St Patrick’s Day Fun For the Whole Family

St. Patrick’s Day is a wonderful day to celebrate and take part in the Irish heritage. It’s a fun holiday and you don’t even have to be Irish to enjoy it. This St. Patrick’s Day why not get the whole family involved in some good, wholesome fun? Take part in some outdoor activities as well as some indoor ones. Here are some great ideas for your family to enjoy this month. There are a lot of Okanagan events your family can get involved in so join right in.

Shamrock Scavenger Hunt

This is a lot of fun for a group of kids to do. Make shamrocks out of cardstock or purchase readymade ones. You divide the group into two if you want for more of a challenge. What you are going to do is hide the shamrocks around the house, your backyard or even one of the Okanagan parks. But before you hide them you want to provide a clue on each one to where the next shamrock is hidden. Give the kids a shamrock in an envelope with instructions on how to get started and a hint as to where the first clue is hidden. You want the scavenger hunt to lead to something fun! Try having the last shamrock be a coupon for their favorite treat or some small gold chocolate candies.

Shamrock Shakes

These are easy to make at home. All you need is vanilla ice cream (or pistachio), vanilla flavoring, milk and green food coloring. You also need a blender or smoothie maker. For a single serving simply place a scoop or two of ice cream in the blender, add ½ – 1 cup milk, depending on how thick you like it, a ¼ teaspoon vanilla and a few drops off green food coloring. Blend and enjoy! The perfect dessert for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner.

Corn Beef and Cabbage

This is a traditional Irish dish and you can make a simple version kids enjoy. You will need a head of cabbage, beef broth and Spam luncheon meat. Cut up the cabbage into small chunks, cube the Spam and place everything in a large pot of beef broth. Simmer until cabbage is tender and enjoy.

Shamrock Pins

These are simple to make and can be given as gifts to friends and family. You will need green felt or fun foam, pin backs (available at any craft store), craft glue and glitter. You might also like to use fabric paints to decorate your shamrocks.

Once you have gathered all of your supplies you simply trace a shamrock pattern onto the felt or fun foam. You can easily find a template on the internet if you can’t draw own. Cut out the shamrocks. Decorate by putting glue around the edges of the shamrock and sprinkling with glitter. You can also draw tiny rainbows on them if you like. You may want to write the person’s name on the pin. After your shamrock has dried, glue the pin back to it. Sometimes you can find sticky backed pins and then all you have to do is peel and stick in place.

Play Pin the Shamrock on the Leprechaun

Print out or purchase a large picture of a leprechaun. Make several shamrock pins but do not put the pins on the back. Mark a spot on the leprechaun’s shirt where the pin should go. Now play just like you do pin the tail on the donkey only you try to get the shamrock pin in the right place.

Your whole family will enjoy these fun Okanagan events. Why not get together with several families and have a St. Patrick’s Day party? The kids will love it and you will get to spend time with friends as well as your family.

Sue Bojahra
Okanagan4Kids Family Directory
http://www.okanagan4kids.com

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The Cackleberries Team is feeling decidedly Irish lately and is getting right into the St Patrick’s Day spirit.  Today, we a fun coloring project for you to print off and share with your children.  If you like this and think your child would be interested in some other fun art projects, be sure to check out our entire free goodies section.  Also, be sure to check back next Tuesday as we’ll have more great St Patrick’s Day Printables!

Just Click to get your St Patrick’s Day Coloring Sheet!

If you’re not a member or need to login, click here

Hope you liked this St Patrick’s Day Printable Coloring Page!  Be sure to check out more next Tuesday!

Appetizer Ideas…

• Asparagus
• Green beans
• Pea soup
• lettuce wraps (with beef or chicken)
• Green apples
• Celery Sticks
• Guacamole
• Avocado Sushi rolls

Salad ingredients…..

Try making an all green salad – this shouldn’t be too hard but try the following:

• Lettuce
• Cucumber
• Green Peppers
• Green Onions
• Snap Peas
• Kiwis
• Mint

Side Dishes….

• Steamed Broccoli
• Basil, Green Tomatoes and Bocconcini Cheese
• Grilled Asparagus
• Peas

Main Course Ideas….

• Green Curry
• Cream of Broccoli Soup
• Banana Leaf Rice
• Spinach Lasagne

Dessert

• Green Jello Cubes
• Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
• Green fruit Medley (Kiwis, Green Grapes, and Green Apples)
• Green Tea

That’s our list!  Have any more ideas?  We’d love to here them at info@cackleberries.com. 

Kd Lang sings Hallelujah at the opening ceremonies

Seeing Apolo Ohno up close!

Seeing Canada win a Medal!

and lastly…..

The mayhem of downtown Vancouver!

See you all next week!

With our regular Wednesday feature, Cackleberries.com has another expert article to help parents solve those tough child rearing dilemmas.  The Cackleberries How-to feature provides great parenting tips, tricks, and techniques to help you deal with any sort of situation that may arise throughout the process of parenthood.  You can view all of our expert articles on the right side of the page under the “Expert Articles” category.  If you have a topic you’d like us to cover, feel free to let us know at  info@cackleberries.com

10 Inexpensive Activities You Can Do With Your Children Today

If you’ve got children and are struggling to find things to keep then entertained, or to divert them away from their games console, TV or computer, then perhaps you’re looking for some inspiration.

Why not try some of these?

1. Why not let your children help you with the cooking? You can educate them on the importance of healthy family recipes, and eating a balanced diet. You can also let them choose some meals as well as helping you prepare them.

2. If you’re a keen gardener, then you might want to let your children help you. Why not let them plant seeds, or have their own patch of the garden so they can grow vegetables, or have some pots to grow flowers in?

3. Perhaps you’re keen on knitting, and your children have shown an interest. Why not see if they can learn how to knit, or help you decide what to knit next.

4. You’ll want your children to know just how important exercise is, so that they dramatically reduce the risk of becoming obese. Why not take your children to the park, or play football, or go for a jog. There’s also a lot to be said for throwing and catching a ball in the garden, or taking the dog for a walk.

5. Why not go for a walk in the country, or near where you live? You might discover new exciting places near you, or begin to appreciate the countryside even more.

6. A bike ride with your children can be very rewarding, and give them the skills and confidence they need to ride by themselves. By teaching them good habits, whether you’re riding on a mountain bike course, or on the road, they’ll be come responsible riders and much safer.

7. Taking your children swimming needn’t cost a fortune, and will be enjoyable for you all. Why not make it a regular thing, or book swimming lessons for your children if they can’t swim already?

8. Children love spending time with their parents, so why not play with them. You’ve probably bought them lots of toys, and they’ll really appreciate you playing with them. Alternative you could read together, or make something. There’s a lot to be said for just spending time with your children.

9. Board games might not be as fashionable as they once were, but they’re still an excellent way to keep the whole family entertained. From the classics from your youth, to the more modern games, you’ll have a great time playing board games with your children.

10. Why not ask your children if they want to invite friends round once in a while? You can let them play, and keep an eye on them, whilst they have a great time.

Now you know what sort of things you can do with your children, they don’t have to watch TV or play on their games console all the time.

Find out more Parental Advice, and Gardening Ideas and much more to keep you and your children entertained, at Candis.co.uk. If you’ve got a family, then you need Candis. Why not subscribe online today?

Article By M James, couretsy of Ezine Articles

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=M_James

As promised, The Cackleberries Team has compiled a series of step by step drawing lesson sheets that will be offered every Tuesday for your enjoyment and drawing fun.  These instructional lessons are great for all skill levels, super easy to follow, and best of all, are completely free to our Cackleberries Club members!

Everyone grab your pens, pencils, felts, and crayons because we have our first drawing lesson available today!

In anticipation of this new Cackleberries feature, we received a large number of requests.  In fact, one of the biggest questions we got in regards to our drawing series was – how do you draw a cat?

Well today, we will let you see first hand and try it for yourself at home with the kids!

How do You Draw a Cat?

(click the image to get your own printable lesson sheet!)

Not a member or need to login?  Click here – It’s Free!

Good luck and happy drawing!

Free Olympic Theme Kids Coloring Pages

If you couldn’t tell, The Cackleberries Team has been getting into the Olympic spirit lately and today’s post is no different.  Today, we want to share a fun drawing and coloring gift for your children.  If you like this and think your child would be interested in some other fun art projects, be sure to check out our easy and fun Printable Valentines Cards for Kids!

Kids Olympic Themed Cackleberries Colouring Pages

Go grab your pens, pencils, felts and crayons and print off these Olympic coloring pages for your kids now!  To get your copy, simply click on the ‘Free Goodies’ link above to get your Free Kids Olympic Colouring Pages now!

Today’s Olympic theme feature is……

Olympic Ring Cookies

The concept here is pretty simple.  just follow the steps below to achieve a gold medal of approval from your family!

1 – Select your favourite shortbread cookie recipe and bake as many cookies as as you want

2 – When ready, use a cookie cutter to cut out circles and a smaller cutter to cut out the centres

3 – bake the cookies as directed in your recipe

4 – Allow the cookies to cool

5 – Prepare or purchase frosting for the five colors required to make the Olympic rings

6 – Serve and Enjoy!

Video # 1 – Very Original YouTube Video

Video # 2 – Very Cool Animated Short Film

See you all tomorrow!