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Step 1
Create some great invitations. Use green ink and stick some basketball and Irish clip art—say a leprechaun and Coach K—in along with all the Who, What, When and Where information.
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Step 2
Decorating for this party should be easy and fun. Most party stores are full of basketball-related supplies, and St. Patrick’s Day stuff is certainly not hard to come by. You can jazz things up and have some more fun by downloading pictures of famous Irish NCAA heroes like Jim O’Brien or players from the “Fighting Irish” of Notre Dame and printing them into large decorations. A poster board featuring the entire NCAA Tournament draw sheet should also be featured prominently. Make sure to arrange the TV room (or rooms) furniture in a semi-circle pattern that allows everyone to see the game action.
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Step 3
Basketball-related party games and activities are also a lot of fun and can be set up easily and cheaply. A couple of Nerf Ball hoops at either end of a room can make for some great one-on-one and team H-O-R-S-E contests, which can easily be combined with St. Patty’s day drinking games. A few betting pools, where people can bet a dollar of even as little as a quarter on things like what the score will be at the next timeout or which team will be the first to get a technical foul are also great ways to keep even the casual basketball fan interested in the action on the tube.
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Step 4
Remember to offer a wide variety of food and drink at this type of a party. The Irish theme of St. Patrick’s Day makes serving Guiness Stout, Irish whisky and green-colored munchies a must. If you are going to offer up a full meal, corned beef and cabbage or Sheppard’s Pie are two easily available recipes that don’t require many exotic ingredients. A little Irish coffee to tops things off is also a good touch.
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Step 5
Remember that not everyone likes to combine sporting event partying with a heavy Irish meal and stout beer. Make sure to have plenty of good old domestic American beer, lots of pop and other non-alcoholic drinks on hand, as well as a wide variety of munchies that can substitute for meals, like nachos or a pot of chili.
