Woodside/Sunnyside

Everyone feels at least a wee bit Irish around St. Patrick’s Day, especially here in NYC, where we have a large population of Irish folk. If your days of celebrating till you're green around the gills are a distant memory, don’t worry: There are plenty of truly kid-friendly ways to mark St. Patrick's Day throughout the month.

This year, St. Patrick's Day falls on Sunday, March 17 but the festivities begin this coming weekend with processions and parties that tend to be mellower and more family oriented than Manhattan's big parade. In addition to St. Patrick's Day parades in all five boroughs (Queens and Brooklyn actually have two each!), there are more subdued ways for families to celebrate, like step-dancing and bagpipe performances, Gaelic workshops, film festivals and a leprechaun hunt.

Here are our favorite ways to celebrate Irish culture and St. Patrick’s Day with kids in New York City. Sláinte!

As a proud Queens native, I'm always looking for new ways to encourage others (including my own family) to explore my home borough. And since it's famous for being culturally diverse, a do-it-yourself food tour is a great way to get a taste of all the different neighborhoods.

Queens boasts some of the best kid-friendly restaurants in New York City—and I'm not just saying that because I was raised here. You can introduce your children to a wide variety of authentic cuisine at reasonable prices, and the portions are so big you always end up with leftovers to take home. Plus there are off-the-beaten path gems that have incredible kid appeal, like coffee house Waltz-Astoria and its family concerts and old New York soda fountains Eddie's Sweet Shop and Jahn's.

I thought about all of the places I've eaten in Queens over the years and came up with my personal list of the top ten restaurants, bakeries and ice cream parlors that are all worth schlepping the kids to, even if you live in another borough. See if your favorites made the cut and feel free to share your additions in the comments as I know there are many, many more.