St. Patrick's Day - a wee bit o' fun

St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow! Where did the time go? It is uncharacteristically warm here in Fredericton (NB). I have no snow to speak of on my front lawn - eery..... usually we can expect a winter storm on St. Patty Day but I highly doubt it this year - double digits I suspect (not psychic - but watch the weather channel)

So, does this mean we are now experiencing the luck of the Irish? I don't know but I'm going to give you a few tips to make your party a bit more special with very budget wise ideas. Gotta luv the budget!

1. Send out an evite (www.evite.com) to all your guests inviting them to your fabulous last minute party. Hey-last minute can be fun especially for those who have children and didn't plan on going anywhere (yep - referring to me! we love St. Pat's at home & WHO wants to stand out in a line all night anyway!)

a sneak peak into my private life with the little man, wearing our 'mommy made' T-shirts....

Use creative language on the invites to make them more festive like:

a bit of malarkey
and lots of green beer
make no mistake
you'll want to be here

2. Play with colour - obviously I mean green! Decorations, Drinks, Food
Easy to do decorations:

• pick up some glow bracelets from the dollar store and transform them by using them as napkin rings - twist and slip - oh so simple! Green pipe-cleaners would also work, you could even shape them into a shamrock!
  
• use a white table cloth to make all decorations of green pop
• balloons - inexpensive & can make a big impact (shout out to my friend Claire at Just Balloons & Party Supplies located in Oromocto, NB)
  
• think pot of gold - tablescape made from clusters of pots filled moss/grass/potted herbs, etc with hidden gold coins (chocolate coins with gold foil)
  
• give the men a green carnation boutonniere and the ladies a green boa (if you can't get a green carnation you can dye them at home by cutting the stem and placing it in warm-to-hot water with green food colouring; leave for 1 day)
  

Easy to do drinks:

• pale ale with green food colouring, mix and serve.
• repeat with any drink,
• for children or those not drinking what about Oscars - my name for green milkshakes.

Easy to do food: (this is where I have sooo much fun!!!)

• Think small and portion size (and I choose to make this party a bit healthier - got to fit into that summer attire!).
• Start with a basil pesto pasta salad - pictured below
  
• if you have sandwiches cut them out with shamrock cookie cutters - very unexpected!
  
• Have green veggies galore - green peppers, cucumber, green beans, celery, broccoli.... (see my foodie attack of green peppers below)
• make green rice crispy treats to hand out as snacks - the smaller they are cut the more delicate and funky they become (insider CSJ secret - 1.5 inch squares are oh so one-bite-delish!)
• serve 'pots of gold', aka pineapple cubes in small dishes (dixie cups also work, a more elaborate look - step it up a notch by serving them on trays using the small plastic wine glasses you can buy at party stores - and I believe the $store too)
• shamrock cookies - mmmmm! If you don't bake you can pick them up at any bakery or get green frosted cupcakes instead.
  

love desserts check out the post by The Food Librarian.

3. Think Irish & Tradition. Incorporate traditions like placing a stone inside your door as the "Blarney Stone" tradition is that they kiss it while laying on their backs - should make for a fun time!

4. Games & Prizes. Try a limerick writing contest and give a prize to the best one. The prize could be a great basket of treats like Irish beer and gold foil chocolate coins.
How to write a limerick:
lines 1,2 and 5 should have 7-10 syllables and rhyme with each other
lines 3 & 4 should have 5-7 syllables and rhyme

Cheers! & be safe