Any excuse to decorate for the holidays is welcome in our book. We don’t understand why Christmas gets all the glory, when putting up decor for St. Patrick’s Day can be just as rewarding. The celebrated Irish holiday is a great excuse to fire up your printer and get creative with decorations and invitations. Throwing a party is only half the work; making the party look great is equally important. When you’re planning a St. Patrick’s Day party, keep in mind the overall vibe. Throwing down some green cupcakes just isn’t enough when you could be hanging banners and doing custom invitations. We’ve got some ways to make your St. Patrick’s Day party stand out and save you money, using just your home printer and a little bit of creativity.
The first step of any party comes down to the invitations. There’s a reason wedding invitations are an entire self-sustaining business! Getting a letter in the mail or handed to you which is beautifully designed, personal, and engaging is the first thrill of the good time that awaits. You want your recipients to be excited when they look at your invitation, and there are a few tricks to making that happen. The first step is to look for a themed design. There are tons available for download online for free, or you can make your own in a design program such as Photoshop. Go for the traditional green and gold color scheme to keep the theme consistent, and throw in as much embellishment as you’d like. The invitation is all about conveying a few quick details and the feel of the party, so if you’re opting for a more relaxed cocktail hour keep it relatively simple with gold tones and less cartoonish designs. An extravagant party where people can expect green beer and crashing on the couch might be littered with leprechauns. Whatever your vibe, keep it true to your personality and don’t forget to include details about locations and times!
Once you’ve got the invite out and RSVP’s start rolling in, it’s time to get down to decorating! Just like with the invitations, your decor will depend on the type of party you’re aiming for. No matter if it’s a classy engagement or a wild house party, you can print decor right in your home. For more relaxing St. Patrick’s Day parties, consider recycling some of your old picture frames and printing traditional Irish sayings in beautiful fonts for a subtle touch. You can always create collage artwork using quotes and classical imagery, or do charming directional banners to guide guests. For fun party embellishments that save you big bucks, print out your own photo op props, such as leprechaun hats or silly ‘Kiss Me I’m Irish’ signs. Glue the props on to sticks for guests to hold and you’ve got a prop that’ll last forever in photos!
No matter the type of party you throw, your printer can help out from start to finish. Most home printers available on the market today are capable of doing multiple finishes, colors, and sizes. You can go wild with different custom shapes (invitation in the form of a shamrock, anyone?) or print a stunning chalkboard-esque label for your homemade green beer. The limits of making incredible St. Patrick’s Day party decorations really only depend on you and your creativity!