What, if anything, will you do for St. Patrick's Day?

[Thipu1]

We'll be going to lunch at Chip Shop for the best corned beef and cabbage in the world. 

On the 18th, we'll be going to the local parade.  This year it should be especially nice because there will be marching units from Ireland that participated in the big parade in Manhattan the day before. 

The day after that is our 29th Wedding Anniversary. 

It will be a very pleasant and festive weekend. 

[mamakinz]

I will be making corned beef, cabbage, colcannon and soda bread. Then after dinner we will go see my daughter's high school production of Thoroughly Modern Mille - she's in the production, and I will be heelping out backstage with the girls makeup

[Piratelvr1121]

I will be making corned beef and cabbage (or potatoes) in the crockpot, probably a loaf of soda bread as well, or soda bread muffins prior to the day, as well as some corned beef and dill dip.   Drinking at least one Guinness (though usually for this lightweight one is enough)

And I'll be watching the QVC shows to hear  the Irish accents and see what they're selling, and chatting with my bff most of the day. She usually works Saturdays but took off because it's St. Patrick's Day and...because the very next day she'll be leaving for a 2 week trip to Ireland!

I'll miss her but I'm sooooo excited for her!

[camlan]

There will be green shamrock-shaped cookies, served with tea, while Van Morrison and the Chieftains play in the background, at 4 pm.

Then we'll have the annual corned beef and cabbage and mashed potatoes and peas (because they are green). And a glass of whiskey, because that's what Grandpa always said was needed to help the cabbage go down. Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers will play during dinner.

Then after dinner, we force all those who have taken Irish step dancing lessons to perform. Those who are old enough get more whiskey to help them through the annual ordeal.

Then we eat more shamrock cookies and some whiskey cake.

After that, the evening tends to become a bit more spontaneous.

[BabylonSister]

I'll color my hair red.

[SisJackson]

My husband and I will be attending a completely non-St. Pat's related birthday celebration, so my usual plan of making corned beef and cabbage has to be done on a different day.  St. Pat's is one of those days where we generally make a point of not going out because of the preponderance  of drunk people and general stupidity in our region.

[Mazdoy]

Nothing much.  If it's not raining I might take a wander down to the local parade.  Can't drink this year cos I'm pregnant.

[kckgirl]

I'm going to NYC. We set the date for the day trip before we realized it's St Patrick's Day, but it will be a good thing.

[QueenofAllThings]

We have a non-St Patrick's day business dinner planned.

We are not Irish, and the idea of dyeing our food green or pounding Guiness doesn't appeal. If you're Irish, go for it - but it's not my thing.

I lived in NYC for most of my young adult life, in an area home to several Irish bars. St Patrick's Day was always a little nerve-wracking, in that I had to walk a gauntlet of young drunken idiots professionals to get to my apartment. It queered it for me.

[camlan]

We always stay home, at least in the evening. As Grandpa used to say, all the amateur drunks come out on St. Patrick's Day. It's not safe out there. Which is funny really, because no one really gets drunk in our family.

But a lot of those people out there celebrating hard aren't Irish at all. It's just an excuse for a party. I can see , in the doldrums of March, that people want to have a little fun.

[Redsoil]

It's my godson's 9th birthday, so we'll be heading down to their town to have a birthday tea at the pub!  (Yes, it's a child-friendly sort of place.)

[Mazdoy]

We are not Irish, and the idea of dyeing our food green .

`

I've never even seen that done here in Ireland.  I think it's an American thing.  Although I've heard that McDonalds have green milkshakes but I can't stand the place so I've never had one.

[Piratelvr1121]

We always stay home, at least in the evening. As Grandpa used to say, all the amateur drunks come out on St. Patrick's Day. It's not safe out there. Which is funny really, because no one really gets drunk in our family.

But a lot of those people out there celebrating hard aren't Irish at all. It's just an excuse for a party. I can see , in the doldrums of March, that people want to have a little fun.

Yeah I don't go out to drink, it's just not my thing.  College cured me of that, not that I drank a lot back then, but going to the on campus pub and seeing other people get falling down stupid drunk just wasn't any fun.  I found out then it's a lot more fun, not to mention safer, to just drink at home.  You're already near your bed and don't have to worry about getting home safely and even if you don't drink, you're not worrying about the ones who think nothing of driving drunk.

As for dying the food green.  My parents once bought green bagels when we went to the parade in D.C. I love bagels but the thought of eating a green bread product. Yuck. 

[Venus193]

I always contribute food to and assist Eunice with her St Patrick's Day party.  This year it will be on the 17th so it will be a very hectic day for her.  The menu will include:

Knorr spinach dip
Cold veggies
Good Luck Pasta Salad
Bean salad
Cold shrimp
Oven-fried chicken
Onion tart (dyed green)*

Desserts (I'm doing these; other folks will bring more):

Grasshopper Pie
Grand Marnier Mandarin Pie
White Chocolate Pudding Pie (w/Bailey's Irish Cream)

*One of the male guests is being asked to bring a spiral ham so we can have Green Eggs and Ham.

[O'Dell]

There will be a parade here in town for the first time, so we'll probably go to that. A friend usually plays somewhere and we go to see him. I've never seen green beer. I don't drink beer, but my husband and friends are beer snobs and the bars/pubs we go to won't mess with the booze like that. My margarita is green though.