St. Patrick’s Day, also known as the Feast of Saint Patrick, is an annual celebration that honours Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is a day filled with green attire, parades, traditional Irish music, and of course, plenty of food and drink. While many people typically celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in bars and restaurants, there are many ways to celebrate this festive occasion in the comfort of your own home. Whether you’re Irish or just love the holiday’s festive spirit, here’s how to celebrate and create a memorable St. Patrick’s Day at home.
When is Saint Patrick’s Day?
The Irish celebration takes place on 17th March every year, although festivities sometimes happen before or after this date. The reason behind the 17th March date is that many believe it marks Saint Patrick’s death in the late 5th century (around A.D. 493).
Make a St. Patrick Day feast
The traditional way to celebrate St. Patrick’s day is to attend Mass and have a feast. So why not cook a feast at home? You and your flatmates could all cook together! Our top suggestions for what to have are:
- Bangers ‘n’ mash (or colcannon if you’re really feeling the St. Paddy’s Day spirit)
- Soda bread
- Irish Stew
Pair any of these with some drinks or a well-decorated room, and you’ll feel just like you’re in the local Irish pub. For decorations, handcraft some four-leaf clover banners, or order some Irish decorations online if you’re a little less creative.
Cook yourself some green treats
Everything turns green on St. Patrick’s day, so why not get baking and add some green to your usual recipes? Or, if you’re not a frequent baker, try out some of these recipes and add in a couple of drops of green food colouring to give them that St Paddy’s vibe.
Practice Irish River Dancing
We are all familiar with Irish River Dancing, but are you prepared to learn how to do it? Give it a go – and make it a competition for even more fun.
Make up some green drinks and get boozy in traditional Irish style
If you fancy getting a little tipsy – as most people do on St. Patrick’s Day – then make some DIY St. Patrick’s Day cocktails. You can easily just add green food dye to anything or make some of these specifically green drinks:
Appley Sour Beer
All this drink takes is some beer and some green skittles. Just drop them in and let the beer soak up the colour. The beer will have a sour apple taste to it, kind of like cider.
Midori Sour
Lime juice, lemon juice, soda water and Midori – that’s all you need for this bright green cocktail. Some people add egg white in and shake it up in a cocktail shaker for extra fizz, but it’s not essential.
Leprechaun Mimosa
All you need for this drink is champagne/prosecco, orange juice, and blue curacao. It makes a very vibrant but fancy drink. Plus, you only need a couple before they start to take effect!
Tokyo Tea
Essentially, this drink is a Long Island Iced Tea but with added blue curacao to make it nice and green. The ‘tea’ has rum, gin, vodka and triple sec in – so maybe don’t have too many of them!
Or just drink some Guinness
Another tip on how to celebrate St Patrick’s Day at home is just by downing some brown stuff. Drinking Guinness has become a popular way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, not only in Ireland but also in many other parts of the world. This dark, Irish beer has a rich history dating back to 1759 when it was first brewed by Arthur Guinness in Dublin. It has since become synonymous with Irish culture and is often enjoyed during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Oh and apparently it’s rich in iron and other nutrients too!
Play some drinking games
Drinking games are a staple of the student lifestyle anyway, but on St. Patrick’s Day, they’re even more beloved. Our suggestions for the best drinking games to play in person are:
1. Irish Snap
How to play:
Play starts with the person to the dealer’s left. They initiate play by turning over their top card and placing it into the centre of the circle, face-up, saying “One”.
The player on his left then puts their top card face-up on top of his while saying “Two”. Play continues in this way (going “One”, “Two”,
… “Nine”, “Ten”, “Jack”, “Queen”, “King”, “One”, “Two”, etc.) until the card just laid matches the card underneath (same as a normal snap) OR the card just laid matches the card number spoken by the player (e.g. they put down an Ace while saying “One”).
At this point, all the players must slap their hands on top of the pile of cards in the centre. The last player to do so takes the entire pile, puts them on the bottom of the pile in their hand, and takes a drink. This player then starts the next round, resuming from “One”.
2. Ring of Fire
You will need a large glass (or receptacle of some sort), a deck of cards, and a drink for each person. To set up the game, place the large cup in the middle of the table, and spread the deck of cards around it to form an unbroken circle.
You take it in turns to pull a card from the circle, and each card has a different instruction associated with it. If you break the circle or pull the 4th King, you must drink the middle glass. The other 3 Kings mean everyone pours into the middle glass. Other cards mean (this varies a lot across the web, so feel free to change it up!):
Ace: Waterfall (you drink, and when you start the person next to you begins, they cannot stop until you do. The person after them must start when they do, and so on)
2: You (you choose someone to drink)
3: Me (you drink)
4: Wh*res (girls drink)
5: Thumb Dive (you have the chance to put your thumb on the table for the next round, and everyone else must copy – the last person to do so, drinks)
6: D*cks (men drink)
7: Heaven (much the same as 5, but putting your arm in the air)
8: Mate (pick someone to drink when you have to drink for the rest of the game)
9: Rhyme (you say a word and go around the circle rhyming with the word – 1st to mess up drinks)
10: Categories (think word association, mess up, and you drink)
J: Rule (create a rule everyone must follow
Q: Question (this can either mean that anyone who answers a question asked by you for 1 round must drink. Or a round of truths.)
K: Pour.
Or, if you’re playing online, try websites like Drunk Pirate, Drinking Virtually, or Backyard Games.
Finally, make an Irish Playlist.
There are plenty of amazing Irish artists out there and great, uplifting Irish music to listen to. Our top suggestions for what to add to this playlist include With or Without You by U2, I’m Shipping Away to Boston by Dropkick Murphys, Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly, Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran, Molly Malone by The Dubliners, Nothing Compares 2U by Sinead O’Connor and Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison.
If these tips on how to celebrate St Patrick’s Day at home don’t tempt you, why not head on out. You can find which cities have the cheapest pints and get away for a celebratory weekend.
Last Updated on July 27, 2024
Published on March 9, 2023
