Looking for some great ideas on St. Patrick’s Day Fun With Your Mate?
We got you covered!
Making the time and effort to break the routine and do the unexpected with your mate can create fun and happy memories. Everyone celebrates Valentine’s day as a romantic holiday. That’s expected. Consider for few minutes making St. Patrick’s Day a fun and romantic day with your lover.
Before we jump into ideas for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with your mate, let’s look at why there is such a day at all. If you are not Catholic, you may not have learned about St. Patrick and why there is a day named for him. As a child, you may have discovered that people who don’t wear green get pinched on this day. That may have made you wonder why this guy is revered as a saint! Green beer, leprechauns, and shamrocks could be the extent of your experiences on St. Patrick’s Day.
There is really a cool story behind the celebration of this day, and you don’t have to be Irish to appreciate it. Patrick, who was British, was captured by Irish pirates at the age of 16 and taken by them to Ireland to be a slave. He was enslaved there for six years tending sheep for the farmer who had bought him. While in Ireland, he had an encounter with God which changed his life. Then, at 22, he had the vision to escape and return to his family in Great Britain. He was successful in escaping and was able to return to his home and family. However, after seven years, he was deeply burdened for the Irish people and returned there as a missionary.
In his chosen callng, he established over two hundred churches in Ireland. More than a dozen attempts were made on his his life, but he perservered and influenced more than one hundred thousand people to put their faith in Christ. Becuase of his exemplary life, he was named the patron saint of Ireland. He died on March 17, 461 and today we celebrate March 17 as St. Patrick’s Day. Regardless of religious beliefs, we can all say, “hats off and mugs up to this man and his life of adventure, passion, and purpose!”
If you are interested in learning more about Patrick’s life, there is a recent biographical movie entitled I Am Patrick: The Patron Saint of Ireland.
So, let’s get to the fun stuff! Here are some ideas to help you and your mate “get your Irish on” and enjoy St. Patrick’s Day and each other.
- Watch movies set in Ireland. As a kid, I can remember watching John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in “The Quiet Man.” Years later, my wife and I enjoyed snuggling on the couch and watching the movie “Leap Year.” There are many Irish-themed or influenced movies to choose from. Here’s a link from Good Housekeeping with a list of suggestions: Irish Movies
- Play a game. Play your favorite board or card game. Make it sexy! The winner gets Lucky Charms as a prize and can cash in the marshmallow charms for anything that they would like from their mate. Give “magically delicious” a whole new meaning!
“Heart, stars and horseshoes,
Clovers and blue moons
Hourglasses, rainbows
And tasty red balloons
They’re magically delicious!”
- Eat Irish-inspired food. Get creative! Plan a picnic or Irish-themed meal. Buy green flowers or a bouquet that includes Bells of Ireland. Serve lemon-lime soda, lime sherbet, green candy, green cookies, green candy (And they might not be Irish, but margaritas are green!) For some great Irish food recipes, click here: Irish Food recipes. Irish coffee is a great after-dinner drink as well.
- Write love notes. Get a green ink pen and write romantic, fun, or sexy love notes to your mate.
- Read Irish love poems. Find poems from Irish writers that resonate with you and your love story. Look up the works of William Butler Yeats or James Joyce, to name a couple. Here is one by Irishman John Boyle O’Reilly that you could read to your lover as you give her “a cream-white rosebud with flush on its petal tips.”
The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
O, the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.
But I send you a cream-white rosebud
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips – John Boyle O’Reilly
- Dance to Irish music. You could watch a YouTube video, such as Beginner Irish Dance Moves, and learn a few basic steps together… or you could just play some Irish dance music from your favorite music app and make up your own unique moves!
- Wear Irish-themed underwear. You could each pick out Irish underwear for your mate to wear, or you could each pick out your own and then surprise each other. For extra fun and interest, wear them while doing all of the above activities!
Making an effort to do the unexpected or the unusual can make memories for you and your mate. It’s those moments that make a relationship fulfilling and fun!