How to Throw the Perfect Vegan St. Patrick's Day Party

St. Patrick's Day can be a great time to introduce people to vegan food and drinks. Before you send out an invitation, start with a plan. The first step is to think about when you are going to have a party. Are you going to have it on St. Patrick's Day or the Friday or Saturday after St. Patrick's Day? Where are you going to have it? Are you going to have it at your house, a bar, or a park? Then think about who and how many people you are going to invite. What are people going to do while they are at the party? Write a list of activities including games, watching a movie, dancing, listening to music, eating, and socializing.

Once you figure out what the activities will be you can plan the schedule.

7:00 pm - Guests arrive. Introductions. Drinks and appetizers.
8:00 pm - Dinner and dessert
9:00 pm - Socializing
10:00 pm - Games
11:00 pm - Dancing
12:00 am - Good-byes

Your invitations should include the date with start and end times, the location with name, address, and phone number to RSVP. There should also be a list of what guests should bring.

While creating the guest list make sure to mix it up with vegan and non-vegan friends.

To keep the costs down you can make the party a potluck. ask your vegan friends to bring the appetizer, entree, or dessert. You can challenge the non-vegan friends to make a vegan dish, or they could bring some vegan beer and wine. Check out Barnivore for lists of fish-friendly beers, wines, and liquors.

Before the party commences make sure you have enough cups, plates, silverware, napkins, and decorations. You will need a list of the recipes and ingredients. If you are getting overwhelmed call in some help. Your friends will be willing to come a little earlier to help decorate and set up the party.

Here are five ways to become a party pro:

1. Have fun: If you are having fun then your guests will too.
2. Make everyone feel welcome: Let your guests know that you are excited to see them.
3. Introduce people: If you notice someone by themselves, strike up a conversation. Make sure to introduce them to another person standing by themselves and pull those two people together.
4. Don't ignore your guests: Try to take the time to talk to everyone.
5. Thank everyone for coming: Make sure to walk everyone to the door to say goodbye.

Check out the list below for some great vegan St. Patrick's Day appetizers, entrees, desserts, and drinks.

Appetizers

• Creamy Dairy Free Potato Soup with Kale
• Crowd-Pleasing Vegan Caesar Salad
• Sneaky Shamrock Spinach Crackers & Green Dip
• Lucky Leprechaun Dip
• Cabbage Patch Soup
• Easy Kale Chips
• Spicy Kale Soup With Pepitas

Entrees and Side Dishes

• Crispy Cabbage: A Tasty Way to Use Extra Cabbage
• Cauliflower Colcannon
• Dublin Coddle with Vegan Irish Sausage
• Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread Scones
• Vegan Shepherd’s Pie with Gravy
• Vegan Cabbage Rolls
• Pesto Potato Chickpea Salad
• ‘Steak’ and Stout Pie
• Avocado Cream Pasta
• Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Desserts

• Vegan Baileys Ice Cream
• Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Cream Frosting: Guinness isn’t vegan yet, but there is a vegan option; Foreign Extra Guinness. It’s a lot stronger and more bitter but it may work better in this cake as the flavor comes through a lot more. Hopefully, you can find it at your local supermarket, but you can also purchase it online or use another vegan-friendly stout. 
• Minted St. Patrick’s Day Cookies {Gluten-Free, Vegan, Refined Sugar-Free}
• Mint Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

Drinks

• Irish Whiskey Ice Cream Beer Float
• Vegan Shamrock Shake
• ‘Kale-icious’ Protein Smoothie
• Vegan Irish Cream

If you follow these tips you will have a perfect stress-free vegan St. Patrick's Day party