I never really celebrated St. Patrick’s Day growing up, but my kids seem to think every holiday is worth celebrating.  At first it was an irritating idea.  It meant I had to come up with something fun and creative for even the little holidays, but all of the celebrating and family traditions have brought so much fun and joy to our home and family, that I find it is worth the extra effort.  And thankfully, now St. Patrick’s day is not all about pinching!

For St. Patrick‘s Day we do a scavenger hunt in the morning.  I cut out shamrocks and leave clues on the back.  Each of the clues leads to another shamrock until the very end where there is a “treasure” or “pot of gold”.  The treasure is usually something green, like a can of Sprite or 7-up, a green hair band to wear to school, green socks, a green shamrock pin, or a book with a green cover.  You get the idea.

We are Christian, so we talk about what a great missionary St. Patrick was to the people in Ireland, and how he shared his love of the Savior.  We have a book about him and read it together each year.

For dinner we have corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread. We use a crock pot corned beef recipe from Allrecipes.  I haven’t loved all corn beef but I really liked this recipe.  The bread is a family favorite.   Below is our Irish Soda Bread recipe.

Irish Soda Bread Recipe:

3 Tablespoons Smart Balance (or Earth Balance) butter

2 1/2 cups flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup raisins (soak in water 10 minutes to soften)

1 cup soymilk (rice or coconut milk work too)

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 Tablespoon caraway seed (optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a cookie sheet or 13×9 pan.  Mix milk and vinegar and set aside.  In a large bowl, cut butter into flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Use a pastry blender, or 2 knives in a crossing motion.  Continue to blend until mixed into fine crumbs.  Stir in raisins (drain first).  Add milk a little at a time until the dough leaves the side of the bowl when mixed.

Put dough on a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 1-2 minutes).  Shape into a round loaf and place on cookie sheet.  Cut an X about a half inch deep on top of loaf.

Bake 35-45 minutes or until golden brown.

I hope you have an enjoyable St. Patrick’s Day!  What are your family traditions for the holiday?