4 ideas for planning a St. Patrick's Day party

St. Patrick's Day is an excellent opportunity to gather friends and family together for a lively bash. Here are four suggestions for planning a memorable St. Patrick's Day party and getting everyone in the mood to celebrate.

You can't have a party without guests, so be sure to invite your pals ahead of time to ensure that they will be free to come.

• For an efficient and inexpensive approach, consider sending out invitations via email. Regardless of whether the invitation is sent electronically or through the mail, include a festive message and clearly indicate that this will be a St. Patrick's Day party.
• You can't go wrong including shamrock or leprechaun imagery in the invitation.

Liven up any apartment or home for your upcoming party by decorating with St. Patrick's Day–themed props.

• For example, go to a party store and purchase bells and white calla lilies. According to Irish folklore, the bells usher in good luck and the lilies represent beauty.
• Use green streamers throughout the space and make shamrocks to hang from the walls.

Because St. Patrick's Day is all about green, one of the easiest ways to get in a festive spirit is to incorporate this colour in the food and drink that you'll be serving.

• To make an adult-friendly green drink, purchase a light-coloured beer and use green food colouring to dye it.
• For food, celebrate the day with traditional Irish recipes. Small slices of classic Irish soda bread paired with your favourite toppings can make a tasty starter.
• For a main course, consider garnishing your preferred cut of meat with a leafy green salad or green vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, green beans or peas.
• Also, keep in mind that no St. Patrick's Day is complete without either mashed or baked potatoes.
• Finish the meal with a cake or doughnuts garnished with green icing.

Keep your party guests entertained with themed activities.

• For the youngsters at your party, purchase inexpensive white t-shirts and let the kids go to town with St. Patrick's Day themed paints and decorations.
• For adults, do some research ahead of time to come up with a list of questions for a St. Patrick's Day trivia contest and pull together some fun prizes for the winners.
• Be sure to liven up the atmosphere with traditional Irish music.
• Head straight to the Celtic music section of any CD store or create a playlist of St. Patrick's Day music.

With a bit of planning and a fun crowd of friends and family, your St. Patrick's Day party is sure to be a hit!