Introduction
As the weekend approaches, the hospitality industry gears up for a spirited celebration like no other—St. Patrick's Day. In this blog post, we invite you to join us on a journey into the heart of Irish cheer, where the hospitality experience takes on a whole new level of festivity. From Irish-themed culinary delights, to live Irish music, and the enchanting allure of green-themed decor, we'll explore how hospitality venues can get involved in the St. Patricks Day celebrations.
Irish-Themed Menu Delights
St. Patricks Day invites us to celebrate Ireland’s traditions, including the nation’s most popular culinary dishes. One of the ways you can encourage your customers to take part in the festivities is by offering traditional Irish dishes in a special St. Patrick’s themed menu. Incorporate historic Irish dishes like corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew, and soda bread.
These themed items don’t have to stop at food as Ireland is also known for classic beverages like Guiness, Jameson or ginger & lime for those who prefer something a bit lighter.
Live music
The lively celebrations that take place throughout this Irish holiday are often accompanied by traditional Irish tunes or modern renditions with an Irish twist.
Enhance the atmosphere in your venue and get people on their feet by hosting live music throughout the day. You can support artists from your community by hiring a local Irish band or musician to entertain guests throughout the day. Encourage sing-alongs and create a lively, authentic Irish pub atmosphere.
Green-Themed Décor
Transform your venue into a sea of green with festive decorations. Adorn the space with shamrocks, green balloons, and Irish flags. Encourage staff to wear green attire to get everyone in the spirit and consider offering customers St. Patrick's Day-themed accessories like hats, beads, or temporary tattoos.
Providing such accessories increases the marketability of your business during St. Patrick’s Day as the novelty of these items encourages customers to share pictures and videos of themselves and their friends in your venue onto their social media platforms. A survey conducted by Go Tech found that ‘48% of consumers use social media to find places to eat and drink’ (thecaterer.com), so by immersing your venue with St. Patrick’s themed décor you’ll be encouraging customers to share pictures of your venue on their social media and thus spreading the word about your business.
St. Patrick’s Day Cocktails
Get creative with St. Patrick's Day-themed cocktails, these can be green-coloured drinks or recipes that incorporate classic Irish spirits. Classic cocktails like the Grasshopper perfectly match the day’s theme with it’s fluorescent green hue, why not try making it yourself with this easy-to-follow recipe by Liquour.com. If you’re looking for something a bit simpler, then adding an Irish twist to an Old Fashioned is a great choice, just use Jameson or any of your other favourite Irish whiskeys when mixing your ingredients together.
If your establishment doesn’t serve cocktails, you can promote simple spirits and mixers like Jameson and ginger beer so that customers can still enjoy a festive beverage, or as mentioned before, drinks from the tap like Guiness are always a popular classic to offer to your patrons.
Irish Whiskey Tasting Event
Elevate the St. Patrick's Day experience with an Irish whiskey tasting event. You may want to reach out to collaborate with a whiskey expert or brand ambassador to guide guests through a tasting journey, explaining the nuances of different Irish whiskeys.
This type of event is ideal if your establishment doesn’t cater to large parties or events where people are up from their seats dancing as instead, you’ll be encouraging patrons to take part in a more sophisticated form of celebration.
Themed Photo Booth
These days you’ll find that a number of hospitality venues, especially nightclubs and bars, are set up with photo booths that their customers can use to take pictures of themselves and then either print off or download onto their phone.
These booths not only add more fun to your customers’ evening by allowing them to take home a souvenir, but they also increase the marketability of your venue as they photos often get shared on customers’ social media pages, and then furthermore by their which ultimately serves as free advertisement for your business.
Set up your photo booth with Irish accessories, props, banners, and backdrops so that your patrons can share pictures of themselves having fun in your venue. You can boost the number of photos shared online by hosting a photo competition on your own social media pages so that customers tag you in their pictures, helping you to spread the word about your event.
Family-Friendly Activities
Although St. Patricks Day is often associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages of Irish origin, it’s not just a day for adults to celebrate. If your venue caters to families, offer kid-friendly St. Patrick's Day activities. Incorporate some of Ireland’s famous folklore by decorating your venue with rainbows, shamrocks, leprechauns, and most importantly, a pot of gold.
Some family-friendly activities that you can offer to younger guests include face painting, colouring contests, and Irish-themed crafts.
Conclusion
We hope this blog post has helped you in your quest to provide an unforgettable St. Patrick’s Day experience for your customers, no matter what type of hospitality business you are.
From some of Ireland’s signature food and drink, to family-friendly festivities, we have explored a variety of options for your business to choose from in preparation for the day’s celebrations.
From everyone here at Opsyte, we hope you have a shammrockin’ St. Patrick’s Day!
