Today we hosted a Toddler St. Patrick’s Day Party. This group of parents and children get together frequently, but today we decided to embrace the upcoming holiday and eat a lot of green (and rainbow) colored foods, craft with green paints and wear as much green as our wardrobes allowed. It has been such a joy watching these children grow up together and develop relationships at such a young age. As their play and social skills develop they are beginning to play with each other and interact throughout these play dates more and more.
The majority of the St. Patrick’s Day Party revolved around sitting on the floor with the children while they played with a vast amount of toys, however there were aspects of the party that screamed “St. Patrick’s Day”, such as wearing their best green and orange outfits. The food, crafts and favors also revolved around St. Patrick’s Day and are detailed below.
Menu / Food:
Click on the food item for a reference/link to the recipe!
Our main dish, Shepard’s Pie, was made by a very good friend of mine and one of the parents. It was absolutely delicious and very Irish! Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo before we all dug in. I was so impressed with our toddlers as they ate almost all of these dishes and most came back for seconds!
Cheesy Spinach Hummus with Clover Flat Bread “Chips”
Over The Rainbow Fruit Skewers that ended at a Pot of Gold (Rolo).
“Pot of Gold” Salsa 
Avocado Banana Almond Milk Shake with Clover Paper Straws
– This recipe was inspired by Weelicious, however I adapted it greatly. The children loved it and many called it “ice cream”.
Rainbow Custard Tart
Favors:
Eliana and I tied a message to individual paint sets. The message stated:
“You Are The GOLD At The End Of My Rainbow!Thanks for Being My Friend.Love, Eliana”
At the bottom of each paint set we taped a gold chocolate coin. I was excited to find a favor idea that didn’t entirely revolve around candy. While there is a candy coin attached to the bottom, the gift was more about the paint (and of course the message as well). Inspiration for these favors came from this post on Babble.
Craft:
When 8 two year olds get together to craft be prepared for a mess! This picture was taken after some of the clean up had already happened! Needless to say, we had fun and in our house we try not to worry about the mess – it is more about the process! Messes can always be cleaned up!
I printed out large shamrocks onto pieces of computer paper and let the children decorate them with green paint, green puffy paint (Recipe Below), pepper stamps, paintbrushes and squeeze bottles. 
We striped all the children down to their diapers and let them have fun! 
I had never made puffy paint before. I will most definitely make it again! It was super easy and super fun! It dries puffy and can be died any color with just a little food coloring. You can see that it has a different consistency than the regular green paint. It is fluffier (like shaving cream). And when it dries, it maintains it “fluff”! Wallah! Puffy Paint!
DIY Puffy Paint
Ingredients:Shaving CreamElmer’s GlueFood Coloring (optional)
Directions: Fold equal parts of glue and shaving cream together. Don’t over mix. Fold in food coloring of your choice (optional). Paint!
Are you planning a St. Patrick’s Day Party? Are children involved? What crafts and food items are you making? Please Share it! 🙂
