St Patrick's Day Party Ideas

Throwing a St. Patrick's Day Party means going green.  St. Patrick’s Day is a fun and free spirited celebration for everyone, whether you belong to the Irish community or you just enjoy the spirit of this Irish-themed holiday.  Since, everybody's Irish on St. Paddy's Day, it’s a great reason to throw a party for family and good friends!

Invitations:  St Patrick’s Day is just around the corner so get your invites out now.  Keep it simple with a shamrock shaped invitation.  Cut the shape out of green card stock paper; use a pencil to trace the outline of a shamrock cookie cutter and cut along the line. Write the party greeting on one side of the shamrock and add the date, location and time details on the opposite side.  Use this little rhyme as a party greeting:

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind always be at your back
And may that road be the one to our house
For a party to celebrate St. Pat's!

Come join the shenanigans and share the green beer
It's a Saint Patrick's Day Party and we want you here!

Our Irish eyes will be smiling if you join us at our St. Patrick's Day celebration!

Be sure to add “Wear green!” on the invites.

Attire:  Of course, green is the way to go with your St. Patrick's Day gear.  Lads and lassies alike can get into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day by breaking out all their green clothing, pinning on a "Kiss Me, I’m Irish" button and topping it all off with a green leprechaun's hat.  If you’re really audacious, try adding some shamrock tattoos in various places and show guests your green.

Décor:  Start your St. Paddy’s Day decorating with green streamers in various shades to set the mood.  Go all out with a string of green lights (get out your Christmas lights) and shamrock-shaped helium balloons strategically placed around the festivities.  Put up green cutouts of shamrocks and leprechauns on the walls and in the windows.  Suspend lanterns in a rainbow pattern around your party area.  Add Lucky Charms cereal for festive table confetti.  Fill bowls or vases with them to dress up your party.

Ambience:  Put on a CD of traditional Irish songs and print out the lyrics for your guests so they can croon along to classics like "Danny Boy."  Hand out paper and pens and give your guests five minutes to write a limerick, and then read them aloud in your best Irish accents.  If you're the adventurous type, send your guests on a treasure hunt for a leprechaun's pot of gold.  Before guests arrive, hide your treasure (gold-foil-wrapped chocolate coins) around the party area, then have guests search for it throughout the party.

Favors:  Hand out “Kiss Me, I’m Irish!” buttons or party beads to your guests to wear during the course of the party.  As they leave, hand out little pots of gold (goodluck coins, small treats, and a some party beads in a little pot).

Menu:  Get out your green food coloring; you'll need it to dye everything from mashed potatoes to beer.  Serve beer in mini mugs or green koozies.   In addition to green-colored treats, serve traditional Irish favorites like corned beef and cabbage and lots of potatoes; perfect for this lucky holiday.  For  a sweet snack, try a rainbow cake (recipe here) and add chocolate gold coins around the cake.