SPD 2012 (Very, Very, Very Verbose Post)

As soon as the Christmas decorations come down, it's time for the next big holiday.

St. Patrick's Day!!!!

This year, I was really nervous I wouldn't be able to pull off our annual St. Patrick's Day party. I LOVE throwing parties for my dear friends, so I didn't want to give in to the challenge of preparing and throwing a party with a new baby on my hip. So, I did it. And, it went great. Now, I will preface this blog post with the following information..

1. I had a lot of help. (See below for party credits).

2. Although Emily doesn't sleep much at night, she sleeps a lot during the day. (I know, I know. I need to change this, but for party-planning purposes it worked in my favor).

3. A baby that doesn't move yet is A LOT easier than one that does. NEXT YEAR, when Emily is 15 months, that will be the REAL challenge. I may just order pizza with green peppers.

4. I might have already had the menu and decorations planned (and some even done) before the calender changed to 2012.

Decorations:

I made this burlap "Slainte" banner using a freezer paper stencil method. Click HERE to learn how. I used my Cricut machine instead of cutting the paper myself and it was a cinch. It is so easy and you can use this method to embellish clothing, pillows, just about anything!

For those people who don't understand that you MUST wear GREEN on SPD, I had an Irish Tree with buttons they could pick from so they wouldn't be pinched all night long...

Even though they deserve to be.

I found this free printable on Pinterest and added the kiddo's St. Patrick's Day pictures to make it look adorable, just like them.

FOOD!!!!!

This year, I went with easy -prep food, for obvious reasons. And, although BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders have absolutely NOTHING Irish about them, I went with them as a kind of "pub food."

I know it's a stretch, just go with it...

To make up for the non-Irish main dish, I served real Irish potato chips (aka: Crisps). Yum, my favorite! I also served

Leprechaun Sticks (breaded and baked asparagus sticks), green dips, Irish cheese, and twice-baked potatoes.

For dessert, I put together an Irish Biscuit Bar complete with all my favorite Irish Biscuits, Biscuit Cake, Cookie Pops, and my mom's famous Irish Shortbread.

As a snack (and just because I needed an excuse to make this stuff), I served white chocolate popcorn. It's soooo good. Here is the recipe.

Here are the two winning recipes of the night.

You are going to want these.

Trust me.

Twice Baked Potato Bites.

Nutella and Baileys Shooters

The quote of the night was from my friend's husband who I overheard tell someone,

"You HAVE to try one of those shots, they are made of angel wings."

1/2 Cup Milk

2 TBS Nutella

1 Shot Baileys

1 Shot Vanilla Vodka

Blend until creamy and dangerously delicious.

Party time!!

The "We are sticking close to the cocktails and food" crowd.

The "I can't believe anyone would schedule a party during the Baylor basketball game" crowd.

The "the beer is on the patio" crowd.

The "Oh my gosh, I always wanted a tree house when I was young" crowd. Followed by the "Let's see how many people we can fit in the tree house" crowd. Followed by the " Chris, tell us exactly how you did this so we can do this in our backyard" crowd. Followed by the "Don't tell Josh, but we are going to smoke cigars in his tree house" crowd.

And then, there was the "Let's play Beer Pong all night and see what happens the next morning" crowd. These were the guests that may have had a rough Sunday morning.

Don't you love Chris' homemade Beer Pong table? It really upped the party's classiness and sophistication to a whole new level.

The "we can drink as much as we want because we live across the street" crowd.

The "community groups that wear green together, stay together" crowd.

The "that is definitely NOT my husband playing Beirut" crowd.

This year I put together a photo booth with lots of Irish props for the guests to play with and enjoy. Although I can't share all the pictures, here are a few of my favorite...

Neighborhood Mommies!

Silly MOPS ladies.

Me and sweet Christine.

Natalie and Chris- Cutest Couple Award

Me and Denise- Biggest Dorks Award

And here is the winning picture of the night!

Congratulations, Pickles!

I could not have pulled off this party in the midst of my newborn haze without some serious help.

Thank you to the following...

1. The makers of The Baby Bjorn.

Perfect timing for Emily to start enjoying this wonderful invention.

I "bjorned" her for a good two hours a day while I baked and decorated!

2. Emily, for enjoying her playmate.

3. Friends who hold my sweet baby at the start of the party.

4. My mom, who baked fresh batches of her famous Irish Shortbread Cookies and mailed them to me that week.

5. Pinterest- Although, you are an evil suck of my precious time, you gave me all the ideas and recipes for the party, and I am grateful.

But, I am still bitter at you for taking over my life.

6. An army of Crock pots- my favorite handsfree way to cook dinner for 70 people. (Yes, party guests, I cooked your dinner in the garage next to our wheel barrow. No worries, everything was prepared in the kitchen and then transfered outside just to heat without stinking up the house. )

7. Chris- Because being in charge of the Beer Pong Table would have just put me right over the edge.

8. Granee and Pa- for keeping my busy 5 year old entertained in Wimberely for the ENTIRE week.

9. These two WONDERFUL and precious friends who were my extra hands in the kitchen and helper hostesses. I could not have pulled it off without these two!!! I would have been in my bedroom crying at 7:30 the night of the party if it weren't for these two. Seriously.

My house is not back to normal just quite yet, but that's okay. Josh is enjoying having the furniture moved so he has a big area to play cars. In fact, the other night we spent an evening practicing our cartwheels in (what usually would be) our formal living room. You can't do that everyday! And in case you are wondering, YES, I already have the theme and menu planned for next year!

Bring it, Saint Patrick!!!!