St George’s Day. Possibly the most under-celebrated holiday ever? We go mad (with love or hate, relationship-status dependent) for Valentine’s Day, drown ourselves in chocolate at Easter and eat our body weight in mince pies at Christmas. So what happened to St George’s Day?
We’ve decided it’s high time we all did something about it - and although we might not drum up enough support this year in time to get a fully blown bank holiday, we can at least start with a how-to guide to throwing the most patriotic shindig ever.
The most English of all drinks
Because what's more English than Bombay Sapphire gin? The humble blackberry of course. The perfect English drink then should combine the two and luckily, that drink is already a thing in the form of the stupidly delicious Bramble. Mixing gin with raspberry liqueur, lemon and caster sugar before topping off the whole thing with a blackberry garnish is THE only way to make a drink that's (arguably) more English than even tea.
Click hereto get the instructions or watch the video below.
**Decorate your house with some truly splendid English decorations **
Pull out the English flag from under the stairs and if you’re feeling really crafty grab some scissors and make some English bunting. With any luck your St George’s Day party will be such a blast that you’ll spark a renaissance of celebrating St George’s Day and it will come in useful again year after year.
And you know what’s really kitsch, English and totally in right now? Jam jars. Serve your drinks in them, accompanied by these red and white striped straws.
Serve some quintessentially English food (with a modern, hipster-twist…)
Sometimes English food get’s a bad rap - but think of all the lovely, hearty things we have like fish and chips, pork pies, sausage rolls, jellied eels… But seriously, if you want to serve your mates some patriotic snacks then turn to none other than Delia Smith. Because before all these young whippersnappers came along, like Jamie and Heston, she was kinda ruling the roost when it comes to good old English grub. Check out this pork pie recipe - it’s not the easiest thing to make but then no Debrief girl ever said no to a challenge...
And if you’re using a Delia recipe for the savoury, it’s only right to use another national treasure’s, Mary Berry’s, for the sweet. Have a great British bake off of your own with these scones - just add clotted cream and jam and you’re good to go. Great Aunt Elsie will be so proud.
Kick back to some nostalgic 90s classics...
One of the things we can be most proud of in our tiny, hilly, wet country is our music. Think what amazing creations have come out of the country - The Beatles, The Spice Girls, One Direction…(pre-Zain’s retirement, obvs). And the decade that best encapsulates the cream of the crop is surely the 90s. Rock out to this Brit-Pop Spotify playlist - with classics from the Happy Mondays and Pulp, it’s the ultimate soundtrack to your St George’s Day party.
The games play to prove you’re totally English and eccentric
We’ve got to very different options here. Option 1: the Dictionary Game. For the literary party-goers. Everyone takes it in turn to find an obscure word in the English dictionary. Then as you each read them out, whoever comes up with the funniest, most bizarre meaning (that sounds kinda like it could be right but definitely isn’t) wins. See - educational AND patriotic. Whoever said we were a generation of hopeless idiots.
Or if you’re feeling energetic and childish (we are, always, join the club) then how about a good old game of British Bulldogs? They don’t get much more nationalistic than that. Plus, if the party needs a bit of romance - nothing encourages flirting like running around in the garden laughing and being silly. It’ll be just like a Jane Austen novel. Or primary school. Either way!
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.