If you’re Irish, or you’re used to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day at the local pub with your significant other who’s now at boot camp, the holiday could be more lonely than celebratory. But now is the perfect time to be thinking of how you can send a little taste of the Irish holiday through the mail.
Here are some great letter ideas for your St. Patrick’s Day!
Include a photo of yourself holding up a drink at your local Irish bar, with a sign that says, “I’m cheers-ing to you!”
Suggest a post-boot camp trip to Ireland (or an Irish honeymoon, if you’re engaged). Include details of the places you want to visit when you get there.
Learn to make soda bread and send a photo with a promise to make homemade bread when your recruit returns.
If you’ve always wanted to brew your own beer, buy some home brewing equipment, set it up and include a photo of us, with a note that says, “Waiting for you when you get home.”
Include a list of nearby breweries you haven’t tried yet.
Instead of a Christmas “Elf on the Shelf,” but an Irish elf and take photos of the elf sitting in different places throughout your home.
Get your recruits’ friends and family together and make everyone a matching green t-shirt with your recruit’s face on it.
Include Irish poetry: Seamus Heaney, Eavan Boland and William Butler Yeats are three of the most famous.
Find a four-leaf clover, include a photograph of it and then save it for your recruit’s return.
Many cities host a St. Patrick’s Day 5K every year. Sign up in your recruit’s honor and write about it.
Include Irish song lyrics from classic Irish songs, or more modern Irish musicians (like Hozier, U2, or Van Morrison).
Write a letter about all the fun things you would do if you were together on St. Patrick’s Day – and then recreate the day after boot camp.
Take a picture of a rainbow and include it in your letter, along with a list of wishes.
Host a post-St. Patrick’s Day party when your recruit gets back and send out invitations – including one to your recruit. (Hint: The price of decorations will go way down the day after).
Reading the same book together can be a great bonding experience. Find some by Irish authors and include a list in your letter; let your recruit choose, and have the books ready when they get back.
Go to a local St. Patrick’s Day parade and take photographs to include in your letter.
Write a St. Patrick’s Day acrostic poem with one thing you love about your recruit in every line.
If your recruit loves to cook, include a few Irish recipes you hope to make together when they get home.
If you have kids, write them a letter from a leprechaun and include a copy in your boot camp note.
Whatever you do, celebrate the day as you usually would – whether it’s making green cupcakes with your kids, going out for a drink or wearing a leprechaun hat. Just make sure to document it in writing and with photos.
