“Everybody is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, but if your name is Eisenhower, you’ve
got to wear something green to show it.”
–Dwight D. Eisenhower
A St. Patrick’s Day party is a festive and fun theme that is easy to implement for a reunion of any size. Following the lead of our favorite Irishman (my Uncle Mickey Abbott), my mother’s family (we use the acronym ALAFFFA), held an Irish-themed gathering for our 26th reunion in 1993. Here are three ways for your group to pull off the theme.
- Dress and Décor. Although blue was traditionally associated with St. Patrick (see https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/should-st-patricks-day-be-blue-180954572/) , green is now commonly connected with the day. Whether you choose a “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” T-shirt, or wear shamrocks in your lapel, stock up on green shirts, hats, socks, sunglasses, or necklaces and earrings. On March 18th, check for half-price sales on decorations and novelties.
- “Step” Up the Entertainment. Prepare a playlist on your favorite streaming service of Celtic music or pub songs. For example, “The Best of Celtic Music on Spotify https://open.spotify.com, or 60 Greatest Ever Irish Pub Songs on Apple Musichttps://music.apple.com/us/album/60-greatest-ever-irish-pub-songs/500990268. Cue up the video of the original Riverdance (the Interval Act of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy79KKpQ988 and have your own dance competition.
- Fix Irish Fare. For main dishes, serveLamb or Guinness beef stew, Shepherd’s or Cottage pie, and corned beef and cabbage (or a variation like sliders, eggrolls, or a casserole). Side dishes such as Colcannon creamy mashed potatoes and greens, Boxty (Irish Potato Pancake) https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/161679/irish-boxty, and Soda bread, with or without raisins. For desserts, Lucky charms cereal bars one option. Buy them prepackaged or make your own (a quick online search will turn up plenty of recipes). Ask for someone to make Shamrock cookies or cupcakes and have a decorating contest. If your venue has access to a freezer you can blend up Irish cream or shamrock shakes. Green beer (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) is optional as well. For more ideas, see
To capture those moments “when Irish eyes are smiling” remember to take photos and record the stories from your event for future generations! The Vivid-Pix Memory Station https://www.vivid-pix.com/memorystation can help with this task.
Irish Blessing
“For each petal on the shamrock, this brings a wish your way:
Good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day.”
