St. Patrick's Day Snack & Play {A Year of Color: Green}

Happy St. Patrick's Day, my friends!!!

We are wearing our festive green clothing and we will be spending our day snacking on lots of green food! That's pretty much the extent of our celebration. With four kids, that's how we roll!

The "A Year of Color" Link Party fell on the perfect day this month! 

On the third Friday of each month,  I co-host a monthly linkup called A Year of Color with Little Dove, Macke Monologues, and Work It Mommy. Each month focuses on one color and you can link up any post that revolves around that particular color: Fashion, Recipes, Activities for Kids, Crafts...ANYTHING is welcome! The link will be open for a month, so you can link up any time. We hope you will join us!

The color for the month of March is fitting for today!

This month, I'm going to share a few of our favorite green desserts and green sensory play activities in honor of St. Patrick's Day, along with an adorable craft that we do every year on the holiday! 

St. Patrick's Day Mint Cookie Shakes

These green shakes, made with vanilla ice cream and mint cookies, and topped with whipped topping and peppermint patties, are a hit with my kids! 

INGREDIENTS:

• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Mint Cookies
• Milk or Cream
• Frozen Whipped Topping
• Peppermint Patties

DIRECTIONS:

1. Fill blender halfway with vanilla ice cream.
2. Crush 10 mint cookies and sprinkle into the blender.
3. Add milk or cream until the blender is about 3/4 full.
4. Blend until shake is only slightly thick. Add more milk or cream or more ice cream if necessary, and blend again.
5. Pour milkshake into cups.
6. Top with a scoop of frozen whipped topping and a mini peppermint patty candy!

St. Patrick's Day Creamy Jello

This creamy jello dessert is a staple at every holiday dinner. It's usually a different flavor, but I break out the lime jello in honor of St. Patrick's Day!

INGREDIENTS:

• Two 3 oz boxes of lime jello
• 16 oz frozen whipped topping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sit the whipped topping on the counter for 15 minutes to soften.
2. Prepare jello according to the quick set method on the back of the box. 
3. Stir in 16 oz whipped topping and continue to stir until it melts.
4. Pour into small cups or bowls and refrigerate for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Homemade Glitter Play Dough

My kids love sensory play and one of their favorite things to make is play dough! A little bit of green food coloring and gold glitter make it perfectly festive for St. Patrick's Day!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/2 cup warm water
• green food coloring
• gold glitter

DIRECTIONS:

Mix the flour and salt, add a few drops of food coloring to the water, and slowly pour the water mixture into the flour mixture while stirring. Add more flour as needed until the mixture isn't sticky.  Sprinkle in some gold glitter and knead with your hands to blend.

Give your child some shamrock cookie cutters, a rolling pin and a plastic child-safe knife, and let them create!

Homemade Green Slime

Making slime is another sensory play favorite! Green always seems to be the preferred color!

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz white school glue
• 1 tsp Borax (laundry detergent aisle)
• 1 cup warm water
• Green food coloring

DIRECTIONS:

STEP ONE: Empty glue into a large bowl. 

STEP TWO:  Fill glue bottle completely with 1/2 cup warm water, shake, then pour into the bowl that contains the glue.  Stir. 

STEP THREE:  Add several drops of green food coloring to the glue mixture.  Stir. 

STEP FOUR:  Mix 1 tsp Borax into 1/2 cup warm water. Stir until the Borax dissolves. 

STEP FIVE:  Slowly pour the Borax solution into the glue solution while stirring. Keep a close eye on this process!  This is where the science aspect of it begins.  You will see the glue solution almost immediately begin to form into a solid as it meets the Borax solution!

STEP SIX:  Dig in and knead the slime!

STEP SEVEN:  Store in an airtight container or a storage bag.

Thumbprint Shamrocks Craft

This is a simple craft/keepsake that we make every year! I'm sharing last year's version since we didn't make the 2017 version yet. I absolutely love pulling these out each year and adding them to our decor!

SUPPLIES: 

• White paper
• Green paint
• Sharpie

DIRECTIONS:

Have your child/children make a four leaf clover with their thumb. Carefully paint on a thin stem to each shamrock. Write the name(s) underneath each shamrock, and add the holiday and the year to the finished project!

These are just a few of our favorite ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! St. Patrick's Day books and movies, green shamrock pancakes, Lucky Charms, and green muffin pan meals are also part of our holiday fun. Maybe, just maybe, you will be able to use one of these as a last minute idea!

Feel free to link up your "green" posts on the widget below and start planning your posts for the upcoming months!

April 21st

May 19th

June 16th

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you and yours! How will you be celebrating?

An InLinkz Link-up