APPRECIATE that.  I not only appreciate the craft items I have from those times with little hand-prints and photo memories.  I appreciate that my boys would greatly enjoy that time with them and talk about what they made with auntie for weeks after that.  I have grown as a mom and recognize at a greater level that they won’t be little forever, that life goes by so fast and I want to savor the moments I can with them.  I realize they won’t always let me dress them in matching outfits and won’t always look forward to finger painting with mom, so don’t take for granted the opportunities to have fun with them at each season they and you are in.

I encourage you to utilize St. Patrick’s Day and other holidays even those “National Oreo Day” (which happens to be today, March 6th) to create memories with your family.  Embrace them at whatever level you’re at.  Maybe you’re not into painting or maybe you don’t own a Cricut, I don’t, but what do you have?  What can you do?  Can you bake or cook something around the special day?  Can you color a picture together?  I promise once you start and you see the joy in your little ones eyes over something so simple, you will want to do more next time.  It really is about the quality time together.  It’s about getting out of the normal everyday routine of dishes, laundry, homework and life and doing something fun together.  With Pinterest around it makes it so much easier for us.  There are a ton of ideas out there to help you create, cook, bake, paint, craft with your kids.  Another great tip is use the Dollar Store or 99 Cent Store, they usually have a ton of inexpensive things around the current holiday or event.  It does not have to cost you a lot of money to celebrate and create memories.

I would love to hear about what fun things you have planned to do with your kids this St. Patrick's Day, please share in the comments below.  That is the thing I love about blogging and Pinterest is we get to share fun ideas and tips with each other!

Things to Remember:
  • Start where you’re at.  Keep this in mind for yourself and for your little ones.  If you pick out a craft that is not age appropriate you might end up doing the craft alone.  Save/Pin those other ideas for when they are older or when you have more time to plan and prepare.
  • Have fun!  Even if it doesn’t turn out as you planned, or how it looked on Pinterest. It is about the time spent together.
  • It does not have to cost a lot of money.  Look around your house you may already have everything you need.  Improvise on some items, if it calls for green candies you don’t have to go out and buy those, what else can you use that you already have, maybe green cereals like Fruit Loops or Trix.  Visit the Dollar Store, or local Thrift Store.
  • Go Outside!  Use rocks, leaves and things in your own backyard, my kids have loved when we have painted rocks.  Created our own Tic Tac Toe using rocks and a tree stump.  Visit parks or local museums to help celebrate and learn more about certain holidays or events.
  • Plan for next year!  The best time to purchase holiday or event centered decorations or a craft item is AFTER the holiday.  Purchase it when it’s on sale and then put it in a “labeled” box so you don’t lose it or forget about it because it’s buried in the back of your closet, I’ve done that plenty of times.
  • Take Pictures.  Don’t just take pictures of the finished product, but take pictures of your kids while they are creating and get in the picture with them (I take pictures but am not in many, this is something I need to get better at). 

Here are some of my favorite links for ideas to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day:
Rainbow Pancakes from Kitchen Gidget

Shamrock Hats from Alpha Mom

Shamrock Rainbow Necklaces from Mamas Like Me

Lucky Tags for a neighbor, teacher, or friend from Over the Big Moon

Lucky Charms Milkshakes from Home and Plate

Green Velvet Cupcakes from Garnish and Glaze

Gold Oreos, I have seen this picture on Pinterest and Facebook but not an actual blog post about them.  So I don’t have a link for this one, but love the idea.  

 Green Food is always a great go to that I have done many times, green pancakes, green eggs, green milk, use your favorite food coloring.  Kids love eating colored food.
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