Hit the Employee Appreciation Jackpot With a St. Patrick’s Day Office Party
Posted by Sara on Friday, March 14th, 2014 with Comments Off on Hit the Employee Appreciation Jackpot With a St. Patrick’s Day Office Party Comments
St. Patrick’s Day lovers may be feeling a bit of a buzzkill this year: the notoriously hard-partying holiday falls on a Monday. While that may be a disadvantage to bar-hoppers, it could be a big win in the workplace… because there might not be a better occasion for an office party!
St. Patty’s Day is all about celebrating — celebrating Irish culture, celebrating the color green, even traditionally celebrating a lift on the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol! — so it makes perfect sense to incorporate celebrating your coworkers and employees. On a day when many workers will already be in a festive mood (or at least wearing green out of fear of being pinched), the office should become part of the fun, instead of an obstacle to overcome or suffer through on the way to happy hour.
Break up the Monday monotony with a St. Patrick’s Day office party!
Image source: flickr user Peej’s Photos
After all, demonstrating employee appreciation has been established as one of the key factors in job satisfaction and morale in today’s workplace. Take advantage of this lighthearted holiday to show employees that they’re part of a fun, festive team, and set apart some special time to celebrate together.
Green beer may be the quintessential St. Patty’s Day refreshment, but there are plenty of non-alcoholic treats you can serve to present a festive spread for your staff:
Irish soda bread and spinach artichoke dip. While the fruit-studded bread we Americans traditionally think of as Irish soda bread may not actually be all that Irish, both kinds are delicious. Pair with a hearty green dip like spinach artichoke for a crowd-pleasing appetizer.
Corned beef and cabbage. Okay, this “traditional” dish is another St. Patrick’s Day impostor: the authentically Irish dish of pork and potatoes was transformed into corned beef and cabbage by New York immigrants… but quickly caught on because it’s easy to cook and really delicious! Hearty hunks of salty corned beef, piles of stewed cabbage, and some root vegetables thrown in for good measure… it might be just what the doctor ordered after a weekend of celebrating.
Corned beef and cabbage is a St. Patty’s mainstay.
Image source: flickr user Malabooboo
Shepherd’s pie. Keep the rich, savory filling underneath the pillowy crust meat-free to satisfy vegetarian diets while still serving up the hearty fare we associate with St. Patrick’s Day!
Colcannon. Potatoes, cabbage, parsley, and butter: it doesn’t get more traditionally Irish than this earthy side dish.
Colcannon is a vegetarian-friendly Irish side dish.
Image source: flickr user Mercury Jane
Beer cheese soup. Sneak beer onto the menu without catching a glance from the HR department! Rich Irish cheddar and a hearty splash of stout or pale ale were meant to be together, and this creamy soup will have a detectable hint of beer — without making your staff any less productive for the rest of the day!
Guinness chocolate cake. Because it’s not St. Patrick’s Day without a little Guinness… and pairing a roasty stout with the velvety richness of chocolate is a winning combination.
Don’t forget to raise a toast (perhaps of green-tinted ginger ale?) to your staff before you eat! And if you’d rather focus on showing appreciation instead of party planning, let the office catering experts at Waiter.com do all the heavy lifting: our online ordering and prompt delivery makes it easy to paint the office green on St. Patrick’s Day!
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