Easy Finger Food for the Green Party

Yes, just a few days away and the luck of the Irish will be with you. Just in case you are hosting a St. Patrick's Day party, I thought I would give you some easy finger food ideas to serve at your event. And of course, since it is St. Patrick's Day, you can easily theme your party as the green party everyone has to attend.

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Let's first look at how to make the green party work for you and the environment. Three easy words in keeping with this theme are reduce, recycle and reuse. Here are some easy steps you can take to fulfill this theme:

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* Create a compost heap in your backyard with the food scraps from the party and flowers once they wilt
* Use bio-degradable silverware and plates
* Set-up a recyclable trash can for all your bar bottles and cans
* Use Evite for your guest list
* If possible, have your guests carpool to the party

For tabletop decor, use succulent plants or natural greens such as rosemary. You can create a rosemary wreath with wire and rosemary and then place a pillar candle and hurricane glass in the center to give the table an added glow.

Another natural tabletop decor idea for the green party is to use fresh artichokes as votive candle holders. Just take the artichoke, hollow out the center and then place a glass votive holder in the center with a tealight. Easy and fast to make with minimal cleanup! Finally, purchase some green colored and decorative fabric, which you can reuse during the December holiday time, to add a bit of dimension and more color to your buffet.

Now for the easy finger food menu. So many of these food items you can purchase already prepared thus making your party set-up time minimal.

- Green Vegetable Crudités with Spinach Dip
- Green Olive Tapenade and Goat Cheese Canapés
- Mini Corned Beef Sandwiches
- Green Goddess Chicken Salad served in Lettuce Cups
- Split Pea Soup served in Shot Glasses
- Mint Brownies
- Butter Cookies Dipped in Green Sugar Crystals
- Green Apple Bites Covered with Caramel

Here is a hint to make one of these easy finger food desserts, the butter cookies with green sugar crystals. Just purchase the already made butter cookie dough and follow the cooking instructions. While the cookies are baking, place regular sugar in a glass bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix together blue and yellow food coloring to create green and then add it to the sugar. Stir the sugar until all of it is green and be sure to stir it well so that it dries and is not clumping together. Once the cookies are finished, take them out of the oven and while they are still warm, dip the top side of the cookie into the green sugar to coat the top and then cool the cookie on a baker's rack. Plate and serve with your other desserts.

I hope you picked up an idea or two with these easy finger food ideas for the green party you may be hosting for St. Patrick's Day. Until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, stylish, fun and economical to all!

Easy Finger Food for the Green Party

Andrea Wyn is owner of A Wynning Event, http://www.awynningevent.com, a Los Angeles wedding and special event management company. She is a marketing & special event planner with over 15 years of experience and for the past ten years, she has been the event planner for the Screen Actors Guild Awards(R). She has taken her knowledge and special event experience and written an easy-to-read book called Budget Bash http://www.budgetbashbook.com where you can find more ideas and helpful tips on event planning including menus, decor, budgets, timelines, florals and more.

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