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These
look REALLY great…but you'll need someone who has a very
simple computer graphics program and the basic knowledge to
use it. Download some nice photos from the Internet of Ireland
(you should be overwhelmed by the selection you find on the
Internet) and load them into the graphics program. You can
do this by 'right clicking' with your mouse on any picture
you like, then selecting 'Save As' among the options. Save
these to a disk or your hard drive. Across the top (or in
any other place, depending on how creative you want to get
with it…) put the words of the location (i.e. Irish countryside,
Dublin, etc.) Then, in one of the corners put a large number…essentially,
you are making a large stamp. Once you have the image the
way you want it, print it out and decorate cut the edges all
around in the fashion of a large stamp (fiskar scissors do
a great job.) These look great just about anywhere. HINT:
These can be done in assembly-line fashion and can be cranked
out relatively fast once you get into the 'groove' of it.
Plan
a fun treasure hunt for leprechaun gold! Either design one
yourself or download one from the Internet. For a pre-designed
leprechaun themed treasure hunt, CLICK
HERE
Play
a game of Irish themed Bingo - to download a complete Irish
themed Bingo set, CLICK
HERE.
Name
your location. Invite your guests to Dublin or O'Malley's
Pub, etc. By naming it and referring to that name you'll create
a definite place and time for your guests. It's amazing the
credibility that is given when it is given a name.
Have
some live characters roaming around, mingling with the guests.
How about a travel guide pitching his/her newest tour all
over Ireland? Or how about a crazed Irish peasant going on
and on about how he's searching for leprechauns and that they
aren't as fictional as everyone might believe? These characters
do not need to be present for long periods of time. In fact,
it is best if they are not. Let them come…and then go.
Your guests will be incredibly impressed.
If
you want to paint with a faux rock/stone finish (without spending
an arm and a leg on those craft store kits) buy a few cans
of spray paint instead. This is especially nice if you are
making some old Irish castle ruins as part of your decorations.
Gray, black and white should do the trick. With a hobby razor
blade, lightly score the nozzle hole of the spray can. This
will cause the paint to sputter rather than spray. Make sure
the surface is covered first in the gray, then add some sputtering
of the white and black.
For
inexpensive Irish castle brick walls, use brown postal wrapping
paper and a new rectangle sponge. With any water based paint
(try not to dilute it too much) use the sponge as a stamp
to imprint bricks onto the paper. Although not very realistic,
it 'works' for areas that are not meant for high profile places.
A great way to blanket an area.
At
the entrance to your party/event, station a live person in
character to greet them as they enter with some traditional
Irish music playing in the background. A few examples are
described below:
......A flight attendant welcoming everyone ‘off the
plane’ and to enjoy their stay in Ireland (or better
a specific city in Ireland that you’ve chosen to ‘host’
your party.)
......Anyone dressed in traditional Irish clothing ready to
welcome your guests ‘into their country’
......Someone dressed as a leprechaun wishing your guests
a ‘lucky time’ as they enter.
Hang
fabric for simple decoration. Near larger metropolitan areas
one can always find some type of ‘garment district’
or wholesaler shops for fabric - otherwise consider saving
that Joann's 40% off coupon they send out to those on their
mailing list once a month. These are great for finding a high
variety of prints for prices that are a steal. Have fun searching
for appropriate prints to hang like pinched tapestries on
the walls. This simple trick does wonders for decoration (especially
when the decoration supply is pretty thin.)
This
game would work for older children as well. Look up at your
local library (or online) how to say the following words in
Gaelic: Yes, No, Please and Thanks. (I say look them up because
spelling them in Gaelic won’t help pronouncing them with
a native tongue.) Provide these words and translations for
each of your guests and explain that the English versions
of these four words are not to be used (either for a specified
period of time or for the duration of the party/event.) Additionally,
arm each guest with three markers (coins, fake jewels, etc.)
If a guest uses one of the four English words in any way (even
in casual conversation) the first other guest to notice gets
to ask for one of the markers. At the end of the specified
time, the one with the most markers wins.
Plan
a fun treasure hunt for leprechaun gold! Either design one
yourself or download one from the Internet. For a pre-designed
leprechaun themed treasure hunt, CLICK
HERE
Play
a game of Irish themed Bingo - to download a complete Irish
themed Bingo set, CLICK
HERE
Make
sure that every guest has a sticker-tag with the name of a
fictitious stereotypical Frenchman/woman on it (i.e. Fifi
the Can-Can Dance, Jacques the Painter, etc.) Then, below
that name, write a small fact about that fictitious character
(i.e. Got lost in the Louvre, Has never been to the Eiffel
Tower, Loves to eat croissants, etc.) Then, give every guest
a pencil and piece of paper. Explain to your guests that they
must write down the names of every ‘character’ present
in the room while they are having conversations and meeting
others (a great way to initiate mingling.) Be sure to tell
them ahead of time how many guests there are so that they
know when they’ve found them all. Throughout the evening,
call out at different times ways to cross names off their
list. You see, one of the characters in the room has just
stolen a painting from the Louvre Museum (for example) –
but which one? At some point you might give a clue “The
character loves the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower”
– then everyone would cross those names off their list.
A half hour later, you might say “The character hates
croissants” – then they would know to cross off
the name who had that detail (they may need to go searching
again among the other guests to remind themselves who had
that fact on their sticker…) Again, it’s a casual
game that can keep the party moving, without asking a lot
from your guests.
For
a great refreshment, consider serving Shamrock Shakes! Although
it might not be a traditional Irish dessert, it can be fun
for westerners and kids will LOVE them. Make milk shakes using
your own personal recipe, just make sure to substitute the
vanilla ice cream for mint chocolate chip ice cream! If the
color isn't green enough for you, feel free to put in a couple
extra drops of green food coloring!
If
you have a large stone in your backyard, clean it off and
bring it in as a Blarney Stone for your guests to kiss for
good luck before the big Fighting Irish game!
For
fun snacks, pass out licorice shaped Irish pipes. These are
a standard shape for many candy companies. Check online if
you aren’t able to find any at your local nice candy
store.
If
you are planning to have a pot gold as part of your table
centerpiece, consider this rainbow trick. Get several colors
of the rainbow in party streamers. You'll have to decide the
specifics on how it will look depending on your own party
space, however it goes like this: Attach one end of each colored
streamer to the pot itself and the other end to the ceiling.
When all of the colors are lined up side by side, it will
look like a rainbow coming down and ending at the table...with
a pot of gold sitting at the END of the rainbow!
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