Here Are Five Tips for Celebrating St. Patrick's Day at Home

Credit: Alpha Media

It’s the first day of “Shelter In Place” and it happens to fall on St. Patrick’s Day. Normally, a lot of us would be drinking green beer at a bar, and eating corned beef and cabbage at a restaurant. With the “Shelter In Place” order, bars are closed and restaurants can only offer take-out or delivery. To help you salvage your St. Patrick’s Day celebration, here are five tips for celebrating at home:

1. Watch some Irish movies. “Harper’s Bazaar” posted a list of more than 20 good ones you can look for on various streaming services. And Screenrant.com ranked the ten best St. Patrick’s Day SITCOM episodes of all time.

2. Attend a virtual St. Patrick’s Day party. The Milwaukee Irish Fest is the largest Irish event in North America. They’ll be live-streaming performances and videos on social media. Also, the Dropkick Murphys are streaming a show live from Boston with no audience. (Distractify.com has a list with a few more.)

3. If you’ve got kids, lean heavily on arts and crafts. They’ll need something to do that won’t require going anywhere. And you want it to take a while, so YOU can relax. “Woman’s Day” posted a list of 35 ideas you can check out. And YouTube and Spotify have a ton of traditional Irish music you can stream while you get crafty.

4. Brush up on your Irish-American history. About 33 million Americans have Irish ancestors. So it might be a good day to check out sites like Ancestry.com. The website IrishTimes.com has a good guide for getting started.

5. Cook some Irish food. Delish.com has a ton of recipes. Just don’t DRINK too much. Alcohol weakens your immune system, which is exactly what you don’t want right now. It’s not clear what a “safe” amount looks like. So definitely dial it back this year.

Remember that you can order your corned beef and cabbage from your favorite restaurant and have it delivered.