St. Patrick's Day Crafts for the Wee Ones

Whenever I run out of ideas for my kids, I check the calendar. Holidays provide days of boredom-busting fun. Making decorations takes up a few afternoons. Then a day to decorate. And after the holiday is over, an afternoon of taking down the decorations. That's a minimum of three no-brainer days. Sweet.

Yesterday we decided to make St. Patrick's Day decorations. I quickly consulted Pinterest and found a rainbow, leprechaun, and pot of gold that all seemed fun and easy. While my older son was at school, I set up our dining room with a plastic tablecloth. Then I gathered materials for our projects:

Gold at the End of the Rainbow

• paper plates, cut in half
• washable paints
• paintbrushes
• wet wipes for messy hands, spills, etc.
• craft glue
• cotton balls, 4-6 per rainbow
• ribbon, cut into varying lengths (around 4-6 inches each), 4 strands per rainbow
• tape
• circles cut from a few sheets of yellow construction paper (TIP: If you have a circle punch for scrapbooking or card-making, it will make this part much easier. I used a 1.5" circle punch.)
• glue stick

1. Paint a rainbow on the paper-plate half.
2. Use glue to secure cotton balls for the clouds; set aside to dry.
3. Use glue stick to sandwich two gold coins together, with the ribbon in between.
4. When the paint is dry, turn the rainbow over and secure the ribbons to the back with tape.

Leprechaun Faces

• paper plate, 1 per leprechaun
• orange, green, black, and yellow construction paper
• google eyes (or black crayon or marker)
• glue stick

1. For younger children, cut the pieces ahead of time; older children may cut their own. Use the paper plate as a guide for the size of the beard (orange paper) and the hat (green paper).
2. Use the scraps left from the orange paper to cut a mustache.
3. Use the hat as a guide to cut a strip from the black paper.
4. Cut a square from the yellow paper. Fold in half to cut out the inside, leaving a hollow square for the buckle.
5. Use glue stick to adhere all the pieces to the paper plate. If not using google eyes, draw the eyes with marker or crayon.

Pot O'Gold

• black construction paper
• circles cut from a few sheets of yellow construction paper (again, a circle punch helps)
• glue stick
• St. Patrick's Day stickers (optional)

1. For younger children, cut the pieces ahead of time; older children may cut their own. Cut a pot from the black paper, using the photo as a guide. Folding the paper in half helps to achieve a symmetrical shape.
2. Use glue stick to adhere gold coins to the top.
3. If desired, use St. Patrick's Day-themed stickers to decorate your pot of gold. I thought that would be fun; my kids were not interested.


Put them all together, and you have a cute scene to make any room more festive for March 17th.

I hope you have fun making these St. Patrick's Day crafts with your kids. As always, thanks for reading.

Getting Our Irish On!

No, I'm not Irish...but I'm a sucker for holidays. I love making decorations with my kids. I love cooking and baking. I even love dressing up. Especially when there is a theme. For the past few weeks, my boys and I have been decorating shamrocks and hanging them around the house. We've been amassing St. Patrick's Day gear to wear to the parade tomorrow. And I've been saving up some calories for Irish Soda Bread. Mmmmmm...it's baking right now.

Are you looking for some last-minute crafts for your kiddos? How about a scavenger hunt around the house for a rainbow of colors left behind by your friendly neighborhood leprechaun - a red button, an orange sticker, a yellow feather, etc. Then, use the rainbow items along with a glue stick to decorate shamrocks. Green construction paper, foam sheets, even the inside of cereal boxes painted/colored green will do.

As I mentioned, my family is not Irish. But, my mom received this delicious, simple recipe from her Irish friend, Sally Ann. So it's legit. My four-year-old son and I just whipped up a batch this afternoon to bring to a St. Patty's Day party tomorrow.

Sally Ann's Irish Soda Bread

1. Mix together:     4 c. flour (I used whole wheat)

                              1 tsp. baking powder

                              1 tsp. salt

                              5 Tbsp. sugar (I used Sucanat)

                              Cut in 1 stick butter or margarine; set aside

2. In a separate bowl, mix:

                              1 1/3 c. buttermilk*

                              1 tsp. baking soda

                              1 egg + 1 egg yolk (reserve white)

                              1 c. raisins (optional)

3. Combine both bowls; knead dough until all dry ingredients are incorporated

4. Place dough in greased pie plate; brush top with reserved egg white

5. Bake at 350 F for 55 minutes. 

* If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can substitute sour milk. To make 1 1/3 cups of sour milk, pour 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar into a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 1/3 cups total liquid; stir. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes before using.

Oh, I don't know if this loaf will make it untouched until tomorrow. Will power, where art thou?

If you're looking for something to do in the Rochester area tomorrow, show your green spirit at the St. Patrick's Day Parade! The parade runs along East Avenue (beginning at Alexander Street) and Main Street (ending at Plymouth). The parade starts at 12:30 p.m. and the surrounding roads are blocked at 11:30 a.m. Depending on the weather, our plan is to arrive around 10:30 a.m. with our lawn chairs, blankets, snacks, and things for the kids to do. My boys are two- and four-years-old, so I'm thinking some green Play Doh, a few trucks and trains, coloring books with a few crayons and sticker sheets, and our iPhone apps as a last resort. Of course, we'll be wearing green along with some funky green hats, oversized green bow ties, green beads, St. Patrick's Day buttons, shamrock glow sticks, and a leprechaun headband for me. 

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading my debut post on ROCmomma!