How to Have an Awesome St. Patrick’s Day

We here at Cornhole Stop absolutely love St. Patrick’s Day. Between parades, bar crawls, and general shenanigans with your lads you may get a little caught up in the hustle and bustle of this fun-filled holiday. Here is how you can create your own luck this St. Patty’s Day.

Have a Plan

This is crucial. Not having a halfway hashed out plan means that someone will probably be left behind, or they may not be able to find you and your group in the first place. Make sure you have a plan and at least have these questions answered before hitting up the festivities.

Where will you meet?
Where will you go?
Are any locations cash only?
Where will everyone park?

Map it Out

This goes into the point of “Where will you go?” above. Have in mind an area of town you enjoy. If you like a lively atmosphere, look for an Irish pub in your area. If you want a more laid-back atmosphere, try a wine bar (pro-tip: hardcore St. Patrick’s Day goers won’t be at wine bars). Now if you plan on going multiple places be sure you designate a driver or have another form of transportation lined up (taxi, Uber, etc) Know what routes will be open and not blocked by a parade or large drunken groups of people.

Don’t Forget to Eat

Food is definitely not the center of attention on St. Patrick’s Day, but many restaurants will have Irish cuisine on special (corned beef hash anyone?). Also, if you do plan on having some drinks on the day, not getting food in your stomach is something you will regret, so make sure to have some pub snacks on hand. See what specials local restaurants have going on and try something a little different this St. Pat’s.

If you want to celebrate the day with a traditional meal, try a corned beef roast served with root vegetables: Simply put a corned beef roast into a slow cooker, add the seasoning packet that comes with the roast, then fill the slow cooker with water until the roast is just covered. Add small potatoes, baby carrots, and sliced turnips. Let cook at least 4 hours on low heat until the roast is cooked through, the veggies are tender, and the water has reduced. Since this cooks in a slow cooker, it’s ideal to set up cooking while you’re out celebrating for the day and then return to a delicious home-cooked meal!

Find a Fun Spot to Hang Out

Sometimes, everyone is so focused on going to as many places as possible on St. Patrick’s Day that they end up not enjoying the day at all. If you find somewhere that has fun activities and fun people around, hang out for a bit. If you happen upon a game of cornhole, we highly suggest you stay and play.

If you are new to cornhole, here are some basic rules and a few heckling tips for you. Many communities develop a surprisingly vibrant bar scene on St. Patrick’s day, and it’s worth looking around to find out what may be happening nearby where you live—you might be pleasantly surprised by what you find, even if your local bar and food scene is typically less than thriving.

Fun with Kids

If you are with the kiddos, take them to a parade or small festival. Keep a close eye on them and let them wear their ultra-cool four-leaf clover sunglasses. Again, look around and check in with your local social scene to see what may be going on in the community, especially for kids. Many churches and community centers and other local locations will be having events for younger audiences that will allow them to celebrate the holiday in age-appropriate ways, and you’ll get a chance to meet up with local parents and add to your network.

Embrace the Kitsch

This is not a holiday for those who want to be “cool” or “serious.” Dress silly, have a few brews, compliment the guy in the kilt and don’t make fun of the girl in the huge green tutu. This is a fun holiday, not a time to criticize those who want to go a little overboard. If you are dressing up, make sure you check the weather before going out. March is a tricky month; it could be 70 degrees and sunny or 40 degrees and rainy, so it’s a good idea to layer and have different clothing options depending on the weather.

Make Everything Green

Obviously! Even a little bit of green on your person will keep you from getting a pinch, so carrying all the green you can will only help improve your luck even more, right? That makes sense, and we’re going with it.

Green Foods and Drinks

You can add green food coloring (either with natural or artificial colors, depending on how you live your life) to most drinks and all kinds of foods to enhance the day. Some of our favorites are green milkshakes, green cupcakes (decorated with chocolate gold coins), and green beer, of course!

Green Cups, Plates, Napkins

If you’re throwing your first backyard barbeque of the year or hosting a St. Pat’s get-together at your home, you can’t go wrong serving Guinness out of green solo cups and serving Irish soda bread on matching green plates.

Green Decorations

If you have dedicated St. Patrick’s Day decorations, we love your commitment to the holiday! If you don’t, you can easily source some green and gold balloons and paper streamers to decorate the walls, table, and doorways to get your guests into the spirit.

St. Patrick’s Day is one of those holidays that should be zero stress. Find a group of good people, put on that crazy green leprechaun hat and have a fun, safe St. Patty’s Day this year! What’s your favorite way to celebrate? Let us know in the comments, and if your celebration would be made infinitely better by a customized Cornhole board (as would any celebration), contact us and get started designing your board today!