Luck o the Irish

Be prepared folks...this post is bound to contain some green! The Packard house is fresh off our St. Patricks Day Extravaganza... boy did we have a blast. Early in the week I had decided it might be fun to invite a couple of boys over for St. Pattys, you know celebrate the awesomeness that is the color green. Jaxson invited two friends from school and the preparations were on their way.

For the first item of business we set out to decorate the house. I am not so sure that Jaxson was as into this part as I was but he went along with it. I made a template of a shamrock and we cut out what seemed to be a bazillion shamrocks. FYI....a shamrock is actually a more intricate design and definitely not as easy to cut out as a heart, needless to say, only one poster board ended up getting used instead of two! I had assumed that the stores would be brimming with green things for the even but I quickly realized that this is a holiday geared more towards adults than children! We put on our creative hats and I would say it turned out better than any dollar store swag. Jaxson worked on making a rainbow chain and a pot of gold. Our house may look like it was attacked by a kindergartner with a bunch of paper and scissors but ya know, there is no other way that I would have it. I love having a home that is unique and looks lived in. Memories are definitely being made here.

The rest of the prep was fairly simple. A quick trip to the dollar store was just the thing to get together some pretty awesome green themed gift bags that included bubble wands, pencils, race cars and glow in the dark necklaces. These gift packs came together in about three minutes for under ten dollars and the boys loved them. I planned on making a more in depth dessert with a bit more finesse but alas a 16 hour shift left me a bit to groggy to bust out anything complicated. I simply added food coloring to white cake mix and baked it up in a mini muffin tin. Fast, easy and awesome! (I am realizing how much I sound like a craft blog....sorry)



The boys had a fantastic time. Upon arrival I sprayed their hair green which was a HUGE hit. They also had buttons and green headbands to wear. We fed them green pancakes, eggs and milk. One of the boys was distraught at the thought of green milk...no worries I let him have regular. They were so excited to be together that eating was really not a main priority. Boxes from my work served as the perfect creative ground for some awesome leprechaun traps. One boy in particular was really into making his trap. I am so going to have him over for craft time with me again. Andrew spearheaded the shamrock hunt that lead to our pot of gold. The boys put on their glow in the dark bands and danced in the closet. The pics were AWESOME! Then after blowing some bubbles outside it was time to go home.



Sounds like a whirlwind right? Well it was. Andrew looked at me at one point and said "I cant imagine having 3 boys." He and I really bonded over this party experience. It was fun putting something together without the pressure of a birthday. I love how Andrew never takes himself to seriously. The boys loved Andrew dressing up and acting a fool.



We survived the day with only one minor injury. Basically, our condo is ghetto and in the closet the tacking strips for the carpet are exposed. One boys in the excitement of finding the pot of gold scraped his knee. Wish I had a green bandaid!


I cannot wait for our next party adventure!




.