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Top 5 Things We Love About St. Patrick's Day

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.

pic courtesy of 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. 
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. 
What are some St. Patty's Day traditions in your family? 

Comments

Alli Smith said…
I'll be making our favorite Reuben sandwiches and trying to remember to wear green. I always forget! I need that t-shirt!!
candy said…
About the only thing we do for St. Patricks Day is the Beef and cabbage which we all love. I am even part Irish.
Tammy said…
I'm not really into St. Patricks day but I do love a good Reuben Sandwich any day of the year.
Amanda said…
We love St. Patrick's Day because of the green beer, March Madness, and all of the crazy antics that take place with our leprechaun who visits every year. Such a fun holiday!
Jeannette said…
This is definitely something we do a lot with. I have a couple of friends that are Irish so we always love to celebrate with them every year. Lots of great ideas here!
We're not Irish so we don't celebrate St Patrick's Day. I do occasionally make a corned beef if I find a good sale.
AiringMyLaundry said…
Fun! It's actually my daughter's birthday party on St. Patrick's Day. So we're just going to be doing that. But my husband and I really don't drink or go to any parades.
Emily said…
Living in Wisconsin, St Patricks days is a huge thing, there is green beer everywhere. I always enjoy the local parades, it allows for even kids to get in on the fun.
Anonymous said…
I love all these St Patricks Day gear. Those green earrings are so cute. I know someone that would love those as a gift!!
Angela Bethea said…
Awww, that earring from Oriental trading is so cute! That is definitely perfect for St. Patrick Day.
Debra Hawkins said…
We do a green dinner every year and I always make my girls a shamrock outfit! It is one of my favorite days!
Lisa said…
My kids informed me today that it is on a Saturday this year so they don't have to wear green to school. I look forward to the river being dyed. Chicago does St Pat's day big.
Jenn said…
St Patrick's Day is a lot of fun. I wish my family did more to celebrate it.
Sara Welch said…
Green is my favorite color so that is one of my reasons. I also think people are creative with their recipes this time of year.
Franc said…
It's time to bring out the green stuff as well as the shamrock for Saint Patrick Day. It can also be a good way to invite good luck.
Mimicutelips said…
We don’t have any traditions, we never celebrate St. Patty’s Day. Growing up I remember wearing green so the kids don’t pinch me.
sandy n vyjay said…
St. Patricks Day seems to be lots of fun. The parade is something I would love to see. A pity that the routes got affected, but great community work to get them cleared.
Anosa Malanga said…
Definitely the parade and seeing and wearing green is what I am excited about St. Patricks Day! Let's see what's in store this year.
St. Patrick's is kinda like Cinco de Mayo in the US. EVERYBODY likes to be part of the culture- at least that one day. Fun post, gracias for the recipe. BB2U

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