Time to pull your fave green shirt out of the closet. Yep, St. Patty's Day will soon be here. Hurry though, unlike Valentine's Day and Easter, the shopping days for St. Patrick's Day are few.
How will you celebrate the holiday?
Check out our list of fave things to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
1. Parades
2. Beer...green beer
3. Shamrocks
4. Don't Pinch Me I'm Wearing Green
5. Corned Beef
Parades
Mother Nature has wrecked havoc in one of the most notable St. Patrick's Day parade routes. Boston has seen a record-setting amount of snow so much that the local government is calling on citizens to help clear the parade route. Massive piles of snow won't stop revelers in their annual celebration of St. Patrick's Day. Way to go Boston!
Another famed St. Patrick's Day parade is the World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day parade in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Hot Springs boasts the annual parade along a road Ripley's Believe or Not's dubbed as the world's shortest street. The parade draws a huge crowd and features notable celebrity grand marshals. Past grand marshals include Mario Lopez, George Wendt and Bo Derek.
Beer / Green Beer
I'm not much of a beer drinker but St. Patrick's Day is the one day I look forward to having a beer or two with my friends. Don't count on seeing me indulging in a pint of Guinness, I mean I can have a Guiness anytime. I prefer to check out the Irish stouts, craft beers and the novelty green beer. Many restuarants and pubs feature some lesser known ales around St. Patrick's Day. One of my annual faves is O'Hara's Irish beers and ales. O'Hara's craft beers aren't regularly available where I live so I look forward to checking out their new varieties around St. Patrick's Day.
Okay I admit it's a little cheesy but I drink green beer on St. Patrick's Day. It's probably the cheapest beer on tap but there's just something about drinking green beer on St. Patrick's Day that's become somewhat of a tradition. Making your own green beer is easy breezy. Simply squeeze a few drops of green food coloring in a beer glass and fill the glass with your fave beer. For a bolder, brighter green be sure to use a light colored beer.
Shamrocks
I have a pair of shamrock earrings which I wear once a year. Seriously, what day besides St. Patricks Day would shamrock jewelry be appropriate? Shamrock jewelry is easy to find at local dollar stores. One of my fave places to find St. Patrick's Day jewelry is Oriental Trading.
Don't Pinch Me...I'm wearing green
It never fails you will see someone wearing a "Kiss Me I'm Irish" tee on St. Patrick's Day but it won't be this mommy. A) I'm not Irish and B) I don't own a single green shirt.
Hubby on the other hand has lots of green shirts courtesy of a former job. He has polos, tees, oxfords and sweatshirts in bold, forest green. Recently I color coordinated his closet and we were astounded by all the green in his closet. His closet is a stream of varied shades of green from the palest celadon to the brightest emerald green. He makes sure to wear a green shirt on St. Patrick's Day so he doesn't have to endure pinches from our kids.
Our kids embrace the annual tradition of pinching those who are not wearing green... parents and grandparents included. Finding green shirts is easy thanks to Target, Walmart, Gap and our fave St. Patricks Day t-shirt shop - Old Navy. Old Navy usually has t-shirts for everyone from baby to grandma for around $5 around St. Patrick's Day and the kids love picking out t-shirts on their own.
Corned Beef
One of our family traditions is indulging in corned beef on St. Patrick's Day. One of the things I remember most about my great grandma from West Virginia is her cooking. Her pantry was a vast array of spices and herbs and baking magic. A lot of recipes I've seen online call for a variety of spices but my great grandma's recipe was simple: corned beef, water, and pickling spice. She added pickling spice and salt to water and added her choice corned beef. Pickling Spice is a unique blend of herbs and seeds like allspice, bay leaves, coriander, ginger and cardamon and enhances the flavor of corned beef. My great grandma always cooked her corned beef low and slow. A huge pot simmered on the stove top for hours til the meat was fork tender. The corned beef and flavorful seasonings permeated throughtout the house tickling taste buds. Then, in the last few minutes of cooking her corned beef, she'd add sliced cabbage. My corned beef isn't half bad but it's nothing like that of my great grandma. I hate my three boys and little old lady will never taste the love she put into everything she cooked but I am thankful for the lessons she taught me. I've no doubt my love of baking came from great grandma and take pride in passing on the traditions my great grandma shared with me to my children.
When choosing a choice piece of corned beef look for a fattier, marbled piece of corned beef more commonly known as the "point" or a leaner piece known as a "flat" or go all in get the whole brisket? If you're unsure which cut is perfect for your St. Patrick's Day dinner, ask your butcher. They'll guide you in the right direction to find a brisket to meet your needs and even suggest best ways to cook your corned beef. Click here for a great recipe I found for corned beef.
What are some St. Patty's Day traditions in your family?
How will you celebrate the holiday?
Check out our list of fave things to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
1. Parades
2. Beer...green beer
3. Shamrocks
4. Don't Pinch Me I'm Wearing Green
5. Corned Beef
Parades
Mother Nature has wrecked havoc in one of the most notable St. Patrick's Day parade routes. Boston has seen a record-setting amount of snow so much that the local government is calling on citizens to help clear the parade route. Massive piles of snow won't stop revelers in their annual celebration of St. Patrick's Day. Way to go Boston!
Another famed St. Patrick's Day parade is the World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day parade in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Hot Springs boasts the annual parade along a road Ripley's Believe or Not's dubbed as the world's shortest street. The parade draws a huge crowd and features notable celebrity grand marshals. Past grand marshals include Mario Lopez, George Wendt and Bo Derek.
Beer / Green Beer
I'm not much of a beer drinker but St. Patrick's Day is the one day I look forward to having a beer or two with my friends. Don't count on seeing me indulging in a pint of Guinness, I mean I can have a Guiness anytime. I prefer to check out the Irish stouts, craft beers and the novelty green beer. Many restuarants and pubs feature some lesser known ales around St. Patrick's Day. One of my annual faves is O'Hara's Irish beers and ales. O'Hara's craft beers aren't regularly available where I live so I look forward to checking out their new varieties around St. Patrick's Day.
Okay I admit it's a little cheesy but I drink green beer on St. Patrick's Day. It's probably the cheapest beer on tap but there's just something about drinking green beer on St. Patrick's Day that's become somewhat of a tradition. Making your own green beer is easy breezy. Simply squeeze a few drops of green food coloring in a beer glass and fill the glass with your fave beer. For a bolder, brighter green be sure to use a light colored beer.
Shamrocks
I have a pair of shamrock earrings which I wear once a year. Seriously, what day besides St. Patricks Day would shamrock jewelry be appropriate? Shamrock jewelry is easy to find at local dollar stores. One of my fave places to find St. Patrick's Day jewelry is Oriental Trading.
 |
| pic courtesy of Oriental Trading |
It never fails you will see someone wearing a "Kiss Me I'm Irish" tee on St. Patrick's Day but it won't be this mommy. A) I'm not Irish and B) I don't own a single green shirt.
 |
| pic courtesy of Old Navy |
Our kids embrace the annual tradition of pinching those who are not wearing green... parents and grandparents included. Finding green shirts is easy thanks to Target, Walmart, Gap and our fave St. Patricks Day t-shirt shop - Old Navy. Old Navy usually has t-shirts for everyone from baby to grandma for around $5 around St. Patrick's Day and the kids love picking out t-shirts on their own.
Corned Beef
One of our family traditions is indulging in corned beef on St. Patrick's Day. One of the things I remember most about my great grandma from West Virginia is her cooking. Her pantry was a vast array of spices and herbs and baking magic. A lot of recipes I've seen online call for a variety of spices but my great grandma's recipe was simple: corned beef, water, and pickling spice. She added pickling spice and salt to water and added her choice corned beef. Pickling Spice is a unique blend of herbs and seeds like allspice, bay leaves, coriander, ginger and cardamon and enhances the flavor of corned beef. My great grandma always cooked her corned beef low and slow. A huge pot simmered on the stove top for hours til the meat was fork tender. The corned beef and flavorful seasonings permeated throughtout the house tickling taste buds. Then, in the last few minutes of cooking her corned beef, she'd add sliced cabbage. My corned beef isn't half bad but it's nothing like that of my great grandma. I hate my three boys and little old lady will never taste the love she put into everything she cooked but I am thankful for the lessons she taught me. I've no doubt my love of baking came from great grandma and take pride in passing on the traditions my great grandma shared with me to my children.
When choosing a choice piece of corned beef look for a fattier, marbled piece of corned beef more commonly known as the "point" or a leaner piece known as a "flat" or go all in get the whole brisket? If you're unsure which cut is perfect for your St. Patrick's Day dinner, ask your butcher. They'll guide you in the right direction to find a brisket to meet your needs and even suggest best ways to cook your corned beef. Click here for a great recipe I found for corned beef.
Comments