Great St. Patrick's Day Party Ideas
Wearing the color green is necessary to celebrate Ireland. Make sure your guests know this and come wearing as much green as possible. You can provide party favors to help give everyone a little something green to wear. Give out paper hats, glittery shamrock headbands, beaded necklaces or other items for guests to wear. Saint Patrick is credited with driving all the snakes out of Ireland. Try a silly scavenger hunt for a party activity. Hide rubber snakes throughout the house, coiled around a houseplant, perched on a bookshelf, and let your guests discover them. Reward your guests with chocolate coins wrapped in foil, treasure from a leprechaun's pot of gold.
Green will also dictate the d�cor. Look for green paper goods like tablecloths, napkins and plates. Cut out shamrock shapes from green construction paper and dangle them from the ceiling. Hang balloons, streamers and green Christmas lights. You can even buy live clover plants to decorate your buffet table.
Speaking of food, corned beef and cabbage is a favorite Irish-American dish. Try baking the beef and saut�ing the cabbage rather than boiling them for a more gourmet approach. You can also whip up some Irish stew, made with lamb or beef. Set up your slow cooker and let it go all day. It’ll be ready to eat when the party starts. Soda bread is easy to make, as it does not require yeast to rise. A slice of bread slathered with butter is the perfect accompaniment to either dish. For extra fun, decorate a batch of cupcakes with green icing and gummy shamrocks. Serve the sweets with Bailey’s Irish cream or make a float out of Guinness stout and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Be sure to provide your guests with plenty of Irish beers and whiskeys to drink. Add a few drops of green food coloring to lighter colored beers to turn them green. Serve in a clear plastic cup to show off the results.
