Go Green With A Fabulous St. Patrick’s Day Fete

While it’s true that St. Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland, Americans enjoy celebrating his special day every year on March 17. In the United States, it is a day to celebrate Irish culture and many cities and towns host parades and St. Patrick’s Day events. In Chicago, the Chicago River is even dyed green to celebrate the day. If you wish to plan your own exciting St. Patrick’s event, here are a few fun suggestions.

Decorations are most likely to be in green but no worries as making some for your home comes really easy. Your hurricane candle holders are great for holding green lentils or dried peas which you can then top with a white candle. Green candies can be decorative when placed in pretty clear mason jars. Of course rainbow themed decors are also great where you can start off with having rainbow streamers.

Fresh flowers – these are definitely great for parties. Since it is St. Patrick’s Day, consider a bouquet of white and light green hydrangeas or white gerberas, tiny green hydrangeas and some more greenery in a green vase make great choices. One more option would be shamrock plants and you are likely to find several great options freshly delivered to your party by your local Dana Point florist, Irvine florist or Carlsbad florist.

As food and drink is most likely to draw attention of guests, a good St. Patrick’s party comes with plenty of Irish beer including the likes of Guinness, Kilkenny and Smithwick’s. Irish whiskey and green cocktails like an appletini and or perhaps a key lime martini are great options when serving cocktails. For the kids, serve up minty green ice cream shakes topped with whipped cream and green sprinkles.

There should be lots of Irish favorites when dinner for St. Patrick’s is served and you can start with a hearty beef stew cooked in crock pot paired with the Irish soda bread. Platters with the likes of high quality corned beef, sandwich fixings and rye bread should also be there. Serve on the side some Colcannon, an Irish traditional dish. Make some green sugar cookies in shamrock shapes or green cupcakes topped with candy shamrock for dessert.

Set out some fun games to make your party seem like a fun night at an Irish pub. Get out a dart board or a corn hole game or anything else that seems like you might find it in a bar. If you will be having children and adults at the party, set up games that will be fun for all ages. Don’t forget to play plenty of Irish tunes in the background.

Lizbeth Nathaniel enjoys reading about blogs about flowers. For further details about the best florist Laguna Beach or to find a flowers Laguna Beach shop, please visit the FlowersDepot.com website now.

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Go Green With A Fabulous St. Patrick’s Day Fete



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A Fun-Filled Mardi Gras Event

Perhaps it is true that parties and celebrations come synonymous to Mardi Gras. This day is most often referred to as “fat Tuesday” which comes before the day that shall start off the Lenten Fast, Ash Wednesday. Any indulgence can be had for the last time during this day before giving something up in observance of Lent. So why not give family and friends a grand Mardi Gras party this year?

Those festive decorations should come first. Purple, yellow and green are the typical colors you find in a Mardi Gras celebration being the hues closest to introduce Spring. Buffet and dining tables can be set with tablecloths in black or white and adorned with the decorations which are the Mardi Gras beads and coins in traditional colors. Tables would look great with candles of purple, gold and green atop them. Continue on with streamers for the ceiling and lots of feathers and masks for that celebratory look.

Contact your San Clemente florist or Dana Point florist and have them create a beautiful floral centerpiece for your dining table, as well as a few festive bouquets for decorations in other areas. A Carlsbad florist or San Juan Capistrano florist can create a brilliant arrangement such as a purple vase filled with yellow and purple blooms with some greenery added for more impact.

One of the highlights of the party would definitely be the food and being a night of indulgence calories are not counted during this time. You can maybe set platters with Muffaletta sandwiches and Po boy sandwiches which can also be served with crock pots with red beans and rice or gumbo and maybe a spicy jambalaya if you like. A big bowl of hurricane punch would be a fun drink to serve. You can then prepare desserts including beignets, a pot of chicory coffee and of course the King cake.

The King cake is a special Mardi Gras tradition, although it also is often served during the festival of Epiphany. Typically in New Orleans, the cake is much like a cinnamon roll type of cake and decorated with purple, gold and green icing or perhaps a glaze that is decorated with green, purple and yellow sugar. Generally, the chef places a trinket inside the cake, usually a tiny plastic baby. Whoever finds this trinket is said to have good luck, is considered the “king” for the day and also has to provide the King’s cake for everyone the following year.

To really make the event interesting, ask your guests to come in Mardi Gras-themed costumes and give out a prize for the top costume. A playlist of all Mardi Gras tunes should be in place, as well. Many songs are actually written about this yearly occasion and even mix together Mardi Gras music with New Orleans Jazz.

Lizbeth Nathaniel enjoys reading about blogs about flowers. To get further information about the best Laguna Beach flowers shop or to find a Laguna Beach florist for flowers delivery, please go to the FlowersDepot.com website now.

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A Fun-Filled Mardi Gras Event



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Tips For Planning A Less-Expensive Wedding

While many people spend as much as $30,000 or more on a grand wedding extravaganza, many couples prefer a more modest affair. There are many ways to create a beautiful wedding on a strict budget. Here are a few tips and tricks that will bring down the cost of your special day without sacrificing the romance.

About $1,000 or more are sometimes spent on the bride’s wedding dress and this is quite expensive, especially considering that it does not include costs for alteration, shoes and your special veil. Renting a dress or opting to buy used ones from Craigslist, eBay or some local stores on consignment can be great. Instead of a veil, you can put your hair up and embellish it with little flowers to look cute.

Invitations are another item that eats up the wedding budget unnecessarily and these days, you can create your own simple, but pretty invitations online for about $1 per invitation or less. You could even simply conserve the paper and send out an online invitation. These are typically free and allow you to track who is come or not coming rather easily. They also send reminders out to guests, which can be quite helpful.

The wedding cake also can be quite expensive, and some are more than $1,000. Rather than shop at a wedding cake designer’s shop, check out your local bakeries and even grocery store bakeries. They often have much lower prices than a custom cake designer. You also could opt for a small pretty cake for you and your spouse to cut and serve cupcakes or sheet cakes for the rest of the guests or even a buffet with candy, brownies, cookies and other homemade goodies. As long as it tastes good, guests are sure to enjoy their dessert.

To have your wedding and reception at home or a friend’s home may help you save much on the cost. By simply renting some tables and chairs, buying floral centerpieces from a good San Clemente florist can get you a good wedding. These days majority of the florists have websites giving you easier access to placing orders when and as needed in just a few minutes. Nearby Laguna Beach florists, Carlsbad florists and Dana Point florists may have many things to offer you. Who knows, you just might get a great deal for your beautiful centerpieces, bridal bouquet and some more odds and ends.

Cutting your reception cost is possible if you limit the alcohol to be served and instead, opt for a substantial buffet dinner rather than have a sit down meal served to guests. Setting out trays with simple appetizers like fruit and cheese plates in order to deluge guests before serving dinner is another good idea. Your wish to serve alcohol could be made more practical by serving wine, beer and a single type of cocktail as opposed to having an open bar.

Lizbeth Nathaniel loves reading about blogs about flowers. To get further information about the best florist Oceanside or to discover a flowers Oceanside shop, please go to the FlowersDepot.com website today.

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