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What better excuse to throw a party than St Patrick’s Day? No other day dictates that you should be the hostess with the mostess than the 17th March! Decorating for this occasion has never been easier – the theme is usually green and…? Stuck for ideas? Well it’s not all about shamrocks and leprechauns… You can have your cake and eat it… or should I say Guinness and drink it? Here’s how to decorate for your St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
- Decoration
Obviously the theme is straightforward. The colours are easy, greens and yellows. But don’t worry they don’t have to look dull. To make an outstanding centrepiece think about incorporating some fern, ferns always look great as a decoration and can look quite dramatic. Include broad shamrocks (or a four leaf clover if you can find one!) to give the display a distinctly Irish look. For a more grown up look, make your own arrangement using green and yellow carnations, daisies, white tulips; think simple and understated. This is where the flowers are simple but you let the colours do the talking. The foliage is what will make the colours really stand out – Bright green fronds of fern and berries will make this compact display quite dramatic. Tying an orange ribbon around the vase will help give the table all the colours of the Irish tricolour.
The easiest way to dress the table is obviously with a green cloth and white serviettes, this will look pretty boring on its own, but once the food is placed on the table and you have a centre piece then it will look elegant as opposed to overdone.
Get the kids in on the act and take a small branch with plenty of twigs stemming from it and make a shamrock tree. Using a template cut out a number of shamrocks shapes in green card, let the children add a sprinkle of glitter and decorate them how they like. Using a small piece of cotton make a hole in the top of the shamrock and attach them to the branches.
A scattering of chocolate coins over the table will make the table look fuller as well as covering any gaps it is also in keeping with the theme as do little clusters of small bells dotted around. You can make a banner by using templates of shamrocks and leprechaun hats and green card. String the pieces together and you can make it as long or as short as you like and hang the garlands around the walls of the room. Or why not make your own rainbow? Make the banners using different coloured bits of card and place them in a rainbow formation and hang above the table. Who needs sunshine for an indoor rainbow?!
- Food
Party food has never been more fun, simple chocolate ring biscuits can have a chocolate coated marshmallow on top and decorate with a green icing ribbon for a yummy leprechaun hat. For the grown-ups there is something a bit fun, take a chilled pint glass, scoop some vanilla into it then top up with Irish Stout for a simple grown-up party treat. Cupcakes are the easiest and most complex – depending how good your icing skills are! For a simple Irish themed treat –Ice a cake with white icing and decorate with a green shamrock. Of course you can go as all out here as you like! Cookies given a green glitter dusting with the help of a shamrock- shaped template will look effective and easily done.
Children will love the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow – Yellow jelly cubes in a container is a simple yet impressive decoration.
Another party favourite is a fondue… great whatever the size of the party and although fondue isn’t the most Irish of foodstuffs – it is if you make it with Irish blue cheese. Have to hand some soda bread as well on your platter and cut green peppers into shamrock shapes by slicing them whole (when you look at them from the top they are shamrock shaped already) and adding a single slice of pepper to the bottom to make the shamrock stalk.
- Make an Irish Pub
Lay out a table with all the drinks and glasses and decorate it so it matches the main buffet table and if you feel really creative, make a sign for it with the pub name emblazoned across it. The drinks can be everything from traditional Irish drinks like Irish Stout, Irish whiskey cocktails or just add a few drops of green food colouring to whatever other drinks you have for an all Irish look! Of course you can’t overlook the drinking items either – using a shamrock template, cut out several shapes and make a slit across the middle and slide on to a drinking straw to make your Irish themed drinks fun to sip. The shamrocks can also be stuck to the top of cocktail sticks to make unique cocktail stirrers.
St Patrick’s Day is the ultimate party day and nothing says celebrate more than your own Irish themed merrymaking.
Photo source: http://goo.gl/vwjS6L
