St. Patrick’s Day crafts and recipes

St. Patrick’s day is Wednesday, Mar. 17. If you are planning to celebrate or hosting a party, keep costs down with these tips, courtesy of The Party Goddess.

• Wrap a wreath you already own in clovers.
• Hand out basic limerick guidelines as your guests arrive and hold a limerick contest after people have had a few drinks. Prepare a small prize for the limerick that gets the most cheers – a set of pencils, a bottle of Guinness, or a book of limericks.
• Create a vibrant green runner with sheets of wheat grass, rolls of sod, or vases of clover.
• Spray paint terra cotta pots gold and fill them with shamrock or clover plants.
• Serve a green cocktail. Start with vodka or tequila and add a splash of green juice, Midori, or Absynthe. Pre-make them in pitchers for faster service and garnish with fun green candy. Or make an Irish cocktail.
• Engage kids by having them decorate their own leprechaun hats. Provide plain hats and tools to decorate.

Here is a true or false quiz about St. Patty’s day that you can have guests take.

• A legend regarding St. Patrick is that he rid Ireland of snakes by ringing his bell.
• We celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th because that is when St. Patrick died.
• The holiday got its American start in 1737 in Boston.
• The shamrock was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of spring.
• St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish.
• There are more Americans of Irish origin than there are Irish in Ireland.
• Delaware, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire Irish are the leading ancestral group.
• On St. Patrick’s Day, you can bring yourself good luck by finding a four-leaf clover, wearing green and kissing the Blarney stone.

Thanks to reader Ann who pointed out that I forgot to provide the answers to this quiz! They are ALL true.