I still remember being a kid and wishing that McDonalds would have shamrock shakes year round, but alas they are only available for the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. This year, however, McDonalds decided to take the shamrock shake to a whole new level. They introduced the green milkshake nationwide.

Over 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants now serve the holiday shake, whereas only select restaurants had it available before this year. According to CNN Money, the shamrock shake was first introduced in 1970, and even had its own mascot-Uncle O-Grimacey.

Although the shamrock shake is simply a vanilla shake with a bit of mint and green coloring added to it, it is still desirable by children and adults alike. This is especially true for me because it brings back so many childhood memories.

Each year the shamrock shake becomes available toward the last half of February, and can be purchased all the way up until March 17th. After March 25th, the delicious Irish inspired shake completely disappears until the following year. I make it a point to purchase two or three shamrock shakes for my kids each year as something fun to do together. I want to instill those same fond childhood memories in my children that I have from when I was young.

Since I homeschool, I decided to take a day to review the origin of the holiday with my daughter, complete a few St. Patrick’s Day crafts, and then head over to McDonalds to finish the day off with a shamrock shake. Public and private school teachers can implement this as well by having a parent pick up the shakes and deliver them to the school.