Ahhhh St. Paddy's Day...the day when everyone is Irish, the Chicago river runs green and green beer flows from every tap in every town and city.
I am half Irish, my late husband was Scotch/Irish and my grandmother was Irish so St. Patrick's Day is a big deal in my family.
Yes, it's a day of drinking to a degree but there's so much more to a traditional St. Patrick's Day celebration as it's done in Ireland.
In Ireland, it's a national holiday. The day commemorates Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilithe, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks.
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If you're wondering what a céilithe is, the term is derived from the Old Irish céle (singular) meaning 'companion'. It later became céilidh and céilidhe, which means 'visit' in Gaelic. In Scottish Gaelic reformed spelling it is spelt cèilidh (plural cèilidhean) and in Irish reformed spelling as céilí (plural céilithe). The word means "visitor" and a social gathering featuring music, dancing, etc.
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In Ireland, the day begins with a big breakfast, which is usually a fry-up consisting of fried sausages, bacon, eggs, black pudding, and other items. A special St. Patrick’s Day mass is held, regardless of the day of the week, which tells the story of St. Patrick and what he achieved during his lifetime, such as converting the Irish people to Christianity. These church services tend to run a little longer than regular mass and usually include choirs with schoolchildren singing in Irish.
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Invitations
I've made a lot of St. Paddy's Day party invitations but I'm going to go with my favorite of them here. This was for a party I was throwing for my co-workers so I could simply hand the invitations out at work. But if you want to go with a digital invitation that's fine...these can double as party favors!
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Here's what you'll need:
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Mini cauldrons (Check dollar stores!)
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Green glitter spray paint
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Enough Irish theme candy coins to fill your cauldrons
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Optional - Shamrock picks
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Irish theme stationary (free online templates available)
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Computer printer
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Gold curling ribbon
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Scissors
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Spray paint your cauldrons with the green glitter spray paint, let dry thoroughly.
Print out your invitations on regular paper, roll them up and tie with gold curling ribbon.
Insert the rolled invitation into your cauldron, fill with candy coins.
Insert a shamrock pick into the cauldron - optional. You can also use Irish flags or whatever you like as well.
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To use these invitations as party favors, just eliminate the invitation from the cauldron.
Food/Menu
I always serve traditional Irish food, recipes given to me by my grandmother. Normally I'll do a breakfast or brunch of a traditional Irish breakfast, although I have done Irish dinners as well.
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Breakfast in Ireland is a big deal. The full Irish breakfast was created for farmers heading out to the fields for a day of back-breaking work.
A traditional full Irish includes:
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Bacon (known as rashers in Ireland)
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Sausage
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Fried egg
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Black or white pudding
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Mushrooms
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Tomatoes
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Potatoes – usually in the form of pancakes
or hash browns -
Baked beans
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Soda bread
GRANDMA'S IRISH SODA BREAD RECIPE
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1 and 3/4 cups buttermilk*
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1 large egg
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4 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for your hands and counter
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3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
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1 teaspoon baking soda
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1 teaspoon salt
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5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed*
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1 cup raisins
Instructions
Preheat oven & pan options: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). There are options for the baking pan. Use a regular baking sheet and line with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (bread spreads a bit more on a baking sheet), or use a seasoned 10-12 inch cast iron skillet (no need to preheat the cast iron unless you want to) or grease a cake or pie dish.
You can also use a 5 quart (or higher) dutch oven. Grease or line with parchment paper. If using a dutch oven, bake the bread with the lid off.
Whisk the buttermilk and egg together. Set aside. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers. Mixture is very heavy on the flour, but do your best to cut in the butter until the butter is pea-sized crumbs. Stir in the raisins. Pour in the buttermilk/egg mixture. Gently fold the dough together until dough it is too stiff to stir. Pour crumbly dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can, then knead for about 30 seconds or until all the flour is moistened. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
Transfer the dough to the prepared skillet/pan. Using a very sharp knife or bread lame, score the dough with a slash or X about 1/2 inch deep. (“Score” = shallow cut.)
Bake until the bread is golden brown and center appears cooked through, about 45-55 minutes. Loosely tent the bread with aluminum foil if you notice heavy browning on top. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F (90°C).
Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm, at room temperature, or toasted with desired toppings/spreads.
Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I usually wrap it tightly in aluminum foil for storing.
When people think St. Patrick's Day they automatically think corned beef, cabbage, boiled potatoes.
But there's so many other great Irish foods you could also serve.
Activities
ROLL A RAINBOW
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Roll a Rainbow game cards (get free printable here)
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One die per person – these rainbow colored dice would be amazing
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Rainbow bingo markers (to mark off the colors as they roll them – totally optional, you can also just use pens)
Instructions:
Give each player a game card, a
six-sided die, and something to mark off their cards.
When you say go, players have to roll the die as quickly as possible and mark off the color associated with the number they rolled. Continue rolling until they’ve rolled every single color.
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For the odd number red space, players just need to roll any odd number, but they can only choose to cross off one color per roll. So if they rolled a five, they could choose to mark off the red space or purple but not both. If they roll something they’ve already crossed off, tough luck – keep rolling.
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The first one to roll every color of the rainbow, wins the game.
Photo credit: General Mills
4 LEAF CLOVER HUNT
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You'll need:
Lucky Charms cereal
A number of small Dixie Cups
4-leaf clover stickers
Prizes
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There are 2 ways you can play this game -
1. Use only one 4 leaf clover and award one big prize
2. Use multiple 4 leaf clovers, awarding a prize for each.
Depending on if you're going to use only one 4 leaf clover and a big prize or multiple 4 leaf clovers with a prize for each, stick the appropriate number of 4 leaf clover stickers in the bottom of one or a few of the Dixie cups. Remember you'll need some cups with NO sticker in them.
Fill all of the cups with Lucky Charms cereal.
Hide them in your house or yard. Award a prize or prizes to those finding a Dixie cup with a 4 leaf clover sticker in the bottom of the Dixie cup(s) they find. (They must eat the cereal to reveal if they have a 4 leaf clover in their cup.)
IRISH LIMMERICK GAME
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You'll need:
5 balloons each of 2 different colors
A die for each team
A hatpin for each team to pop their balloons
Before the game, print out one funny limerick per team and cut each line of the limerick so it is on a separate line (making sure to keep each limerick together).
Place one line of the limerick in a balloon, repeating until you have five balloons with one line of the limerick in each.
You can tape the balloons to the wall, mount them on a board, or put them in a bin for each team.
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Divide your guests into 2 teams, assigning a balloon color to each team. The team must roll the die to get a number 5 on the die. When they roll a 5, one member of the team must grab one of their balloons and pop it, revealing the limmerick line inside the balloon. The first team to put their limmerick lines in the right order, wins.
Note: Each limmerick should have the same number of lines in it. Here are some limmericks.
KISS ME, I'M IRISH!
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You'll need:
Bag of green Hershey Kisses
Adhesive dots in multiple colors to fit on the bottom of the Hershey Kisses
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Put colored stickers on the bottom of each Hershey's Kiss and you have an instant matching challenge.
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Photo credit: DIY Studio
SCATTERGORIES
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See how many words you can write down using letters from St. Patty's-themed words like "luck" and "gold" in a set amount of time. If you jot down a word that other players also came up with, you get five points. But for every unique word, you get 10 points. The person with the most points wins the pot o' gold!
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Photo credit: The Crafting Chicks
ST. PATRICK'S DAY FEUD
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This cheap printable is the perfect way to see what fun answers you and your party guests can come up with.
I awarded a prize to the person who scored the most points.
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Photo credit: Etsy
ADULTS ONLY - GREEN BEER PONG
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There ain't an Irishman alive who needs to be told how to play this game!
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It’s no secret that St. Patrick’s Day has become synonymous with a long night of drinking and a bad hangover in the morning.
But for those who don't want to drink, there are plenty of non-alcoholic St. Patrick's Day drinks you can use.
You'll need:
A beer pong table
Plastic drinking cups
Ping pong balls
Shot glasses or beer glasses
Photo credit: Zazzle
And it isn't a hangover...it's the Irish flu!
Now go plan your St. Paddy's Day bash and greet your guests with "“Céad míle fáilte”.
(A hundred thousand welcomes)
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And as you slide down the bannister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.