Hawaiian Luau- Need ideas from you party people!

squirtle · Apr 4, 2006

Hi guys!

I would like to throw my fiance a party for his birthday coming up at the end of June. About this time we a year ago we purchased our first house and all though I wanted to throw it then, the timing just wasn't right. This year would be perfect. I would love to do a Hawaiian Luau theme.

My problem is that I am NOT good at decorating and well, throwing parties in general. We have not had a real party at our house since we have lived there (pathetic isn't it?). I was hoping you guys might be willing to help me out

I have some ideas of course. I was thinking this could be sort of a brainstorming session

Here are a few of mine:

Inflatable palm trees around the backyard
Tiki torches around the pool
Cute hawaiian style invitations requesting everyone to dress Hawaiian style. I am thinking I might have a contest for the best dressed.

I found a website a while back with decently priced Hawaiian decorations. They had so many neat things, I will have to find it again!

phenomsmom · Apr 4, 2006

Ooh that sounds fun!! You can go to Party City and get some lei's!! Coconut drinking cups and stuff!!

adymarie · Apr 4, 2006

Go to a party place and pick up some plastic leis for everyone - little umbrella's for drinks and make a lot of fun tropical drinks. Roast Pig is a must for a luau. Get a limbo stick (you may have to have a few drinks 1st!). I will think more on this. Right now I have to leave for a doctor's appointment!

AbbysMom · Apr 4, 2006

It sounds like you are on the right track. Check out Oriental Trading. They have TONS of stuff for a reasonable price.

www.orientaltrading.com

squirtle · Apr 4, 2006

Originally Posted by AbbysMom

It sounds like you are on the right track. Check out Oriental Trading. They have TONS of stuff for a reasonable price.

www.orientaltrading.com

That's the site Karen! Thanks

I was thinking about doing a pig, all though I am not excited about seeing a whole pig on the grill

One of my ideas for drinks was filling a cooler up with Blue Hawaiian. It's a drink with coconut, pineapple juice, rum, and Blue Curaco. It's definately yummy!
My fiance loves Tequila and I thought it might be cute to have a little Tequila station where they can come by and do shots. All though I might need to set up cots before the night is out

And of course lei's and little umbrellas

AbbysMom · Apr 4, 2006

Originally Posted by squirtle

My fiance loves Tequila and I thought it might be cute to have a little Tequila station where they can come by and do shots. All though I might need to set up cots before the night is out

you've got that right! We had a wine tasting once, that turned into a tequila tasting. It got a bit ugly

I did get a catalog from Current in yesterday too that had the cutest little string of "flip flop" lights in it. I am thinking of getting them for my niece for her birthday.

menagerie mama · Apr 4, 2006

Oriental Trading has cheap stuff too. My mom had one for my dad last year. We has lei's (sp?) straw hats, (no one wore them) it's cool to line tables or a bar with what's that straw stuff, raffia? and put white lights underneath, it's great for ambiance. We had coconut glasses and big bowls of punch (spiked of course) and little strings of Hawaiian shirt, palm tree, pineapple, and surf board lights everywhere, and all the decorateive napkins and such to go with it.
Jerk pork, jerk chicken, water chestnuts wrapped in bacon, ribs, fruit kabobs, all these were on the menu. Look up Hawaiian recipes online for more ideas.
PS. The Hawaiian music is only good for maybe an hour, then people get bored of it, so make sure you have backup music.

lunasmom · Apr 4, 2006

Oooo...I was at a tropical themed party recently and helped setup the pineapples. They were cute!
You take whole pineapples, watermelon, cantalope, kiwi, and any other tropical fruit and get skewers.
Chop up the watermelon, cantalope, kiwi and one of the pineapples (plus other fruit you buy) and place them on the skewer. Then go stick the skewers into the whole pineapples.

They're really good and decorative at the same time!

Also...get the light up palm trees. Usually party stores have them and they're an awesome decoration!

Don't forget a firepit! and a man with a ukulalee!

flisssweetpea · Apr 4, 2006

This sounds like such a great party that you're organising

- I love the website.

Hope you've got room in your backyard for everyone at TCS

squirtle · Apr 4, 2006

Originally Posted by flisssweetpea

This sounds like such a great party that you're organising

- I love the website.

Hope you've got room in your backyard for everyone at TCS

I do Beth, as long as you will be agreeing to play the ukulalee!

You guys are awesome. This party will be great and I have you guys to thank because I could never come up with this stuff on my own. The ideas are wonderful keep em coming!

flisssweetpea · Apr 4, 2006

Well, I could play the Ukelele but I'd probably clear the room in no time - I'm not very musical

That made me laugh so much, many people who couldn't pronounce my daughter's name often ended up calling her Ukelele

rockcat · Apr 4, 2006

Originally Posted by squirtle

That's the site Karen! Thanks

I was thinking about doing a pig, all though I am not excited about seeing a whole pig on the grill

Sorry for the hijack, but that just reminded me of a barbecue I was invited to. They called it a pig pickin'.

squirtle · Apr 4, 2006

Originally Posted by Rockcat

Sorry for the hijack, but that just reminded me of a barbecue I was invited to. They called it a pig pickin'.

I don't mind your hijack as long as you use the sign!

Just kidding of course!

And Beth I think I would rather enjoy your playing.

menagerie mama · Apr 4, 2006

Originally Posted by lunasmom

Don't forget a firepit! and a man with a ukulalee!

Come to think of it, there WAS a drunk guy with a ukulalee at my dad's party! I have it on tape!!

lakeriedog · Apr 4, 2006

squirtle said:
I was thinking about doing a pig, all though I am not excited about seeing a whole pig on the grill

QUOTE]

If you aren't set up to bbq a whole pig, you might be able to get one cooked to order from someone who specializes in BBQ, a butcher or a caterer to do it for you. Around here I would send you to Chinatown to get that cooked in advance for a decent price, but I don't know if you all even have a Chinatown. Here is a link to a caterer in Florida that does Luau. http://www.alohafriendsluau.com/caterers.html.

Sounds like a great idea for a party, now I want to have one too! Be sure to serve sticky rice and macaroni salad those go real well with the pork. p.s. skip the poi that stuff is nasty.

If you can find a copy of Brother Iz' "Alone in IZ World" cd, there are some very nice Hawaiian songs on there. This link has samples of his work, Over the Rainbow is one of my favorites.

http://www.hawaiianislandmusic.com/M...kawiwoole.html

taurus77 · Apr 4, 2006

No one has mentioned grass skirts!! Maybe you could also come up with your own interpretation of the

"Happy Birthday"

song hula dance!?
You can do an alternative to walking on hot coals as a game (I always think of this when I think Hawaiian Luau for some reason)--take red foil paper and lay out an aisle, top with ice (will make it look like smoldering embers) and make them walk over barefoot--whoever can go the distance the slowest wins.
Get a fog machine, make a "volcano" and pretend its about to erupt.

menagerie mama · Apr 4, 2006

Oh gosh, I forgot that too...since I am a little chubby, it wasn't a pretty sight...

But after a few coconut drinks I forgot all about it!

clixpix · Apr 5, 2006

Originally Posted by AbbysMom

It sounds like you are on the right track. Check out Oriental Trading. They have TONS of stuff for a reasonable price.

www.orientaltrading.com

That's what I was going to suggest.

Barring that, I could send you the entire contents of my Hawaiian-themed kitchen!

tari · Apr 6, 2006

I just planned a luau at a meeting in Hawaii. Here are a few sites I found helpful:

http://www.luauexpress.com/ - I got cheap grass skirts and coconut bras from them...they came really fast!
http://www.hawaii-luaus.com/ - They have recipes and some good ideas.
http://www.party411.com/theme28.html - They had a bunch of decorating ideas.

Have fun!

absolutchaos · Apr 14, 2006

Hey~

Definitely recommend havng some ukulele music playing in the background at your luau...also recommend placing pineapple chunks on skewers and grilling them to caramelize the sugars and really make the pineapple sweetness more intense. If you have access to beach mats, those might be nice to have laying about...

Maybe have a tray of sand in the middle of your picnic/dining table with party favors for your guests "buried" in it?

I attended a luau with a "tacky tourist" theme--the guests were requested to don their best "tacky tourist" duds. I created a fake sun burn with makeup, my boyfriend wore his socks pulled up to his knees with sandals, and of course, lots of "loud" Hawaiian shirts, big cameras around necks, etc. It was a nice twist on the luau theme...

Hawaiian Luau- Need ideas from you party people!

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