The first time I hosted a St. Patrick’s Day gathering, I spent $87 at a party store on green plastic things. Green tablecloth, green cups, green beads, green hats with sparkly shamrocks. By the end of the night, most of it was in the trash and I felt like an idiot.

The next year I spent $11 and everyone said it was better. Here is what I did differently.

Food That Costs Almost Nothing

Colcannon is mashed potatoes with cooked cabbage or kale folded in, plus butter, salt, and pepper. It is the most Irish dish that nobody in America talks about because everyone is obsessed with corned beef. Potatoes and cabbage are two of the cheapest vegetables in any grocery store. A pot of colcannon for eight people costs about six dollars.

Soda bread has four ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. No yeast, no rise time, no mixer. It goes from bowl to oven in under 10 minutes and comes out as a dense, crusty loaf that tastes ten times better than anything you would buy. Serve with butter and a pinch of flaky salt on top.

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Decorations You Already Have

I skipped the party store entirely. Here is what worked better:

• Mason jars with water and green food coloring — drop in a floating tea light and you have a glowing green centerpiece for pennies.
• White daisies or carnations in a vase, add green food coloring to the water. By the next morning the petals have green-tipped edges. It looks intentional and costs about five dollars.
• Green construction paper shamrocks taped to windows. My partner made these in 20 minutes while watching TV. They looked charming, not cheap.
• String lights you already own. Indoor string lights in any color create a warm pub-like atmosphere without buying anything new.

The One Splurge Worth Considering

If you want to serve alcohol, skip the green beer — it is novelty beer dye and everyone drinks one sip for the photo then abandons it. A bottle of Irish whiskey is the smarter buy. One bottle makes a round of hot whiskeys (whiskey + hot water + lemon + clove + sugar) that feels special and costs less per serving than buying a variety of beers.

My $11 St. Patrick’s Day: potatoes, cabbage, flour, buttermilk, a lemon, a few white flowers, and green food coloring. The whiskey was a gift from the previous Christmas. Nobody missed the plastic leprechauns.