Do any of you do anything for St. Patrick's Day for your kids?

[beattyfamily]

Well, thanks to the teachers at school and classmates, my 7 year old thinks the Leprechaun comes to our house on St. Patrick's Day (like Santa) and leaves gold!

In pre-school the teacher would hide choc gold coins and they'd find them. In 1st grade the Leprechaun left a mess and left green pee in the bathroom!

Well, last night she kept asking if he'll come and leave something and we said no. Then this afternoon when she got home she said that when they got back from recess their room was a mess with seats upside down and things thrown around and that it was the Leprechaun and then she also told me that her friend on the bus got a piece of gold and a ring from the Leprechaun this morning at home!

So all afternoon she was busy making a 'gift' for the Leprechaun and writing a note to the Leprechaun asking him to leave her a piece of gold and a ring too. The note is so cute! She also made him a doll and a tiny bed to sleep in.

I don't know what to do! My DH is now hunting for choc gold coins at CVS before he heads home! Otherwise I think we'll just have to tell her the truth.

This reminds me of the time she came home and said her friend got $10 from the tooth fairy so why did she only get a gold dollar?

My sisters don't think she believes anymore but I do. I can tell she still believes in Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Now she wants to believe the Leprechaun comes on St. Patrick's Day too!

Anyone here do something for your kids on St. Patrick's Day?

 

[beattyfamily]

anyone?

 

[Tinks]

We had a mischievious leprechaun in our home today that turned our milk green and left teeny tiny green footprints on the fridge! Oh my!

 

[Kallison]

ya -- my stupid neighbor started the leprechaun gold chocolate coins with her kids when they were 3, so we've been doing it too since then, because why did they come to his house and not mine? Now my kids are in 4th, 5th and 7th. I hide them for the 4th and 5th grader, the 7th grader just gets them in the little bag. Also gave my youngest dd a leprechaun pin to wear to school. I didn't have to mess up their bedrooms, since I went back to work they are a mess on their own! Last night my kids were talking about Big Foot and I said there is no BF just like there is no Easter Bunny. DH gasps and gives me the look. I'm like HONEY can we get over it already, they are 10, 11 and 13 for crying out loud! I'm so over the Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy stuff! It was fun when they were little, but I'm tired of it now.

 

[mommytotwo]

Those are such cute ideas everyone. My daughter is still to young, but I will remember the green milk and chocolate coins for next year.

 

[Tinks]

I should add that the leprechaun never leaves presents. After all....you have to catch a leprechaun to get his gold, don't you?


I have a friend who sets a "leprechaun trap" in her house (think shoebox). In the morning she wiggles the box and says they caught a leprechaun. The kids get close and then she lifts the box and starts screaming and running and shaking the box...scares the daylights out of the kids.

Wouldn't you know the leprechaun always gets away....

 

[beattyfamily]

Thanks for the replies! Some interesting ideas!

Even though I'm proud to be half Irish, we've never made a big deal of St. Patrick's Day in our house but now my DD 7 wants it to be a big deal which means I'll have to keep doing it until our younger DD 4 gets older!

I think I'll put food coloring in the toilet!

 

[KimRaye]

This thread has me LOL!! Green milk, green 'pee" and, the TRAP! ROFLOL Good ones!! We had Green River soda pop for the kids.

I also like the reasoning about CATCHING the leprechaun! Ingenious!!

No, no leprechaun fairy visits here but, if he did, these are great ideas!

 

[FINFAN]

Oh yes! Over here we hide the gold coins, have green scrambled eggs, lucky charms w/green milk, and green grapes for breakfast and green milk to drink.
DS lunchbox contents are:
PBJ cut into a shamrock shape
Green guacamole dorito chips
green apple fruit rollup
green goldfish
green apple(granny smith)

DD gets to buy lunch at school with 3 gold coin dollars, you cab ask for them at the bank.
We mostly just have fun...on occaision they have each rec'd a Beanie Baby for the holiday, or a green hot wheel, match box and DD a pin or face decal/something to wear to school.

 

[robsmom]

Wow, never realized there were so many options. We made shamrock shaped cookies on Sunday for desert with our corn beef and cabbage. Also purchased cupcakes with green icing and took into to Pre-K for DS's party. He told me that Michaels Mom brought green milkshakes and they were yummy. I think that was his favorite!!

 

[twinmomplus2new]

Our preschool has Lenny the Leprechaun, He comes in at night and turns over chairs, turns posters on the wall turned upside down, and leaves a pot of gold for the kids to find. The pot is filled with either gold wrapped caramellos or chocolate coins.
The school deal was a day early this year as the boys only go Tuesday and Thursday. Also The preschool directors office is attached to the classroom, and at some point in the morning she created a ruckus in her office, tipping a few things and yelling (At Lenny) When she opended the door she had a little elf type hat and said Lenny had been hiding in her bookshelf and she tried to catch him but all she got was his hat before he went out the window to Ireland. Trust me they were so excited and so impressed by the hat!
As for us Lenny comes here the night before and leaves a trail of chocolate coins from thier beds to the doorway of thier rooms. ( I kind of spill them all over like he dropped them)
My ds 9 doesn't believe in Santa etc.. however he had a very elaborate trap set up to catch the leprechaun in his room.
We had a family corned beef and cabbage dinner tonight at Nana's and when the kids came up the walk thier were gold coins there and once inside all under the dinner table. They had a great time!

 

[Mermaid02]

No and I could KILL my friends who started doing this very thing this year.... thanks for the warning girls My ds came home from school yesterday shouting about looking for chocolate coins because the leprechaun had been to Elizabeth's house. Mind you I was sick in bed vomiting. I told my dh I'm going to ride through downtown until I see the freak I saw Monday who was dressed as a leprechaun (long green stocking cap and green shirt.......various other weird stuff) and tell our son that THAT is the leprechaun and THAT'S why we don't want him in our house at night while we sleep!

 

[wishuponastarforever]

Our tradition was to read Doctor Seuss "Green Eggs and Ham" and then make green eggs and green ham for breakfast or if rushed we would do this for dinner.

Our children have moved on - one married, one on her own, and our son is still in college. They carry on the tradition wherever they are.

Funny though we still don't know if the title means green eggs and just regular ham or are both green? Any thoughts???

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Well you could always say Leprechauns don't really have anything to do with St. Patrick's Day (they really don't). And Corned Beef and Cabbage aren't really Irish (I never saw any when I was in Ireland). In fact Bag Pipes and Kilts aren't really Irish either (Scottish actually, didn't see those in Ireland either). The day has moved so much from what it was meant to be to the Irish and the Catholic Church.

 

[Stimpy]

Since DH's family is all from Ireland (he's 1st generation American) and most are still there, we do tend to make a big deal about St Patricks Day for DS. We usually hit atleast 4-5 parades a year and the Irish fellowships that follow with the bagpipes and Irish step dancers. March is very exhausting for us!

St Patricks Day, DH and I hide cut out shamrocks around the house from the leprechaun before DS-4 wakes up for him to find. The game usually goes on all day, because he keeps making us rehide them or he'll hide them. We give him a greeting card from Mommy and Daddy and WE give him some gold chocolate coins, not the leprechaun (b/c I was concerned that he would go to preschool or to his friends and tell them the leprechaun left them. I didn't think this was fair for other families if they don't celebrate)

Breakfast is usually green pancakes, but this year DS opted for Lucky Charms Lunch was green eggs, green milk and some green wrapped Hershey Kisses (leftovers from Christmas....we don't eat much candy here LOL) We watched some of the NYC parade on tv, daddy usually marches but he was working this year. DS and I made Shamrock cookies and then we all went out for dinner.

Today I'm making the Shepards Pie I was supposed to make last night but was too exhausted to cook.

 

[beattyfamily]

Thanks for all the replies!

Well, last night before my DH came home he stopped in a card store and got each of my 2 DD a tiny little dog with a Shamrock in it's mouth...it's like a tiny beanie baby. He also got them each a Shamrock pin to wear.

Then after they went to sleep he went and got some Shamrock confetti. He spread the confetti all around where the leprechaun had been and then he put things upside down in the fridge, opened all the kitchen drawers, tipped over the trash and put green food coloring in the toilet!

He also wrote my DD's a note using the computer. It was pretty cute.

My DD's were very excited this morning! Unfortunately, we probably have to do something every year now till our little one is at least 7 or 8!