Hosting a St. Patty’s Day Party? Here are Some Tips!

So you’ve taken on the challenge of throwing a St. Patty’s Day party! You can’t wait to have all your friends arrive dressed in green and really celebrate the luck of the Irish! The only problem is, you don’t know where to start. Here are some helpful hints to make sure that your party is one everyone will be talking about for many years to come.

The very first item is the invitations. Make sure that they are sent out three to four weeks in advance. People love to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and they make their plans well in advance. Also make sure to send them out via post mail rather than email, to prevent them from being mistaken for spam. You don’t even need a lot of imagination for these. Just make sure that they are green (either the stationery or the wording) and use Irish clip art. Leprechauns, pots of gold, and four-leaf clovers are a good start.

After the invitations, there’s not much to do but collect RSVP’s until the day before. Spend that day decorating your home (or wherever your hosting the party.) Again, green and Irish decorations are the obvious choice here. Decorations can be purchased from dollar or novelty stores but it’s very easy to make some of your own. Simply buy green construction paper and draw four-leaf clovers on them. If you’re not an artist, just buy one clover decoration and trace it onto several sheets. Then just cut the clovers out and tape them to the walls.

You can also make a lot of the food the day before. Lamb stew can be made the day before and placed in the fridge. The day of the party, simply heat it up and place it into a slow cooker set on low. Shepherd’s pie is also great Irish fare and can be made the day before. Make a huge casserole of the pie and place it in the fridge. The day of the party, simply place the casserole into a preheated oven to warm it up. Irish buttermilk bannock is great Irish bread that can be made the day before and served as is the day of the party. There is no need to heat it up. Lamb chops, corned beef and cabbage, and Irish salmon are other great foods to serve at the party but these should really be prepared the day of.

And you absolutely cannot forget the drinks at a St. Patty’s Day party. People will definitely be expecting them! You can serve whatever you like but make sure to include a selection of Irish beer, Irish whiskey, and Bailey’s. Have green beer available for those that want it by simply adding some green food colouring. You can also pass around a tray of green Jell-O shots that will help add to the festivities. Also be sure to offer non-alcoholic drinks by making your favourite punch recipe. Again, be sure to offer this in the green and not-green varieties!

After that, play some Irish jigs and Celtic music and have a great time knowing that you have thrown an extremely successful St. Patty’s Day party!