Holidays like St. Patrick's Day revolve HEAVILY around drinking. For those of us who don’t drink, it can feel like we're better off going full hermit-crab and hiding from the world. Forget that! St. Patrick's Day is about celebrating community and coming together to do so. This day is as much ours as it is theirs!
Here are 10 other awesome things you can do on St. Patrick's Day instead of drinking an absurd amount of green beer and not remembering anything the next day.
1. Go on a hike.
Feel like you can’t get away from all the craziness going on around you? Get out in nature for a while! Going on a hike is a great way to get away from all the partying. It serves as a peaceful sanctuary that allows you to think, get in tune with yourself and your surroundings. Listen to the birds chirping, breathe in the fresh air. Want to bring St. Patty’s day into your hike? Bring a small baggie and see how many four-leaf clovers you can find while on your hike! Not too fond of hiking alone? You can also grab a couple friends and play a game while you hike - scavenger hunt style. Print out this sheet to keep track of what you see on your hike!
2. Take a little road trip.
When we are in our cars, it gives us a sense of comfort. This is our place, our car, we decorate it how we want, we name our car whatever we want, and we can listen to songs that we love. Driving with the windows down and the music up just hits different. It just feels so freeing and empowering. Scream the lyrics as loud as you want, change the song if you don’t like it, and have a small dance party while at a stoplight. If you are with your friend, family, or significant others, this can be a time for you all to let go, have fun, and explore. If you are with more than two people, play some games! You can play the license plate game or any of the games on the downloadable sheets below!
3. Hang out with your pet (or volunteer at a local pet shelter!)
Dogs, cats, fish, any pet you have are sure to give you a serotonin boost! They’re always there for you no matter what and are great listeners (even if they don’t answer back). You can take your pup to a local dog park for them to have fun in the snow or grass. If you have a pet that can not go outside, you can take a trip to the pet store and get them something new and then watch them get excited about their St. Patty's Day present. Sometimes it’s just great to be in the moment with just you and your pet!
4. Make an awesome dessert (recipe ideas HERE!)
At Doughp, we celebrate baking as a party of its own! Maybe you want to learn something new, or just don’t want to go out to get a dessert. You can always just bake it! You can always look up recipes online, however, we only bake with Doughp. Check out any of these DOUGHP recipes to make the best St.Patrick’s day dessert.
5. Call your parent, sibling, and/or a friend and just catch up!
Plan a fun “phone date” with someone you want to catch up with! Maybe you haven’t spoken to them in several months, or maybe you just spoke to them yesterday. But it's always good to check up on others you care about, and a “phone date” is the perfect way to do just that!
6. Write a letter to your grandparent(s)! ... like an actual letter with paper!
Yes. We mean like actually hand write and use actual paper that comes from actual trees. We understand that this may be confusing to some, but trust us, it'll be fun for you to create and your grandparents to open! If you aren’t sure what to write about, how to start it, or even how to address an actual envelope, check out our prompts, question examples, and our quick lesson on how to address an envelope.
7. Take a painting class or do a paint-by-numbers kit
Remember when you were little and used paint by numbers? Ahh, nostalgia. Most times they would end up with the wrong colors in the wrong places, but now that we are all grown up, hopefully, there will be less of that. However, it could be the same. Check out your local craft store to see what they have in stock or find a painting class online! You can always start with the kid version (trust us no one will question why you are buying kids' crafts) or you can go straight to the hard adult stuff!
8. Do some yard work (doubles as exercise - win-win!)
Now as spring is approaching us, we gotta get our dead flowers back alive again. Head outside to get some fresh air and get your space looking pretty! Go to a nursery or even a market and snag some new flowers, or plant some baby seeds! Unfortunately for some we may be stuck shoveling snow…but that’s still yard work… right??
9. Find a new dessert spot in town to try.
Bakeries are where it is at. Support local businesses while treating yourself on this holiday. We challenge you to order something you have never tried before. We guess we can allow you to get the same thing you always get, I mean nothing is stopping you, however with springtime coming, and St. Patty's day happening, we want you to try out a new dessert. It can even just be a bite of one, then you can go back to your usual.
10. Eat cookie dough. You know we had to throw this one in!
I mean OBVIOUSLY we had to put this in. If you are going to do anything off this list, our personal opinion is that #10 is the best. We promise we are not being biased at all, it's just that Doughp cookie dough is just that good. I mean just think about it, cookie dough. Cookie dough that can be baked and made into cookies, dough that can be eaten RAW, dough that can be added in ice cream, cupcakes, mini cheesecakes, and more! Talk about versatility! Check out our website for all of our different flavors.
St. Patricks Day can be a hard one for some. While it is a holiday intended to be about Irish culture, it has seemingly become a holiday for drinking. At Doughp, we celebrate sobriety and support mental health. We encourage you to enjoy yourself on this holiday and do what you love. Relax, regroup, rejuvenate and treat yourself. And remember, there is hope in every bite of our dough!
