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You are here: Home / Holidays / St Patrick's Day / How To Host An Easy St Patrick’s Day Dinner Party

How To Host An Easy St Patrick’s Day Dinner Party

St Patrick's Day

1 Mar
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Host an easy and fun St Patrick’s day dinner party. Start by serving some easy appetizers followed by a delicious Irish lamb stew and soda bread.

Prepare some simple Irish decorations, put on some music and throw a dinner party that all guests will enjoy.

Related articles:

  • 15 Awesome St Patrick’s Day Decorations To Easily Make
  • The Best Delicious St Patrick’s Day Desserts And Treats

Planning a dinner party for St Patrick’s Day? You might want to opt for serving some traditional Irish comfort food.

To create the perfect aroma as guests enter you can’t go to far wrong with a traditional Irish lamb stew and Irish soda bread. You don’t have to be Irish to enjoy and appreciate this delicious meal.

Layout of St Patrick's Day Dinner Table

When guests arrive, treat them to some beer and nibbles, but keep this light as the main meal is very hearty and filling.

If your guests are not a fan of stout (as this can be quite heavy for some), offer some beer. For some added fun, turn it into green beer!  

There are a number of easy and delicious St Patrick’s day appetizers that can also be served with pre-dinner entertainment.

What Is A Traditional St Patrick’s Day Dinner?

There are many traditional dishes that you could choose from to celebrate St Patrick’s day.

Dinner options could include:

  • Irish stew and soda bread
  • Corned beef and cabbage
  • Shepherd’s pie
  • Colcannon (mashed potatoes and cabbage)
  • Beef and Guinness stew
  • Beef and Guinness pie

This particular St Patrick’s day dinner was all focused around the traditional Irish lamb stew and soda bread.

The Irish lamb stew contains lamb, potatoes, carrots, onions and leeks and is not only tasty and filling but very nutritious.

Irish Lamb Stew

The perfect accompaniment to stew is some nice fresh bread. To keep with Irish traditional a freshly baked soda bread is an excellent choice.

Wash it all down with a pint of Guinness and your guests are going to be incredibly happy.

Irish Soda Bead
St Patrick's Day Dinner Party Table

There are also plenty of easy and delicious St Patrick’s day desserts and sweet treats that will be perfect for finishing a meal with.

Maybe finish off the dinner with an Irish coffee (made with Whiskey) and/or a refreshing glass of Baileys. I bet you are keen to host your St Patrick’s day dinner party now!

Drink of Guinness

The Perfect Decorations For A St Patrick’s Day Dinner Party

Decorating for an Irish theme party is easy, just stick with green and you won’t go too far wrong.

St Patrick’s Day is known for people celebrating with outlandish t-shirts, hats, scarfs, flags, and Irish symbols, but if you want to keep the dinner party to a more “formal affair”, you can still keep the Irish feel without the antics.

It wouldn’t hurt to have an Irish symbol of some sort just for fun, but otherwise keep with the green tones and you will still have the Irish flair.

St Patrick's Day Decor

Choose some flowers, and candles, then pick out some green napkins, napkin holders, and plates and you have a stunning yet inexpensive dinner table.

For a formal sophisticated style, try setting up a soft and romantic St Patrick’s day tablescape. With shades of green, gold and pink, this will be a tablescape that will create an inviting and mature evening.

St Patrick's Day Tablescape

Preparing Great Music For The Dinner Party

A dinner party wouldn’t be complete without some background music.

It would be good to throw in some “Irish fiddle” music, but you don’t want to overdo it.

Instead why not pick some music from your favorite Irish artists such as:

  • Sinéad O Connor
  • U2
  • The Pogues
  • Van Morrison.
St Patrick's Day Dinner Party

Have you held any dinner parties in the past for St Patrick’s Day?

What has been the favourite dish that you served?

What are your thoughts on serving a traditional Irish lamb stew with Irish soda bread?

Please leave me a comment below with your thoughts, I’d love to hear your feedback.

Need more ideas for St Patrick’s day? Check out the best easy and fun St Patrick’s day party ideas. You will have a ton of inspiration for different themes, food, decorations and more.

Let’s stay in touch. Did you enjoy this St Patrick’s day dinner party? Sign up the weekly newsletter where you can be kept up to date with other easy recipe and party ideas. As a subscriber you will also have access to a ton of free printable’s that you can use in your entertaining. See you there!

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6 Comments

About Catherine Holt

Catherine Holt is the founder of Smart Party Planning. She is a stay at home mum with a passion for celebrating life’s little moments, with creative yet budget friendly ideas. Catherine often has a camera in hand capturing everyday events and is a self obsessed chocoholic! She loves connecting with other mum's on the blog and sharing party planning tips and tricks. Get all the answers to every aspect of party planning with her eBook today! If you want to hold a party with that ‘wow’ factor and have it tailored to the person you’re holding it for then this eBook is for you. Let Catherine take the stress and headache out of organizing your next party or event.

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Comments

  1. J Lenni Dorner says

    March 1, 2013 at 10:05 pm

    I haven’t served lamb stew before, but I love the soda bread.

    Reply
    • Catherine Holt says

      March 5, 2013 at 10:08 pm

      Thanks for popping in Lenni. Give the stew a try, it is delicious, especially with the soda bread 🙂

      Reply
  2. Matt Smith says

    March 2, 2013 at 3:29 am

    And there I was thinking St Patricks Day was all about getting drunk! 🙂

    Great ideas here Catherine. May have to try making the stew, that looks very nice.

    Reply
    • Catherine Holt says

      March 2, 2013 at 1:08 pm

      Ha ha…I am sure there will be plenty of drinking happening on St Patrick’s too Matt!! Definitely try the stew, it is so easy to make and I will be posting the recipe here soon 😉

      Reply
  3. Mike McMonagle says

    March 5, 2013 at 10:42 am

    Catherine, well done on the St. Paddy’s Day information. By the way, I absolutely love that leprechaun with the fiddle!

    Reply
    • Catherine Holt says

      March 5, 2013 at 11:03 am

      Thanks Mike. There are a few more St Patrick’s Day posts to come, so please pop back. That Leprechaun came back with me from my travels around Ireland, how could I possible resist!!

      Reply

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Hi there, I'm Catherine. I'm a wife, mother of two and I love to celebrate life's little moments.

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