Throw a Luau Party!

Decorations

• Colorful sarongs make great wall hangings.
• Make palm trees out of posterboard -- brown for the trunk and green for the leaves. You can also buy inflatable or light-up palm trees if you like. Your local party store may even rent out decorative palm trees (real and fake ones).
• Your local party store may have a tiki bar for you to rent.
• Scatter seashells on tables.
• Tiki torches around the yard make great atmosphere for a nighttime party.
• If you don't want to wear a grass skirt, you can hang them from tables or wrap them around a cooler. Just keep your grass skirts away from the tiki torches!

Dress Code:

Hawaiian shirts, shorts, colorful sarongs, and sundresses! Give every guest a lei when they arrive -- you can buy cheap ones with silk flowers, or even make your own by stringing tissue-paper flowers on thread or yarn. Grass skirts and coconut shell bikinis are optional -- catalogues like Oriental Trading Company do sell them if you want to spend money on them.

Menu

• A pig roast may be traditional, but it may be easier to grill up a pork loin or make pulled pork sandwiches.
• Don't forget the seafood! Grilled shrimp is always a favorite.
• Grill pineapple slices on the barbeque.
• Feeling adventurous? Try making poi -- a Hawaiian food made from sea cucumbers.
• Tropical fruits make a delicious dessert -- mangoes, pineapples, coconut, papaya, starfruit, oranges, bananas, and more! Try to offer a combination of familiar fruits for picky eaters and exotic fruits for the more adventurous eaters.

Games and Activities

• Hula Dancing -- what would a luau party be without hula dancing? You may want to put on a video of hula lessons, or just let guests make up their own dances!
• Pineapple Bowling -- set up pins and let guests try and bowl them down using a pineapple instead of a ball!
• Limbo -- crank up the limbo tunes and see how low you can go!
• Fire Eating -- you may not be able to really eat fire... but you can challenge guests to eat spicy foods and hot peppers!