Strike Gold With Your St. Paddy’s Day Bash.

This year’s St. Patrick’s Day falls on Saturday, March 17th.  What was originally a religious feast day to honor St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, has now evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, food, music and dancing, beer, and lots and lots of green.  Wait, don’t forget the leprechaun too!

Believe it or not, blue was actually the color first associated with Ireland or St. Patrick’s.  However, as various events in Ireland’s history occurred, green began to make an appearance and now is considered a symbol for Ireland.  In poems, Ireland has been called the “Emerald Isle”.

Shamrock is the common name for three-leaf clover.  It is said that when Christianity was being introduced to Ireland, St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain that God was basically three beings: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  On top of that, shamrocks are also believed to bring good luck.

The leprechaun is a mythical creature in Irish folklore.  They are said to be mischievous beings (like my kids) bearded and wear a hat and coats. It is also said that they are solitary beings who pass the time by making and mending shoes (that’s certainly not my idea of fun!) and they have a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!  So as you can see, leprechauns don’t have anything to do with St. Patrick but became associated with St. Patrick’s Day as a symbol of Irish culture.

Instead of heading out to celebrate, consider having a St. Paddy’s Day-inspired get-together suitable for family and friends at home!  Here are some ideas to help you on your way:

Start the festivities by creating a photo booth for your guests.  No need to be fancy, just a white wall or curtain will do just fine but if you do feel inclined, add some shamrocks and other St. Paddy’s day decorations.  Capture the photo in digital form or if you have a Polaroid handy, use that for instant laughs and memories!

Something mild to drink for everyone.

 Something with a little more buzz (just for the adults)

Fruit and vegetable skewers are easy to snack foods to have around.  Keep it simply green or make a rainbow.

A sweet Jell-O dessert is also a fun way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  Tablespoon has a great recipe for an alcoholic version but you could also use Lime Jell-O to make it kid friendly.  Decorate one with gold edible balls and the other with yellow sugar crystals to separate which is which.

No get-together is complete without some entertainment.

2.  Looking for something just for the kids?  Here are some ideas from The Spruce

3. Leprechaun’s Pinch

a.  Buy/paint a bunch of green clothing pins

b.  When your guests arrive, give them 3-4 to clip onto their clothing and share with them the taboo words.  These are words that they are not able to say during the festivities or else the clothing pin will be “pinched” from them.  The goal is to “trick” another person into saying a taboo word and when they do, you take the clothing pin from them.
Ideas for taboo words: gold, green, lucky, clover, rainbow, St. Patrick, horseshoe, charm (you can also come up with your own).

c.  At the end of the gathering, the person with the most clothing pin gets the leprechaun’s pot of gold.  You could simply fill up a cup with chocolate gold coins or any other candies that have gold foil wrapping.

Finally, after the games and merriment are complete, send your guests home with a little treat.

Set up a green and gold-themed candy bar and let your guests have a fill of whatever treasures they’d love to take home.  Here’s a cute label from Sugar Tot Designs to add the finishing touch.

Give out rainbow seeds

Check out this great idea from The Crafting Chicks.  Fill a cellophane bag with skittles and attach with it a label.
Find the label printable here also from the Crafting Chicks.  

by Julie