St. Pat's Day - For Kids

The Irish Boutique in Crystal Lake has knickknacks to help decorate your home this St. Patrick’s Day. (Photo by Dani Schweigert)

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Give your kids a taste of Ireland this St. Patrick’s Day — both figuratively and literally.

Celtic Home & Hearth in Richmond is offering free samples of traditional Irish food and drink such as tea and soda bread on weekends in March leading up to the holiday.

At the Irish Boutique in Crystal Lake, you can pick up a paint-your-own Leprechaun or Irish castle kit to do with the kids.

“We try and go a step beyond and find special things for our customers,” says Maiga Steele, who opened Celtic Home & Hearth with her husband, Joseph, about six years ago. “We have a little bit of everything in here.”

Joseph Steele is a retired Celtic storyteller who collected an assortment of knives and swords from that historic time period.

“It started out with the whole idea he would do the different swords and knives,” says Maiga Steele. “That’s just a minor part of the store now.”

Whether you’re Irish or not, St. Patrick’s Day is an ideal holiday to celebrate as a family. Create a little magic for the kids by having them wake up to a rainbow and a pot of gold.

String a path of Mylar and ribbon throughout the house.

At the end, place a plastic pot filled with chocolate coins and trinkets.

Then sit the kids down for a traditional Irish breakfast.

Both Celtic Home & Hearth and the Irish Boutique carry a selection of foods, as well as everything from placemats to Waterford Crystal to set the table. Something as simple as some green food coloring in a child’s glass of milk can add to the festive spirit.

Or pick from a wide array of Irish clothing such as a singing bow tie at the Irish Boutique.
For crafts, Celtic Home & Hearth offers Irish coloring books and stencil and stamp kits. At www.cool-kids-craft-ideas.com, you can find all sorts of rainbow, leprechaun and Shamrock-themed craft and party ideas, including a “Pot of Gold” napkin holder or a Leprechaun Hat Placeholder.

Just have your child cover a Dixie Cup with green construction paper and turn it upside down. Make it into a Leprechaun hat by adding a circle of construction paper as a rim. Attach that to the bottom, and thread a green pipe cleaner in the top of the hat. Cut out a shamrock, place your child’s name on it and attach it to the pipe cleaner.

For a party, have the kids make a “Lifesavers Rainbow Treat.” For that craft, you’ll need the following:

Materials:
Lifesavers (individually wrapped in different colors)
Straws
Double-stick tape
Terracotta pot
Ceramic gold paint (or yellow)
Floral foam

Directions:
Place double-stick tape on a straw and stick on lifesavers.
Repeat this for the other straws.
Paint your pot and let dry. Place shamrock stickers on for added decorations.
Cut some floral foam to fit in the pot. Arrange your straws to form a rainbow of lifesavers.

• Source: www.cool-kids-craft-ideas.com.