Irish Pub St. Patrick’s Day Party

I’m so glad you don’t have to be Irish to share in the festivities of St. Patrick’s Day because I really look forward to Jeremy’s mashed potatoes and Irish soda bread every year! Back in the day when more of my husband’s family was living nearby, it became a really fun tradition for the really “white” ones to throw the Cinco de Mayo party and for us the “Mexican definitely not Irish” ones to host the St. Patty’s party. All in good fun, eh! This year our troll from Norway took a backseat on the bookshelf with L’s rainbow so that we could try a different theme.

How to throw a last minute St. Patrick’s Day Party

The week of St. Patrick’s Day I found out that the only preparation made was my husband knew he would be making corned beef… did we even invite anyone? It’s 2 days away??I love you honey, and now I’m taking over this party.

1. Pick a Theme and Set the Date

Call everyone and see who’s coming! I sent this last minute invite inspired by a decoration I’ve wanted to buy or make for our door for years. I liked the lettering so much that I decided to finally get a laminated sign printed so we can use it every year, which inspired the “Irish pub” theme. Wait, none of you are Irish, none of you drink or go to bars or pubs, and yet you have this Irish pub theme? Yes, it’s perfect! Just think “salad bar” applied to Irish foods.

2. Figure out the Menu

I can’t take any credit for the amazing menu at this Irish Pub Party! Our family and friends are awesome and brought a bunch of food potluck style so we didn’t have to cook everything in the little time and budget we had. I was able to focus my efforts on cleaning my house! 

We concentrated on just the essentials with good food. My husband made corned beef with cabbage, and mashed potatoes which he only makes this time of year. My mother in law brought some yummy green salad with cilantro lime dressing, and I can’t believe I didn’t get a photo of the addicting Shamrock Punch my brother in law made using sprite and lime sherbet. I love having straws at parties now because the Littles are so much more happy about their drinks and there’s definitely less spillage. 

We served some “bar food” which to me were just peanuts we could snack on! We also filled a rustic lantern with cuties which were a win for little tikes.

The Irish soda bread is always a hit, but this new green bread was a crowd favorite—especially with the Littles! It’s basically a fresh loaf of French bread dyed green, available at the grocery store. 

Just simple “kids play together” and “let’s feast!” Worked out well for the semi-chaotic tons of little kids phase of life we are in. 

My dear friend Victoria baked up this lovely chocolate bundt cake with mint frosting. She always makes the most delicious desserts! The kids also enjoyed the chocolate gold coins scattered on the table that my brother in law brought. 

3. Create the Atmosphere

Totally went with the Irish pub theme! I had Jer bring home his dart board and cow horns from school, but totally forgot to put them up. Lit a Hazelnut Cream candle, turned on the Irish pub rock station for music, and set up the party area. I dressed up a food table with a reversible gold table cloth I found at Walmart, and balanced it with rustic items we already had. The mirror was a thrifted find which hadn’t been hung up yet for 9 months for the nursery. We bought the metal decoration in Texas which had rusted in the storage over the years, so this is actually after I soaked it in vinegar and gave it a good scrubbing. I love the crate in the center holding the cake! Fresh flowers were only $5 for 2 arrangements that livened up the house and made it a little bit more grown up. We watched Thor Ragnarok after our feast and did a little random Irish dancing and just visited together. 

I relaxed a lot more this year and let Jeremy help me with so many things like taking care of the kids while I picked up forks and a shoe mat, let him vacuum while I showered, let him watch the screaming baby while I scrubbed the rust off the centerpiece for an hour… He’s my hero. He cooked all that food and did the dishes and helped me with the toilets and most importantly figured out the draino issue. It’s the little things that help you remember how blessed—and lucky—you are. May the luck of the Irish be with you!