St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick’s Day is next Thursday, and we’ve found several fun ways to celebrate this festive holiday with family. From a few simple activities to do at home, to Wilmington’s big St. Patty’s Day celebration downtown, these ideas are sure to be a hit with your little leprechauns!
Treasure Hunt: My son loves any games in which he has to find something, so last year I started a tradition of hiding a bag of those little chocolate golden coins somewhere in our house on St. Patrick’s Day. This year I am going to add to the excitement by writing a few clues about the bag’s whereabouts and helping him find those first, leaving him having to solve a riddle in order to discover the hidden treasure!
Seeing Green: Another idea that is sure to amuse your kids is to use a few drops of greed food coloring to surprise them on St. Patrick’s Day. If your children drink milk, you can secretly add a few drops of the coloring to the bottom of their glasses before pouring the milk, and then enjoy the looks on their faces when the milk turns green before their eyes. Other ways to surprise them with some green is by adding a bit of food coloring to their pancakes, mixing it in their yogurt, adding it to some cream cheese or whipped cream - the possibilities are endless here!
Grow a Leprechaun: Small children will enjoy creating their own living leprechauns in this next craft idea. All you need is a small Styrofoam cup, a few green plant seeds and some potting soil. Have your child draw a leprechaun face with crayons on the outside of the cup, but tell them not to draw any hair, as that is what he or she will be growing. Then fill the cup halfway with soil and plant a few seeds in it according to the seed directions. Place the cup in a sunny spot low enough for your child to see, and then water the plant daily. When the seeds begin sprouting, your child’s leprechaun will have hair!
Counting Greens: Using green jellybeans or any other tiny green candies, create a simple guessing game that the whole family can participate in. Fill a small jar or see-through container with the candies and then set it somewhere noticeable in your home a few days before St. Patrick’s Day. Tell your family members that they need to guess how many candies are in the container, and when they think they have an idea, to write their guesses down and post them on the fridge. Then on St. Patrick’s Day, have your child help count all of the candies. Whichever family member guessed the number closest to the correct number gets to keep the candy (or share it with everyone else!)
St. Patrick’s Day Festival and Parade: Saturday, March 12th from 11am until 6pm in downtown Wilmington. Live music, dancing, food, and fun for the whole family! Parade starts at 11am at Red Cross and North Front Streets. Festival begins at noon in Riverfront Park between Market and Princess Streets. Rain or Shine.
