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What better way to celebrate a late February or early March birthday than a St Patrick’s Day Play Date?! Obvs. We try to stick to the “you can have a big party with all you friends every other year” guideline. And this little fella got one “out of this world” 4 year old bash (see his space party here). But all he kept saying he wanted for his birthday was to have his friends over. So I caved, but we kept it a “playdate”. Which is pretty awesome because then I could do as much or as little as I wanted to. And obviously I love this stuff so I had so much fun preparing for this playdate (without the pressure of making it a full party!).
So whether you’re wanting to throw a St. Patrick’s themed birthday playdate like I did, or just get some St. Patricks themed decorations for your house, I think I’ve got you all covered! Check out my Instagram highlights from the party for even more behind the scenes. And if you would like anything from this party personalized for your event just email me at partylikeacherry@gmail.com with details. I do must custom items for $5-$10 (payable via venmo or paypal, you will get a digital file).
St. Patrick’s Day Decorations
I kept the decorations to just the dessert table and dinning room table for our play date. For the dessert table I made a “Lucky Number 5” banner for our newly 5 year-old (free printable available at end of post). The shamrock banner I found in the target dollar spot. And the gold number 5 balloons are from Wal-Mart.
All the numbers 0-9 are available in the free printable so you can customize this banner for your event. Our just print out the “Lucky” to add some fun St. Patrick’s Day flair to your home. The “shake your shamrock” and “happy birthday Miles” 8X10s are also available as free printables at the end of my post. I changed “happy birthday Miles” to “Happy Leprechaun Day” for ya.
For the table, I did one of my favorite tricks which is covering it with white craft paper. This protects my table, makes clean up easy, and makes a nice blank canvas to put the focus on all the items ON the table. I added gold glittery tulle as a table runner (from walmart). I also grabbed some green grass from the Easter section and threw that on as confetti.
For the centerpieces I cut some shamrocks with my new cricut (eek- it’s so much fun! This is the one I have). I also had the cricut draw the name Miles and then I colored it in with a gold paint pen. Then tapped it to a kabob skewer and stuck it in a ball jar full of lucky charms. And yes, the kids did start eating the centerpieces.
St. Patrick’s Day Food
We just had snacks and treats since it was a playdate (another perk!). When the kids first arrived it was right after school so while I normally end with cupcakes, we started with cupcakes and singing and rainbow fruit bowls since it was snack time!
At each place setting we had a cupcake, rainbow fruit cup, key lime soda, and pot of gold with a gold shamrock name tag. The gold plates and napkins I got at walmart. The “pots of gold” you can find here. And the golden shamrocks I got at the dollar section in Target. I added their names with my cricut (yea, can you tell I’m loving it?).
This would honestly be a perfect snack for any party. I love single serve type things that are all ready to go. Layer blueberries, green grapes, pineapple, clementine slices, and strawberries. Top with whipped cream for the clouds and you have a rainbow fruit bowl.
Guess what? I did these cupcakes all by myself. That might not seem very impressive but my Mother-in-law is usually my source for all things cake related so I was proud of my frosting job! The cupcake toppers I made using Avery Sticker lables and my cricut. But you don’t need a cricut. You can use a circle cutter or your own two hands 😉 . I changed the free printable file to a shamrock but if you would like these customized with a number for your event just email me partylikeacherry@gmail.com ($5) and I will send you a digital file.
St. Patrick’s Day Party Activities
Make Your Own Leprechaun Trap
We just had two activities, I wanted to leave them lots of time to just play. The first was to make a Leprechaun trap. I was going to collect boxes and cover them in green construction paper and then provide stickers, gems, gold tape, metallic pens etc for the kids to decorate them and make traps. But I found some trap kits at the Target dollar section and decided to save myself some time. I still provided some extra things for them to use (as mentioned above) to decorate their traps.
It’s a tough job being told to help your 5 year-old brother make his Leprechaun trap.
Luckily the hubby came home early from work to help out, an extra pair of hands was very helpful at this moment!
Decorate Shamrock Sugar Cookies
This is pretty self explanatory. This is the shamrock cookie cutter I ordered. I just got some gold sparkly sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, mint andes chips, m&ms and let them go crazy.
St. Patrick’s Day Party Favors
The biggest hit of the party was most definitely the Pots of Gold party favors. It was hard to get them to focus on much else because they were so interested in them the whole time.
The pots of gold I ordered on Amazon and I filled them with chocolate coins. I also added one actual REAL dollar coin. You can get them at your bank and they are gold in color.
I attached the gold shamrocks, which I found in the dollar spot at Target, and added their names in vinyl with my new cricut. You could also just cut out shamrocks on cardstock with their names printed on them.
Shopping List
Here’s a list of some of the main items I bought that I can find links to. A lot of things I picked up at target or walmart or already had on hand so I didn’t necessarily include them here.
- Gold or green plates & napkins (I got mine at walmart)
- White butcher paper
- Gold cupcake liners
- Green cardstock
- White cardstock
- Avery circle sticker labels
- Pots of Gold
- 4 inch skewers
- Shamrock cookie cutter
- fruit for fruit cups
- Green soda
- Lucky charms
- Leprechaun trap kits (or make your own with boxes)
- Chocolate coins
- Real coins (gold $1 coins from your bank!)
- Items to decorate Leprechaun traps: stick on gems, glittery washi tape, gold sequins, metallic paint pens etc
- Items to decorate shamrock cookies: sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, m&ms, etc.
St. Patrick’s Day Free Printables
My goal is to make parties that YOU can replicate. And in order to do that I try to make as many of my digital creations available to you at no cost. In exchange I ask that you please follow me on social media (Instagram/Pinterest/Facebook). However if you find that something available here for free is not quite what you want and you would like minor alterations/personalizations please email me at partylikeacherry@gmail.com. Most requests I can accommodate for $5-$10 payable via paypal or venmo and you receive a digital file.
but can also just be printed out on cardstock and cut.
Print as an 8X10 photo or print on cardstock and cut to fit into an 8X10 frame
Print as an 8X10 photo or print on cardstock and cut to fit into an 8X10 frame
Download all the free printables with the button above. If you’d like something from this party personalized for your event, just email me at partylikeacherry@gmail.com. I can accommodate most requests for $5-$10. I will send you a digital file for your approval.
Happy party planning!
