Destination Potluck: Ireland

It’s that time again! St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, so we had to go to Ireland, if only at home. A few months ago a friend asked me at brunch when we were going to do another destination potluck and when I said I didn’t think anyone really liked them, the whole table disagreed, so I picked a date and said we could do an Ireland/St. Patrick’s Day potluck. 

Usually, I don’t give people any guidelines, but we add food choices as people decide, so we don’t end up having a ton of the same things. For some reason, I thought it would be fun to make everyone bring a potato dish, which my friends truly ran with. I love seeing creativity. We made corned beef and cabbage as a main dish for all those potatoes to go with. 

I wish I took more pictures of food, but somehow only ended up with this pic from the half full table. Here’s what else we had: apple cake with custard, cottage pie (topped with potatoes), Colcannon and Irish soda bread, scalloped potatoes, sweet potato pie, green salad with potatoes. It was carbs upon carbs and I wasn’t mad at it, because everything was delicious. 

You have to have drinks to go with all that food, so I picked up some Guinness and broke out my beer tasting glasses. I love these mini pints, because it enables people to try multiple brews and they’re easy to hold. A friend brought some other beer and hard seltzer and I made a fun flavored water with cut up limes, cucumber, and mint. Very refreshing and hydrating.

Let’s talk decor. I went fairly light on this one. I used green tablecloths I already had and a rainbow runner that I bought for a previous dining experience. I also used my favorite cauldron bowls that I use more than I thought I would – bought at an estate sale – to fill with both plastic gold coins and chocolate gold coins. If you want something with the same vibe that is food-safe, here’s a cute cast iron cauldron. Otherwise, you can just reuse some Halloween cauldrons.

And no party or get together is complete without hats, so I picked up some of these adorable leprechaun hats for people to wear or take home, if they wanted. 

Don’t sleep on cheap decor either, especially if you’re using it to stretch your decoration budget. I purchased a few felt leprechauns from Dollar Tree and this neon stars sign from The Spot at Target. 

I created a little bouquet from some stems from Michaels with carnations in Irish flag colors, and added some shamrocks and baby’s breath I had around. I love Guinness merch, so I picked up this tin sign. I’m also sure by now you’ve been wondering about these frames with letters and numbers on them. Each party I have at least one interactive element. My Bridgerton Birthday I did a modified murder mystery where people had to figure out which of the suspects was the secret author of the society papers. 

So, this time I did a mystery to find where the leprechaun hid his pot of gold. Folks had to read the clues and match them to facts about each of the 32 counties in Ireland, meaning you got to learn actual things about the country while playing a game. Once you found all the letters that matched the clues, you had to rearrange them to figure out which county the gold was hidden in.

As always, I had my Temple Bar backdrop, because you can’t go to Ireland and not at least go see the historical bar. I lined the living room with Ireland flag pennants, giving it a fun pub feel. 

This hedge is the same one I used for Bridgerton, with a grassy backdrop over it instead of the leaves. This is literally, just 9 square boxes taped together and covered. Then I vamped it up with shamrock garland and green lights. The Happy St. Patrick’s Day banners are not too expensive and take up a lot of space. Always a plus. I also put up a few print-outs I made in Canva of Irish proverbs, because they’re fun and you get a bit of culture that way. I mostly picked ones about friendships.

I have a hallway where everyone comes in that’s a little dark, but it made it perfect for a pub backdrop, so you feel like you’ve walked into a bar with a bunch of Irish beers, ales, and other booze. I put them up behind photos that are always there, and gave it wonky pub vibes. 

You can also do something similar, and you can easily pull it together by next week or this weekend if you want. Pick up some green plates and napkins and some gold silverware, or just use what you have, tell everyone to wear some green, and throw on an Irish pub songs playlist and you’re good to go. 

Don’t forget to take a bunch of pictures and enjoy all the food and being surrounded by amazing friends. Here are some other ideas from my first Ireland Destination Date Night.

Cheers, friends! 

Disclaimer: Support Shereen Travels Cheap by using the links in my posts to shop. I receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) so I can continue to create helpful free content. Thank you. I appreciate your support!

Want to read more tips for traveling worldwide on a budget? Check out my blog at Shereen Travels Cheap or find me on Facebook or Twitter. You’ll also find product and website suggestions, packing tips, current deals and a whole lot more to help you travel better for less!