Ending Summer in Style…With A Hawaiian Luau!
The best way to kick your end-of-summer luau off right is with an invitation that sets the mood right from the start. There are so many ways to do this. You can buy premade luau-inspired invites, have some custom-made by a stationery store, or go a little do-it-yourself and make your own if you’re of a creative mind. Creating a perfect invite doesn’t take as much time as one would think, either. You could simply buy Hawaiian postcards and write your party details on them, or create your own invites with notecards, stickers, and stamps. Computer savvy? There are so many pictures and programs you can use to create ideal invites. If all your party guests are regular internet users, online invitations, whether through email or online invitation sites like evite.com are a cheap and convenient way to get your invite across. But maybe you want something different. A unique way to get your guests in a luau frame of mind would be to pin a notecard with your party details to a pineapple (or tape the card to a coconut) and hand deliver an invitation sure to cause a stir.
Once the invites have been sent out, it’s time to decorate. Naturally, the tropical atmosphere that surrounds a luau should be both inside and out. Fishing nets with plastic fish, crabs, and lobsters attached to them can drape along the walls or even on the curtains. Fake parrots are a must, as are hula girls. You can actually buy life-sized hula girl cutouts and cardboard surfboards relatively cheap. Outside, make things decorative and useful with tiki torches and candles or lanterns of citronella. Whether your party starts inside or out, hang a banner welcoming everyone to your party at its entrance that practically screams ‘Aloha’ to all your guests. Pick up some cheap ukuleles and hula girl bobble heads as party favors that can also serve as table decorations. Tables can also be decorated with brightly colored silk flowers and fresh tropical fruit displays. You’ll also want to pick up some Hawaiian music.
If you want your guests to dress up for the event, you’ll have to tell them so on the invitation. Swimsuits are common, board shorts and Hawaiian print shirts are expected. There are realistic looking grass skirts that are relatively inexpensive – you might want to pick up enough for guests that may decide to hula in the middle of your luau. Leis are expected – at least three leis per guest. You can buy the inexpensive plastic kind or go a little more costly with the pretty realistic-looking plastic flower variety. If at all possible, you can greet your guests at the door with a lei and a friendly ‘aloha!’
Limbo is a necessary party game for a luau. All that it requires is a broomstick and good music, but you can actually buy specialty limbo sticks too! Hula hoops are great contest games – young and old alike will have fun trying to see just how long they can hula. You can also fill a kiddie pool with sand and have people dig for treasure. Need another game that’ll bring plenty of amusement to your party guests – give them polaroid cameras and send them on a scavenger hunt!
When one thinks of a luau, roasting a pig on a spit seems like the ultimate fare, but that can be a little messy – and a bit expensive. Serve kabobs of pork, shrimp, and chicken with chunks of pineapple. Serve salads in brightly colored plastic bowls. Use hollowed-out pineapple and watermelon halves as serving bowls for your fruit salads. Chips, french fries, or other snacks can be displayed in beach pails. You can actually buy brightly colored plates and plasticware – and plastic cups shaped like coconuts for your drinks. Frozen and fruity drinks are the only way to go – pina coladas, daiquiris and tropical punch – complete with those little umbrellas to decorate.
Your luau will be the talk of the town – and the best way to end summer and kick off fall!
