Join in the St Patrick’s Day fun at home with play dough and then when you need some refreshments this green Shamrock Smoothie will have your little leprechaun bursting with emerald joy.

Shamrocks are among the most popular symbols of St. Patrick’s Day so let’s celebrate them.

This play dough ornament recipe can be used for pendants, Christmas tree decorations, heart-shaped gifts for Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day – you choose!

Shamrock Play Dough Decorations

Method

Preheat oven to 145°C (125°C fan-forced) . Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.

In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and 240ml (1 cup) of warm water with a spoon. Gradually add the remaining water as required until you have a soft and pliable dough.

Roll out dough on a floured work surface until it is around 5mm thick. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. For a shamrock, choose the size you would like from this printable . Tip: print then glue the size shamrock you like onto cardboard so you can cut around it. Another idea is to carefully press a heart shaped cookie cutter on 3 times to create the shamrock shape leaving a small indent then cut around the outer shape carefully – don’t forget to include a stem.

Use a straw to poke holes for the ties.

Bake in the oven for around 1 hour or until firm. Turn over after 30 minutes to dry evenly. Paint and varnish each shape and tie string through the holes to hang.

Notes:

• You can bake these at a higher temperature but they tend to puff up a bit. The lower temperature ensures that that they keep their shape.
• You can also sprinkle glitter on these or add eyes or buttons, etc. with glue when they are dry.
• These can also be dried in the sun.

Shamrock Smoothie

Method

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Garnish with kiwifruit cut into Shamrock shapes and serve.

Note:

• The frozen banana gives this a much thicker consistency so don’t skip this step.
• If you can’t source these exact ingredients you can exchange some for other green fruit like grapes.
• If you really need a green drink but you know your children won’t be into this smoothie at all then you can make banana smoothie and add a few drops of natural green food colouring.
• If your children are not fans of spinach then it may be a good idea to hide it before they taste this. You can’t actually taste spinach in this smoothie at all.This recipe was created by Jennifer Cheung for Kidspot, New Zealand

Find more:

• Shamrock Hair Accessories For St Patrick’s Day
• St. Patrick’s Day Word Find
• St. Patrick’s Day Colouring Page