DIY St Patrick’s Day Party Straws

It’s pretty clear that we love parties.  Alyssa plans a bunch of parties and it won’t take you long to find plenty of ideas for swizzle sticks and party supplies, both here on the blog and in our shop.  

 

So it won’t be a surprise to hear that I really just like holidays in general!  With that ‘Pinch Me, I’m Irish’ holiday just around the corner, I started to think of my favorite St Patrick’s Day ever.  It was probably the time I spent March 17th at an ex-pat bar in Shanghai with some of my favorite friends, lots of Irishmen singing and really cheap pints.  There were green party accessories all over the place: tinsel and clover garland and hats that didn’t seem to actually belong to anyone, but were passed along from person to person.

 

The expected decorations are some of the best part of party planning- and they can turn any occasion into a party!  I love the idea of celebrating holidays on a small scale, with a fun extra touch that is just as appropriate for a weeknight meal as it would be for a more elaborate party.  I think that’s just what these cute and easy party straws are!

 

 

 

You’ll only need a few inexpensive supplies for this DIY: foam sheets, straws, a template, a pen, and scissors (or an X-Acto knife)!  The foam sheets were picked up at the dollar store and I got 200 multi-color straws for about $2 at Ikea.

 

 

 

Simply use the template to cut out a leprechaun mustache in orange.  For the clover, I just drew a shape freehand on the green foam.  Foam  sheets are very easy to work with, but I would cut each design individually since they don’t play nicely when stacked and your cutouts will be bit misshapen the further down the stack you go.

 

 

 

Once you’ve assembled all the shapes you need, it’s a cinch to insert your straws.  Fold each foam shape gently in half (even to cut through both sides at once, but not enough to crease).  Cut two horizontal slits about a quarter of inch wide into your shape.  When opened, this will create a flap about half an inch wide to slide your straw through.

 

 

 

And that’s it!  Make several for an upcoming party, book club meeting, ladies’ brunch- or just a few to set on the table on March 17th.  The leprechauns made you do it!