The Mommy Guide to Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with Tiny Tots and Leprechauns
Holidays with a new baby is simultaneously exciting and mind-numbing. While your new baby will be celebrating many St. Patrick’s Days with you, the first will always hold a special place in your heart. So here are some tips for new moms who are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day for the first time with a baby:
Start a new tradition
Whether the luck of the Irish is in your blood or you merely enjoy the celebration that is St. Patrick’s Day, use the little one as a reason to begin a new tradition. This may include having an annual Shepherd’s Pie or Irish stew party, a green-washed family photo, or something along those lines. Start going to epic parades, especially ones in Chicago (for the family-friendly Green River), NYC, or others hosted around the world, such as in Ireland, Argentina, Tokyo, Malaysia, and Canada.
Eat green
If you are opposed to food coloring, never fear. You can still get green-tinted food by using ground parsley, ground pistachios, spirulina, green superfood powder, and spinach (or similar green veggies). Once you have your green dye on hand, get crazy.
Hand your baby some of the following:
- Green-tinted milk
- Green juice
- Lucky Charms
- Shamrock-shaped, green pancakes
- Kiwi
- Sugar snap peas
- Avocado
- Green gelatin
- Pistachio pudding or Key Lime Yogurt
- Green mashed potatoes
Just make sure that your foods are age appropriate! Be sure share some of your adorable St. Patrick’s snacking moments online too.
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Photo-Op
One of the best ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a new baby is to document the momentous occasion with photography. I mean, what is more cute than a dozing baby with a ginger beard and green top hat? I know! Swathe a newborn in a shamrock covered blanket with a rainbow backdrop.
Do not only take photographs of your new baby either. Incorporate some candid shots of family dressed in green, snapshots of the dog sporting a sparkly green tie, and outdoor group shots.
Sham-rocking arts and crafts
Some ideas include:
- Scrapbooking: Take some photos of your baby dressed as leprechaun sitting in a pot of gold (just an example) then add that to couple of pages in the album;
- Footprint Shamrock: Paint your baby’s tiny feet green then use them to stamp a shamrock on a piece of construction paper. Make the date and keep an ongoing record year-after-year;
- Hand or Footprint Rainbow: Both of you can stamp your hands in a rainbow arch, leading to a pot of gold of shamrocks. Better yet, enlist the entire family.
Wearing green
This may seem obvious, because everyone does it; but you probably will not realize how much St. Patrick’s Day clothing is out there for newborns until it hits the shelves. Get matching beanies, shamrock socks, and shirts declaring your love of the festivities. Then, you can even decorate the stroller and diaper bag with Irish pins, shamrock garland, and other odes to Ireland.
If you are feeling really creative, get some plain shirts and onesies then draw your own St. Patrick’s Day pictures on them. Keep them as a souvenir for years to come.
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This year’s celebration is sure to be jam-packed with events and food. So as a new mom it is important to remember to keep your bundle of joy safe, warm, and happy during the festivities so other families go green with envy. May your St. Patrick’s Day this year be one of the best yet!
