4 Easy St. Patrick's Day Date Ideas
You don't have to be Irish to get lucky on St. Patty's. Here are a few date ideas.
BY SARAH PIERCE

BigStockPhoto You don't need the luck of the Irish to to have fun, you just need to plan. “ Check out your local St. Patrick’s Day festival. Come early for the parade and spend the day meandering through the street fair.”

Ah, St. Patrick’s Day: shamrocks, leprechauns, green beer—and romance? Yes, believe it or not, there’s more ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than wearing a green shirt and tossing back Guinness pints. St. Patrick’s Day may not be the most romantic holiday of the year, but it’s definitely a day people love to celebrate, making it a great excuse for planning a fun day together. From very romantic to casual fun, here are four ideas for planning a St. Patrick’s Day date.

Plan a romantic dinner. Impress your spouse with a creative dinner for two. Go traditional with a classic Irish dinner, such as corned beef and cabbage (recipe), soda bread (recipe) and Irish whiskey cake (recipe)—a favorite Irish dessert. Find more traditional Irish recipes at Cooks.com.

If Irish food isn’t your forte, go creative with an entirely green meal. Start with a spinach pasta in creamy pesto sauce (recipe) and end with a yummy dessert such Bailey’s Cream cheesecake (recipe)—dyed with green food coloring, of course. Toast the evening with a bottle of champagne or sparkling cider, also dyed green.

Learn an Irish jig. Ballroom dance lessons aren’t the only couple-friendly dance classes. Get your pulse moving by signing up for Irish dance lessons. The fast-moving footwork is guaranteed to be more fun than the waltz’s boring box step. Find a school or teacher near you at IrishDancingDirectory.com.

Find an Irish festival. Check out your local St. Patrick’s Day festival. Come early for the parade and spend the day meandering through the street fair. The live music, contests and food are great ways to enjoy a beautiful spring day together outdoors.

Go on a pub-crawl. Not that kind of pub-crawl. Find out which bars and restaurants will be serving Irish food or offering live Irish music for St. Patrick’s Day and go restaurant hopping. Start the date with a traditional Irish breakfast or brunch, spend the afternoon at another pub listening to live music, and end with an Irish dinner at your final destination. If braving the long lines and rowdy crowds that are typical on St. Patrick’s Day doesn’t sound appealing, try going the day before. Most bars and restaurants will be celebrating the holiday the entire weekend.

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