Lucky Bits of Gold St. Patrick's Day Party

I love throwing together a last minute holiday celebration for the "little holidays". It makes my heart sing to see my children's eyes light up at the sight of friends, sweet treats and some holiday fun! (Especially since at this age, so many of these holidays are new to them! "What's St. Patrick's Day, Mama?" So sweet and innocent, right? How could you resist?!) My big thing is that I feel that these special moments don't need to be pricey or filled to the brim with specialty treats. (Every St. Patrick's my mom would serve green orange juice and green eggs and that little bit of zaniness made the day sparkle with specialness for me!)

Since St. Patrick's Day is on a Sunday this year, it's perfect for a family friendly playdate party. So have your little leprechaun grab their green, invite a few friends over and indulge in a little Irish-y fun! It doesn't take more than a trip to the grocery store, a few free printables and of course the laugher and warm company of good friends to make a memorable soiree.

For this party I hit the bakery section of my local grocery to grab a few cupcakes and cookies and then lucked out in the bulk food section and added nice selection of candy. A quick trip down the beverage aisle and I was able put a little Jones Green Apple Soda and a few juice boxes in my cart. On my way home I swung by Party City and landed a few adorable mini "cast iron" pots, some tubes of mini gum balls and a couple rolls of green streamers. And just like that I had all my party basics!

For my St. Patrick's Day Lucky Bits of Gold dessert table, I pulled together lots of fun green items and played them against a vibrant golden backdrop, laced with a quatrefoil pattern, and then layered in other golden elements: sunflowers (both as cut flowers and as cookie pops and chocolate covered oreos), gold foil wrapped mini Rolos, and gold chocolate coins.

Here's a little tip.... you can make any cookie into a cookie pop just by adhering a lollipop stick to the back of the cookie with a bit of royal icing. How fun and easy, right?! So if you don't have the time (or in my case... the talent) to make pretty holiday cookies, just take those cute cookies from your grocery store and give them a little pizzazz by putting them on stick.

On the backdrop I created paper fans using the decorative paper from my printables collection and then dressing them up with a party circle. Quick, easy and a great alternative to a banner.

So if you're thinking about having a party this weekend, let me help you make it easy, breezy with a few FREE printables!! This collection includes the following items:
- 2" party circles (4 designs)
- 5" party circle
- Juice box wraps (2 designs in 2 sizes for tall and regular boxes)
- Bottle labels (3 designs)
- Table labels (both blank and with text)
- Cupcake wrappers (6 designs)
- Straw flags (4 designs)
- Decorative paper (13x19" so you can make a large paper fan)

Just pop over to my blog (www.GwynnWassonDesigns.com) to get all the download details.

And may the luck of the Irish help to make your party this weekend sparkle with the laugher of good friends and many, many fabulous "golden" memories!

• Gwynn Wasson Designs

  Printables

  http://www.GwynnWassonDesigns.com
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