My St Patrick Day Traditions

by Name Withheld at Request of Writer

Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner, Courtesy of Scott at Flickr.com.

The kids in my household woke up on St Patrick Day to a house turned upside down!

Literally. Chairs upside down, pictures upside down, you get the idea.

They looked in the refrigerator and found milk turned emerald green.

They went into the bathroom and found water in the toilet bowl turned green, with little green footprints on the toilet seat!

When they asked what happened, we reminded them that it was Saint Patricks Day, and the leprechans did all this mischief while they were sleeping!

But Saint Patrick's Day is not really about leprechans, so after the morning fun we turned our attention to a proper celebration of this wonderful holiday.

I started by decorating my living room with items that represent Ireland, like shamrocks, Irish linen, and various treasures of Irish crafts created by the kids.

In the dining room I had a beautiful Irish linen tablecloth, with Irish linen napkins to match.

I didn't stop with decorating the table, though. I also put out green towels in my guest bathroom. I even put out some green bars of hand soap!

This year we went with the old standby of corned beef and cabbage for dinner. Simple but delicious!

I also served Irish soda bread and my guests’ choice of Guinness Stout or Harp Lager. (Green Sprite for the kids :-).

Throughout the evening there was Irish music playing in the background – sometimes harps, sometimes those glorious Irish tenors, sometimes the Dubliners playing Irish folk music.

Dessert was a glazed Irish tea cake. This year we raised Irish coffees in a toast to St Patrick.

These are some of my favorite St Patrick Day traditions, and I enjoy sharing them with family and close friends.