Ideas for a Welsh Themed Party
Wales haven't had the most successful record in international football, despite being one of the first international teams in the world. But then, given the nation's love of rugby,
football was always going to be hard-pressed to dominate the hearts, minds and media in the way that it does in other countries. Wales have, however, enjoyed one or two notable
victories over the years.
Their appearance in the 1958 World Cup Finals in Sweden ranks as their greatest tournament success to date, and is also one of the strangest qualification stories in the tournament's history.
Wales finished second behind Czechoslovakia in their qualifying group, and therefore looked unlikely to be making the trip to Sweden. However, politics took events in an unexpected direction
in what was then the Africa and Asia qualifying group. Several nations refused to play against Israel, and as a result Fifa declared them as group winners, despite the fact they had not played
all their matches. However, it did seem strange for a team to qualify without playing many qualifying matches, so it was decided that Israel would have a "qualification play-off"
against one of the teams placed second in one of the European groups. Lots were drawn, Wales were drawn out of the hat (actually, Belgium were drawn first but refused to play!),
and they duly beat Israel over the two legs to qualify for the World Cup finals.
Perhaps Wales's most famous victories (apart from their record 11 - 0 win against Ireland in 1888) were beating England 4 - 1 in 1977, and Spain 3 - 0 in a World Cup qualifying match
in 1985.
Wales Party Decorations
Decorate yourself and your room with Wales shirts, flags and scarves (see links, right,
or
search for Wales kit at Kitbag.comg(512634)a(1759159))
).
If you're serving food, search for red, white and green table covers, napkins, plates, cups and
cutlery on our general
Football Party Decorations Page
For bunting, flags, balloons and more
Welsh Party Decorations Ideas,
visit our
European Football Party Decorations Page
As for colour schemes, in addition to the above ideas, anything else you can find in red, green and white will help create the right atmosphere, or take some inspiration from how the people of Wales celebrate their rugby victories, or St David's Day (1st March). In addition
to having everything decorated in red (with green and white as secondary colours) giant
inflatable dragons
,
daffodils
and leeks
(Welsh national emblems) are a must.
Food for a Welsh Themed Party
Wales is famous for its lamb production, but the "traditional" Welsh diet centered around home-grown vegetables (potatoes, cabbage and of course leeks), fish and seafood,
and bacon and pork. Lamb was really only served on special occasions, although now is much more widely enjoyed. Local cheeses, including Caerphilly and various sheeps and goats cheeses,
have an excellent reputation and are ejoyed in dishes such as Welsh Rarebit.
Traditional Welsh dishes such as laverbread (which isn't a type of bread at all), cawl (a traditional one-pot soup or stew) and Welsh cakes are all
well worth trying!
Try some of these next time you are throwing a Welsh football party:
Savoury Recipes
Laverbread
Welsh Rarebit
Lamb, Bacon and Vegetable Soup/Stew - Cawl
Red, Green & White - Welsh Lamb & Beetroot Casserole
Sweet Recipes
Welsh Cakes
Drink for a Welsh Themed Party
Due to its climate, Wales does not have a great history of wine production. As a result, beer is much more widely drunk - the best known local brand is probably Brains - along with local cider.
Although wine from grapes is not widely produced, there is a history dating back at leat 1,400 years of producing mead, a wine-like drink made from honey.
However, you may be as surprised as we were to find some Welsh wine available at
Tesco.com. And you can order a
Welsh Beer selection box via Amazon
.
