Yup, today is St. Patrick’s Day. You’re probably all organized and ready to go with activities to do with your grand kiddos. In case you need more ideas, I thought I’d share these ideas that I stumbled across.

• Leprechaun marionette
• Rainbow craft (with colorful fluttery ribbons)
• St. Patrick’s Day card (with thumbprint painting)
• Potato Putty Celtic journal
• Pot O’ Gold Windsock (vary this idea by using crepe paper or fabric for the streamers)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day — and that’s no blarney!

I’ve been working on a family video project and haven’t spent any time thinking about St. Patrick’s Day. Alas, it will soon be here! And I haven’t written anything about it yet. Shame on me!

Check out some ideas that I’ve written about before. (I like the blarney stone idea and the peppermint candy shake.)

I’ve created a word search that you can share with your grandchildren. Here’s the word search and here’s the answer key. Print them up and use them at your St. Patrick’s Day party that you have with your grandchildren. Or, e-mail or snail mail the word search to your grandchildren who live far away.

May the luck of the Irish be with ye!

Top o’ the morning to ye!  Here’s a smattering of ideas for St. Patrick’s Day that you can do (or share) with your grandchildren.

Oriental Trading Company. If you hurry and order today, you just might get some fun things from the Oriental Trading Company in time for St. Patrick’s Day.  Like these bouncing balls.  Or a Leprechaun porcupine character.  Or mini shamrock rubber duckies.  Or mini squeeze shamrocks.  Fun, fun, fun.  You could put together a pot ‘o gold for your grandchildren with some of these items.

St. Patrick’s Day Games. Here is a page of online games for your grandchildren to play.  (I liked the puzzle where you click and drag the columns AND rows to put the pieces in the correct place.)  You can play the games, too, and keep track of your time.  Then, challenge your grandchildren to see if they can beat your time.

Shamrock Potato Stamp.  Cut a potato in half. Trace a shamrock shape onto the cut end of one piece.  Cut away the potato leaving a shamrock shape.  Mix equal parts of evaporated milk and green liquid tempera paint.  (The milk helps the paint cling to the potato.  If you use acrylic paint, let me know how it turns out.)  Pour your paint mixture over several layers of paper towels placed on a plate or a Styrofoam egg carton lid.  Press shamrock stamp onto the pad and then stamp away on your art paper.

Shamrock Rubbings.  Get some heavy duty sand paper.  Cut out different sizes of shamrock shapes and place rough side up.  Place a piece of white copy paper over the shamrocks.  Using different shades of green crayons, color over the shamrocks.

Blarney Stone. Get a small stone.  (If you need any, let me know.  I have TONS in my yard and garden!)  Wash the stone.  When the stone is dry, paint it with green paint.  Add googly eyes, glitter, or other decorations of your choice.  (If you kissed the real Blarney stone, you get the gift of eloquence.)

When your grandchildren are ready for a treat, you can fix them this shake.

Peppermint Candy Shake

2 1/2  cups vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Peppermint Pattie bars, or Junior Mints cut into pieces

Place candy into the freezer for 15 minutes.

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on medium speed for 30 seconds.   If you want a thicker shake, place blended milkshake into the freezer for a few minutes.  Top with whipped cream and more mint candy pieces.

I know that Valentine’s Day is barely over.  I know that St. Patrick’s Day is a month away.  But, I think that you’ll probably want some time so that you can prepare for watching St. Patrick’s Day movies with your grandchildren.

I recommend that you go to your local library or Blockbuster store, get a copy, and preview the movie.  That way, you can make sure that the content is appropriate and that it is good for your grandchildren’s age level.  Here’s a list of a few possible movies that I have found.

Darby O’Gill and the Little People. Darby O’Gill tells wild stories of leprechauns. When he actually captures the leprechaun king and discovers their hidden gold, no one will believe him.  Filmed in 1959.

Finian’s Rainbow. A mysterious Irishman has stolen a leprechaun’s pot of gold and goes to a small Southern town to plant it in the ground so it will grow. A leprechaun has followed him and tries to get the pot back.  Filmed in 1968.

The Gnome-Mobile. An eccentric millionaire (Walter Brennan for those of us who are old enough to remember him) and his grandchildren are caught in the plights of forest gnomes who are searching for the rest of their tribe.  Filmed in 1967.

The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns. A businessman rents a cottage on Emerald Isle which is occupied by a family of leprechauns.  Filmed in 1999.

The White Pony. Kids, horses, magic, whimsy.  This is a movie about a pony’s journey to the top of a movie career. Made in 1999.

Leapin’ Leprechaun.  A man tries to build a theme park on top of land that’s the home to friendly Leprechauns.  Filmed in 1995.

Luck of the Irish.   This 1948 movie is about a leprechaun who acts as a news reporter’s servant and conscience.

I couldn’t resist sharing one other movie.  But this is more for grandma than for grandchildren.  Maybe. That movie is The Quiet Man.  There’s action, excitement, romance.

It’s a classic movie from 1952 starring John Wayne and is about a young man who returns to Ireland from America to reclaim his homestead and escape his past.  No leprechauns in this movie but if you’re a John Wayne fan, you’ll enjoy it.  And, I think that grandchildren will enjoy it too — if you tell them in advance that this is a ‘classic’ movie sans visual effects, aliens, or magical wizards.  The plot is king here.

Do any of you know of other movies that would be fun to watch with grandchildren to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?