Seeing as our lives revolve around plants, it comes as no surprise that green is one of our favorite colors. That's why we love celebrating St. Patrick's Day! Turn up the traditional Irish tunes, dress in green from head to toe, and incorporate some of these St. Patrick's Day ideas for a party to remember.
Go Green with These St. Patrick's Day Decorations
Adding green accents to your home might be the most obvious and simple way to get in the St. Patrick's Day spirit, but it's also the most effective. Tie together bunches of green balloons with green ribbon, and place them around your home. To create leprechaun-approved coasters, cut out glass-size shamrocks from green craft paper, then laminate them to withstand any spills.
And of course, it wouldn't be a true St. Patrick's Day party without some real-life shamrocks to decorate your home. Another fun St. Patrick's Day plant is leprechaun's toes. Put this plant in a hanging basket in your home, or for an added themed touch, grow the plant in an old pair of black, green, or brown boots with a gold buckle—just like your local Bettendorf leprechaun would wear!
St. Patrick's Day Appetizers
With a wee bit o' creativity, you can take nearly any finger food and make it fit your St. Patrick's Day party theme. A simple way to do so is to focus on incorporating green ingredients. Some of our favorite finger food ideas are guacamole deviled eggs (just add avocado into your typical deviled egg filling), green vegetable skewers (think green peppers, cucumbers, and broccoli), and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus.
Treats for the Whole Family
Bake your favorite sugar cookies, then decorate them with green sprinkles, M&M's, and icing, or even Lucky Charms marshmallows. Cookie decorating is a fun activity that kids can do during the party. Another quick and delicious St. Patrick's Day dessert is a twist on our Microwave Pralines recipe — after you make a batch of these irresistible pralines, put them in a bowl along with some green M&M's or the green candy of your choice.
St. Patrick's Day Drink Recipes
There's a wealth of great St. Patrick's Day cocktail ideas out there, but this year, we're excited to make cucumber-mint gin coolers, a fresh drink perfect for the spring season in Iowa. Put mint, lime, and gin into a cocktail shaker — a mason jar works well if you don't have a shaker — and muddle the ingredients. Add cucumber slices and shake. Pour the mixture into glasses, and top with tonic water. Add more mint and cucumber for garnish. Get generous with the garnish to fit in with your green party theme! For a non-alcoholic drink, a lime sherbet punch is a great and simple option. Put 2 quarts of lime sherbet into a punch bowl. Then add 2 liters of ginger ale and a can of pineapple juice. Garnish with lime slices, and enjoy!
Painting Projects Fit for Kids — and Adults
To keep everyone entertained, set up a painting corner at your party. Have a selection of rocks for people to paint with St. Patrick's Day designs, like pots of gold, rainbows, shamrocks, leprechauns, and the Irish flag. Guests can use these as decorations for their home or garden, or they can give them as gifts. Another one of our go-to craft ideas is to make leprechaun hats using small clay pots. Paint the pot green, then flip it upside down. Just above the pot's ridge, hot glue a black ribbon around the pot, then add a gold buckle cut out from cardstock. These make great centerpieces on their own, or you can fill them with plants for extra St. Paddy's Day fun!
If you want to add even more green to your party, stop by our garden center in Bettendorf! Pick up a few houseplants, and don't forget to visit our gift shop for some green home décor. As the old Irish saying goes, "May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go!"
