St. Patrick's Day Fun with Family Days Out!

Across the world, the Irish (and the Irish at heart) celebrate by bringing out the green, dancing, enjoying festivals, eating, and having a great time with the family!

But here did it all begin? Well, St. Patrick's Day began as a religious feast day for the patron saint of Ireland, and now people all around the world celebrate.

In the US the first St. Patrick's Day parade was actually held in New York City in 1762. That's a pretty long time ago! The parade helped the homesick Irish soldiers connect with their original roots from back home, through Irish music, bagpipes, drums, and then to find strength in numbers.

Since then, millions of Irish immigrants fled to America during that infamous Great Potato Famine, and to this day the parades and festivals showcase the Irish strength and patriotism.

So what can you do with the kids to help them celebrate? Well - here are some fun ideas from us at Family Days Out that can help them get into this very GREEN spirit!

1. Make Irish inspired cakes! Get that food coloring out, and either mix the green into the icing, or the mix itself, and dive into these tasty treats with friends! You can even make rainbow cupcakes by separating the mixture into 4 sections, and mix each one with a different food coloring. Then, place a teaspoon of each mixture into the case - bright reds, greens, yellows and blues will all mix together when cooking and make a fun treat when you bite into them!
2. Dress up! Those leprechauns will love to have fun with you as you grab the crafts, glues, and scissors and make your own mini leprechauns as decorations - perhaps for the table. You might even want to grab cardboard and make those fun hats too!
3. Play some Irish games - like hurling and football! Hurling is like ice hockey, but it's played on grass. It's actually Ireland's oldest game - that's pretty amazing! If you're in New York City, visit Gaelic Park where every Sunday from April to November they are played. Great fun!

So let's all celebrate this fun Irish day on March 17, and bring out the best green side in all of you!