Cook a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal
Grab your green apron and get cooking! It’s easy to whip up traditional St. Patrick’s Day food at home, whether you want to make corned beef from scratch or have a hearty Irish breakfast.
Bake fun desserts with your family
No holiday is complete without a tasty dessert, and there are plenty of fun kid-friendly St. Patrick’s Day recipes your whole family will love. We’re particularly smitten with this Shamrock Cutout Pound Cake, which has a magical surprise in the middle!
In the mood for more sweets? These tropical dessert recipes are the next best thing to a sun-soaked getaway.
Host a virtual beer tasting with friends
If you’d typically hit the bar with friends on St. Patrick’s Day, you can enjoy the same good drinks and good company over a video call. Everyone can sip on their favourite beer, and you can even set up some St. Patrick’s Day trivia to keep everyone engaged.
Support your favourite local bars
Since you won’t be hitting the bars in person, order takeout from your favourite local spot instead. Most restaurants will have your favourite foods as St. Patrick’s Day specials, and they’ll undoubtedly appreciate your business on the holiday.
Find out more ways you can support small businesses during the pandemic.
Blast iconic Irish tunes
If you were to go out on St. Patrick’s Day, you’d probably hear songs like “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” and “Drunken Lullabies” played on repeat, and you can create the same festive atmosphere in your home with the help of a Bluetooth speaker. Put together a playlist of all your favorite Irish tunes, and have fun jamming out all day long.
While you’re at it, find out the most popular song the year you were born.
Orchestrate a family scavenger hunt
Grab a bag of chocolate coins from the store, and set up a fun scavenger hunt for your kids. You can come up with your own clues, or check out Pinterest for rhymes that will guide your family to the hidden treasure.
You can also challenge your family to an epic game night with these best-reviewed board games.
Learn to Irish step dance
You can work off all those desserts with a little at-home dance lesson. St. Patrick’s Day parades often feature Irish step dancers, and you can learn the same spirited dance moves with the help of YouTube tutorials.
Check out 50 more productive things to do during the pandemic.
Stream a parade from your couch
There are lots of St. Patrick’s Day parades that take place all around the world, and even if you can’t attend in person, many of the larger parades are shown on TV or streamed online. So don your green garb and huddle up on the couch to enjoy the dancers, music and floats!
Nothing to watch? Here are the best movies on Netflix Canada right now.
Watch an Irish movie
For a low-key holiday, grab a bowl of St. Patrick’s Day popcorn and put on an Irish-themed flick. If you’re in the mood for a rom-com, we’d recommend P.S. I Love You, or for something a bit more action-packed, put on The Boondock Saints. For the kids, check out The Secret of Kells.
Hunt for four-leaf clovers
If it’s a nice day outside, challenge your family to search for a four-leaf clover. These rare plants can be found hiding in patches of wild clover, but it takes a keen eye to spot them! You can even have a small prize in case someone is lucky enough to find one.
You might also consider adding these lucky plants to your home!
Plan your dream trip to the Emerald Isle
It’s with good reason the author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die put Ireland in her top seven. St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect time to map out an itinerary so you’re ready to book your dream vacation as soon as international travel opens up again. Although Dublin, Galway and Cork are popular stops for first-time visitors to the Emerald Isle, don’t neglect the country’s breathtakingly beautiful heartland. Check out the best things to do in Ireland off the beaten path. – Brett Walther
Make green drinks for everyone to enjoy
Green beer is a popular St. Patrick’s Day drink, but there are plenty of festive non-alcoholic beverages to sip on, too. Kids will love the brightly coloured Leprechaun Lime Drink, or enjoy Thin Mint Milk Shakes for dessert—they’re a great copycat recipe of the popular McDonald’s Shamrock Shake!