Old Fashioned St Patrick's Day Party Ideas: Decorations, Menu, Games and More

St. Patrick's Day Party Inspiration

Erin Go Bragh, St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner and it's time to celebrate! Whether or not you have any Irish roots, celebrating St. Patrick's Day is always fun for kids and adults. Below are plenty of ideas to throw an old fashioned St. Patrick's Day Party.

Decoration Ideas
Green, White and Orange - Taken straight from Ireland's flag, green, white and orange are the colors for this party (the orange can be close to gold). From table cloths, table runners, napkins and more, keep in the scheme. Hang an Irish flag on the front door, and/or small flags as cupcake toppers or other decorations.

Vintage St. Patrick's Day Imagery - Old St. Patrick's Day imagery is abound on the internet. Do a quick search for "Vintage St. Patrick's Day Imagery" and find some great images to put in small frames on the buffet or around your party space.

Pots of Shamrock's - Every year, my mom would give us a small pot of shamrocks to grow in our room in March. Even as an adult, she shows up at my door with my annual shamrock plant! I just love it. It's colorful, alive, and a great way to ring in the coming of Spring. It is especially nice on St. Patrick's Day too! Put a couple small pots as in the center of the table, and put some irish flags in them for festive fun. The best part about this decoration is it will last will into April, and is great on your kitchen window sill after the party!

Gold Coins - Your decorations aren't complete with out a pot of gold, or gold coins abound. Buy chocolate gold coins and scatter on the buffet table, or down the center of the dining table. The shimmery coins look great and taste good too!

Irish Music - A St. Patrick's Day Party isn't complete without Irish music! Head over to iTunes and download an Irish compilation or one of my favorites is Bing Crosby's Top O'the Morning: Irish Collection. I just love MacNamara's Band!

Menu Ideas
A traditional Irish meal is perfect for your St. Patrick's Day. Fortunately, many stores make it easy to put together an authentic meal. Below is the perfect St. Patrick's Day dinner menu to serve.
Dinner
Corned Beef and Cabbage - Head to the internet to find your favorite Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe. For those who want to make it easy, many grocery stores this time of year have prepackaged corned beef that just needs heating in a microwave. Steam some cabbage, and add butter... and there you are!
Red Potatoes - Steam some red potatoes and add some butter, salt and parsley to taste for a nice side dish.
Irish Soda Bread - One of my favorite breads to make, and especially fun to make with kids because it is so easy. No yeast or rising needed... just baking soda to do the trick. Here is a simple Irish Soda Bread recipe.

Drinks
Green Beer - A little green food coloring can go along way in this traditional St. Patrick's Day drink!
Guiness and/or Harps Lager - Head to your favorite store to find some Irish beers to make this night authentic.
Irish Coffee - A bar close to where I lived in San Francisco is famous for this drink! Here's the Buena Vista's recipe for Irish Coffee.
Green Milk for Young Ones - They may balk at the color... but once they try it, and realize it tastes just the same as regular milk, they'll want you to color the milk every night!
Mint Ice Cream Shakes - Bring back your childhood memories of McDonald's Shamrock Shake by making a mint ice cream shake. Yum.

Game Ideas
Leprechaun Scavenger Hunt
Those sneaky Leprechaun's have been up to it again... hiding your favorite things around the house so you can't find it. Now it's time to go on a hunt and find them! Good luck. (Note: make a list of all the things that were hidden so you the hunter knows what to look for!)

Pot of Gold
Just like an Easter egg hunt, but this time scatter chocolate gold coins about and have kids go on a Pot o'Gold hunt, collecting as many coins as they can!