Life
7 Alcohol-Free St. Patrick's Day Party Ideas: You Don't Have To Be Drunk To Have Fun
St. Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland but his holiday has devolved into such a big party he seems to be the patron saint of booze, especially on March 17. There are so many reasons to keep this St. Patrick's Day a little drier or even totally free of alcohol — you might be pregnant or nursing, you might not want to drink around your kids, or you might just be totally over the whole thing. If so, there are lots of alcohol-free St. Patrick's Day party ideas that you can partake in, and still feel like you're celebrating.
St. Patrick's Day fun doesn't have to be alcohol-based. It's easy to go to the party store, buy some shamrock decorations, get some green plates and cups, and come up with holiday-themed games. Often it's just a matter of finding a St. Paddy's day twist on a tried and true activity or favorite food. You can also encourage your friends to come dressed in green and get St. Patrick's Day fake tattoos ($15 for set of 72, Amazon) or green face paint ($13, Amazon) for anyone who'd like to add an extra zing.
Many of these ideas work for adults-only parties, but there also pretty benign and can be done with the kids around, too. Though good luck getting your kid to eat green food!
1All-Green Food Fest
Asparagus, bagels, peas, pickles, kiwi, not to mention any smoothie with spinach in it — you can feast your way to green heaven. Put pesto on a little pasta (or anything, really). You can even make an avocado cheesecake and serve it with matcha lattes. If you are looking or natural ways to to turn foods green, liquid chlorophyll or spirulina powder are some superfoods you can try, as suggested by Nourishing Joy. But of course you can also use green food coloring.
2Irish Jig Lessons
Go over to iTunes, download some Irish music and learn the jig. You can hire someone to teach your crew or download some YouTube videos and try it yourself. If you want to add a competitive edge, Party 411 suggested you have everyone dance at once until they can't anymore. Last one standing wins the Pot of Gold (or shamrock cookies with green sprinkles).
3Lucky Charms On Everything!
Try subbing Lucky Charms into Chex Mix, Puppy Chow, or Rice Krispie treat recipes, use it to decorate a cake, and sprinkle it on the top of a milkshake. Want to keep it simple? Serve it old school, in a bowl with milk. If you're having a big group over, set up a mini cereal bar where guests can make their own bowl.
4Chopped — Green Edition
Have a cooking contest, but with only green foods. You can include challenges like "best use of hidden spinach" and "brightest shade of green."
5Shamrock Shakes
Stop over at McDonald's and grab a few of these classics to share with your party guests. Want to try a version that's chock full of veggies, but also delish? Stephanie from Hello Glow created a healthful green shake that contains spinach, mint, and coconut cream, with toasted cacao nibs sprinkled on top.
6Paper Bag Skits
Fill four paper bags with random green, Irish and St. Patrick's day-related objects. Break your group into four teams and have them create skits using the objects in their bag.
7Irish Celebrity
Test your guests' memory ability (and celebrity trivia skills) with this game. Here's how to play:
- Designate one person to be the emcee.
- Each player writes down the name of an Irish celebrity on a piece of paper and puts it in a bowl.
- The emcee reads each through the names in the bowl, twice.
- Each player takes a turn trying to remember one of the names and guessing which guest wrote the name down. If they are correct, that player who submitted the name is out.
- Keep going until name has been guessed. The last person standing wins.
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