• A shamrock made from pipe cleaners is a good party keepsake.shamrock image by Olga Khoroshunova from Fotolia.com
  
  For more than a thousand years, the Irish have celebrated St. Patrick's Day, which honors the life of the fifth century missionary, Maewyn Succat (St. Patrick), according to the History channel website, history.com. This Christian holiday also has become deeply associated over time with Irish pride and folklore. People around the world celebrate St. Patrick's Day with parades, feasts and merry drinking. Because the holiday is lighthearted, adults also may use St. Patrick's Day party games to celebrate their Irish heritage and St. Patrick's work.
  
  

Trivia Pot of Gold

• According to St. Patrick's Day folklore, little men called leprechauns live at the end of rainbows and tend to pots of gold, holidays.net explains. The Trivia Pot of Gold game gives adult guests a chance to win their own pot of gold by learning and recalling St. Patrick's Day facts.
  
  The players sit in a large circle. The host asks the group a trivia question about St. Patrick's Day. For example, the host might ask why St. Patrick's Day is March 17, St. Patrick's birth name, or where the first St. Patrick's Day parade was held in the United States. Guests who think they know the answer raise their hands and the first to raise her hand first gets a chance to answer the question. If she's correct, the host gives her a plastic gold coin. If she's wrong, the second person to raise his hand gets a chance to answer. If no one can answer, the host reveals the answer and no coin is given. The player with the most gold coins at the end of the game can exchange his "pot of gold" for a prize.
  
  

Shamrock Cleaner Race

• St. Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to help explain the concept of the Trinity--the unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in one being--as he spread the Christian gospel, according to the legend of St. Patrick as recounted at kiddyhouse.com, a website that offers activities and learning materials for teachers and children. The shamrock is the national flower of Ireland. For a St. Patrick's Day game to celebrate the shamrock's place in Irish culture, the host provides green pipe cleaners (also called fuzzy sticks) to each adult guest. On the leader's signal, guests try to mold shamrocks out of their pipe cleaners. The person who completes his shamrock fastest wins.
  
  

Gold Gulp

• The Irish long have promoted the folklorish legend of pots of gold at the ends of rainbows, according to holidays.net. Gold Gulp is a game that turns these pots of gold into tasty treats. The host prepares by making squares of lemon gelatin and putting each square into a small cup. The adult players race to eat as many gelatin "gold pieces" as possible in 10 seconds. The player who empties the most cups wins. The host may opt to use some alcohol with the gelatin, since St. Patrick's Day celebrations usually include some kind of liquor. If the host uses alcohol, he should give each guest a limited number of gold pieces and simply declare the person who finishes all his gelatin squares first the winner.