St. Patrick’s Day Party Ideas

Wow, have times changed! When my husband and I were first dating, St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago meant trying desperately to get up in time for the dyeing of the river (and failing every year), meeting friends at an Irish pub and falling off bar stools while drinking cheap green beer (only happened once, I swear).

St. Patrick’s Day 2010

We have pulled it together thankfully, and now love hosting house parties with our friends at our newish home in the ‘burbs. Last year, we threw a combo St. Patrick’s Day/Housewarming party with dozens of friends and their kids. Yep, we still had the cheap green beer but that is about the only similarity between the days gone by and our current celebrations!

Here are a few creative ideas for a St. Patrick’s Day party of your own, whether it be kid-free or crammed with little leprechauns.

Decor

I didn’t want to go too shamrocky, but love using different shades of green in decorating. For parties, I usually pick two main colors and a metallic accent. I selected a mint green, emerald green, and gold for this particular event, which makes it festive without being kitschy.

I created an ombre circle garland by purchasing different colors of green card stock, tracing a glass, and cutting them out. I then glued a length of twine down the center and instant garland! If you drape the garland, you can glue pennies on the back side of the circles to ensure that they hang right.

As for my mantle, I created a “LUCKY” burlap pennant banner using leftover cardboard from one of my million Amazon.com purchases, burlap I purchased at Home Depot, wood letters from Michael’s, green paint and green glitter. Check out my tutorial on how to make this incredibly easy project in no time!

I think pomanders are a little slice of adorableness- and what better than to create an ombre pomander mobile to hang from a light fixture? All you need are coffee filters, food coloring or dye, a styrofoam ball (Dollar Store) and a hot glue gun. First, put food coloring in a small bowl of water so it is a deep, rich green. Second, create another bowl of water that is a medium green color. Third, create a light green bowl of water. Dip the edges of a stack of coffee filters into the water. Let dry. Separate and pinch the center of each filter, creating a cone. Glue the points to the styrofoam ball. Glue a length of twine to the styrofoam ball to hang from a light fixture; cut different lengths for each. NOTE: If you don’t want to dye the filters, you can spray paint the edges of the finished pomander.

Food

Keep it simple. It doesn’t have to look simple, but keep the prep and refills down to a minimum if possible. Find food you can assemble as opposed to cook.

These sandwiches are easy, but look and taste on the gourmet side! They also fit perfectly with the St. Patrick’s Day theme.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Sliders

• Sliced corned beef
• King’s Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls
• Classic Coleslaw Mix (pre-bagged without sauce on it)
• Coleslaw Dressing (Marie’s is my favorite)

Mix the coleslaw with dressing. Slice the dinner rolls, place a pile of corned beef on, add prepared coleslaw. SO EASY.

Gourmet Mashed Potato Bar

Russets have a high starch content, so they turn out softer and lighter than other types. Yukon Gold are tougher to get that creamy texture, but have more flavor on their own. You can also include different varieties, such as redskin (keep the skins on) and sweet. Toppings can be classic (bacon, sour cream, cheddar) or creative (candied pecans, sauteed mushrooms, gruyere).

Beer Cheese Fondue

We have had a version of this at all of our big bashes. Try an Irish version with Stout and Irish Cheddar, like this one on epicurous! Add some Irish soda bread to the mix and your guests will swoon.

Photo Credit: Brian Leatart via epicurious.com

Another easy appetizer to make are Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels. I modified the recipe from this site by using spinach tortillas (gotta be green, right?).

Dessert

I love making creative desserts- a twist on a classic is always a hit with adults and kids alike.

Why not try Chocolate Rice Krispie Pops? Make chocolate rice krispie treats as you usually would and cut them into small rectangles. Insert a popsicle stick and dip the end into green chocolate.Yeah, sorry about the photo…I forgot to get the actual pictures of the pops!

Pot O’ Gold Truffles

Since I seem to always get a delivery of Girl Scout Cookies right before St. Patrick’s Day, I thought, why not make a dessert out of them? These Pot O’ Gold Truffles were a hit last year at the party, and would make delicious parting gifts for guests as well.

• 1 box Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies or Keebler Grasshopper cookies
• 1/2 brick cream cheese at room temperature
• Chocolate to melt
• Gold sprinkles

Pop the cookies into a food processor and grind until they turn into crumbs. Mix in cream cheese. Form 1″ balls, refrigerate for 30 minutes and roll in melted chocolate. Add gold sprinkles to top.

Attire

Of course you have to wear green! There isn’t even a question. My husband has this slick green three piece seersucker suit, and I paired a 3/4 length sleeve cropped sweater with a high-waisted skirt.

This year, I purchased this dress from Target and will show you how I styled it next week!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!