This post is sponsored by Oriental Trading. I was compensated for this rainbow jello and St. Patrick’s Day Party post, but all opinions are 100% my own.
I love St. Patrick’s Day. I was just telling my husband that I love all the green St. Patrick’s Day brings because it reminds me that spring is just around the corner! St. Patrick’s Day was always a big deal at my house growing up. My great grandparents were Irish immigrants who settled in Chicago. Now that I live so close to Chicago, it’s on my bucket list to get to watch them dye the Chicago River green! I’m also planning on making a few Irish dishes this month. You can find the ones I’ve pinned on my Pinterest Board!
Every year my family has a St. Patrick’s Day dinner with corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, rye bread, and fun things like green jello, green drinks, and green dessert. It’s a fun tradition that I’ve continued with my own family. I want my kids to know about their Irish heritage. I like to serve corned beef and a potato side like colcannon. You can make this as authentic or as fun as you like. Last year we invited a few families to join us and they each brought a green side to share. We also made some rainbow jello which I’ll show you how to make. The kids and even the adults were impressed with the rainbow design!
St. Patrick’s Day Party Decorations
First thing’s first. If you’re going to throw a St. Patrick’s Day party, you need some fun St. Patrick’s Day decor. I love using Oriental Trading for my party supplies. They have great products that are perfect to make your party fun an festive. Plus their prices are so reasonable!
For our party this year I ordered a few things to decorate around our kitchen where we’ll have our St. Patrick’s Day dinner:
- I got these awesome clover floor decals.
- And some shamrock string decorations.
And then of course you need St. Patrick’s Day paper goods like a table cloth, shamrock or green paper plates, green napkins, cups, and utensils. They also have rainbow options if you’d like to do that. I love that there’s a variety to choose from so you can pick something that fits your theme or decor taste.
I also bought some St. Patrick’s Day bracelets to give the kids as a fun little party gift. They’re actually a little big for the kids. In fact they’re a little big for me! But I have really small wrists. But I think the kids will like them either way.
Rainbow Jello
So the highlight of our party last year was our rainbow jello. They take a little time because you have to wait for each layer to set, but they bring a fun element to any St Patrick’s Day party.
Time: 5 hours
You definitely want to plan this in advance since it will take some time. Buy 1-2 boxes of each of the rainbow jello colors. You can skip orange because it’s so close to read in color that you can’t really see it. So just buy red, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
Start by mixing the purple jello according to the instructions on the box and use the quick set method with the ice so it sets faster. Pour an even amount of purple jello into each cup and put them in the fridge for about an hour. We used 12 clear plastic cups so you can see all the rainbow colors and it’s easy to clean up! If you need more than 12 rainbow jello cups, then I would suggest buying more than 1 box of each jello color.
After 1 hour, mix the blue jello according the quick set method and pour an even amount into each cup. Wait an hour and continue the process for green, yellow, and red. And then you’re done! You can add a little whipped cream on top if you like.
This rainbow jello will definitely be the hit of your party and even the adults will be impressed with the design! But you don’t have to tell them how easy it was. 😉
Lisa Lohrke says
I love the rainbow cups. I think I will try those this year. I am having a St. Patrick’s day party and these ideas are all great!
Learn as We Go says
Thanks mom! We had lots of fun putting them together. 🙂