Ah, St. Patrick’s Day. It’s always been a BIG deal in our house. The leprechauns come for a visit in the night and are up to all sorts of shenanigans. Everyone wears green (I ask the girls  EVERY YEAR if I can make them matching green plaid pants again…so far no takers!) We eat corned beef dinner and of course, there’s lots of dancing!

One year we left a camera on the table and the leprechauns took some selfies! This was the clearest one…the rest were all blurry because their arms are too short!!

We’ve built all sorts of traps over the years. This one year we thought we had caught one, but lo and behold, he somehow got away leaving only his boots behind.

The leprechauns love to give kisses in the night. The girls wake up covered in them!

Sometimes they leave us little notes or clues to a scavenger hunt. You never know what kind of malarkey you will find with those leprechauns.

They love to cook and leave a big mess!

Sometimes they turn the milk green and leave our favorite breakfast…Lucky charms marshmallows!

Often times leave gold chocolate coins…some bigger than others!

They say to “Eat a rainbow,” so that’s just what we do. Believe me, this could very well be the only nutritious meal of the day!!

We have lots of fun on St. Patrick’s Day.

LOTS of fun!

But we always remember to count our blessings, which are many.

And get our shamrock shakes!

And, of course, we DANCE!

But this year, my girls decided there would be no traps set. No elaborate plans to catch the little leprechauns. So I asked what they would like to do instead, and their reply warmed my heart. They want to BE the leprechauns! They want to pick people they think could use some extra cheer and do a secret good deed for them. Shenanigans at their best!

No matter if you are Irish or not, I hope this St. Patrick’s Day brings you laughter and joy, a few shenanigans and, of course, shamrock shakes! Sláinte!