I'm planning my own college graduation party in April. I want to tie in a Hawaii theme but don't really know where to start. I love the bright colors but at the same time I don't want it looking like a little kids Luau party. Any ideas would be really appreciated!
SF from Phoenix, AZ
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There is a website that has very inexpensive luau items; go to www.orientaltrading.com. Congratulations on your college graduation!
You could do some Hawaiian smoothies and buy a sand castle bucket and put goldfish in it. You could also buy some window stickers of hula girls and other Hawaiian things and you could buy these at the $ store. Hoped that helped.
Wow I looked through all of this and I'm having my 13th birthday party soon. I just got some really good ideas for this party!
I need ideas for a menu for my wedding reception. It is in August 2009
Thanks for the ideas. I will be hosting a Hawaiian themed bridal shower and some of these ideas I will use.
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I am planning on having an Hawaiian themed party in a few weeks - any suggestions and ideas on how I can do this 'thriftily' will be greatly appreciated.
Kate from Melbourne, Australia
I lived on Oahu for three years long ago, then returned in l981 only to see the beauty almost destroyed with commercialism, but I do remember a lot about the luaus and hookilaus there. Large fruit halves hollowed and refilled with single servings inside each of pineapple, mangos, honeydew, papaya is lovely and most authentic.
If there's one thing I'd stress more than anything, it's the Hawaiian Music. It played constantly there for 24/7, no one seemed to ever sleep. You could invite guests to wear anything floral and their flip-flop sandals and shell jewelry.
Greet them at the door with a few plastic or silk flowered leis for each guest, just as they do for everyone arriving in Hawaii. You can find some sweet floral candles (Pikaki, Plumeria, Gardenia and Orchid fragrances were grown everywhere like wildflowers in the hillsides back then.)
If anyone has a ukulele/deep bongo drums, or can rent them, it would be fun to let several guys practice on them. Candles add to the mood, then you'll be in great shape. Paper umbrellas in all the drinks, stuck in the fruit or meat kebobs. Playbox sand sprinkled around on the patio finishes it off (it can easily be swept up and used in the flower beds or a child's sand box next day after party). Those fish nets with large cork floats, and large colored glass or plastic balls were common.
Enjoy and God bless you. (10/18/2006)
By Lynda
I will be graduating from high school in June and I am throwing a luau graduation party. I am wondering if anyone has any good ideas for cheap decorating and any recipes that include the hawaiian theme, but aren't too hard to make in large quantities. Or if there are any ideas for entertainment and games that would be fun.
AC from MN
We just had a Hawaiian party at work. You can get a lot of cute cheap decorations at Oriental Trading. We got a limbo stick, music, flowers for our hair, leis for all the participants. For our menu, we made kabobs. We did pork and vegetables, chicken and vegetable and then we made vegetarian kabobs. We made a tropical fruit salad with pineapple and coconut. You can mix anything else in it. We had macadamia nut cookies. We served a lettuce salad as the side. Hope this helps. (01/16/2006)
I prepared a tropical luncheon for the garden club and it was easy for a large group and well received. I served ham and cheese croissants, a green salad with strawberries, glazed nuts, and goat cheese with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing and a baked pineapple casserole. Dessert was three colored sherbet (slice for nice pieces with all colors in each serving) and a cookie. Not elaborate but easy and enough of the island feel.
For each table I made an arrangement of various sizes of bamboo cut into different heights and tied with raffia. In just one of the pieces of bamboo I put a single branch of orchid bought in bunches at Costco. This was bamboo with a diameter of from 2 inches to 5 inches. (01/16/2006)
By D Pinyan
THe rich chocolate Ovaltine canister has a nice recipe for Macadamia Nut brownies, and the frosting has coconut. I made the brownies without the nuts, and were real good (i am allergic to them) It should be easy to double or triple. (01/16/2006)
By Kelly
For some great, inexpensive decorating items (lei's, pineapple cups, hula skirts, etc) try orientaltrading.com. They have a good selection of some really fun stuff. I'd use little twinkling lights to decorate with - think Christmas white lights. Have fun and congrats,t (01/17/2006)
By tricia.
We had a luau last summer in our back yard that was a BLAST! We have a trampoline w/netting around it that we hung plastic fish from; we bought an inexpensive door "curtain" of Hawaiian flowers that we disassembled to decorate around our tables (cheaper than buying the table buntings). We also borrowed a whole tub of luau decorations from a neighbor who works at a local group home (of course, we were careful to label their decorations so we could return them). Try a nursing home activities department! Offer to trade some volunteer time for use of some decorations!!
As for menu, we made "kabobs" out of big chunks of vegetables, pineapple chunks, and shrimp and even polish kielbasa sausage and brushed with a sweet/sour sauce (bottled) after grilling; a watermelon salad (where you use the watermelon as a bowl is very tropical; sweet/sour meatballs in a crockpot are simple; and we spruced up the table w/a box of those little "drink umbrellas" for the meatball toothpicks, etc.
Have FUN with it, and congratulations! (01/17/2006)
By Sandra
Check the yellow pages for a dance school that teaches Hawaiian dance. I'm sure they'd be thrilled to perform and do a short lesson for a small fee. (01/17/2006)
By Connie in Colorado
A friend of mine had a luau for her new sister-in-law's bridal shower. This girl loves flip-flops so they got a pair in every color and design they could find in her size, and strung them up along the deck. This was later a gift to her. (01/17/2006)
By Jeggie
You may be able to get Hawaiian music CD's or tapes at your public library -- ask travel agents if you can borrow any posters with beaches, palm trees, etc. I made my own leis by buying cheap plastic flowers and stringing them individually on heavy thread, using pieces of plastic drinking straws in between as spacers. Any "Finding Nemo" characters would work for decorations, paper goods, etc due to the tropical fish tie-in. Serve goldfish crackers! Here's a recipe you could double, triple, whatever:
Waikiki Chicken:
Put the chicken in a crock pot/slow cooker. Mix the 3 other ingredients together-- don't drain the juice off of the pineapple -- and dump it over the chicken. Cook on medium 4 hours or more. You can also do this in the oven at 350 for one hour.
Go to the Kraft Foods website -- I think it's just www.kraft.com -- and do a search for a recipe called "Angel Lush Cake". It's a very simple, very elegant looking recipe using a store-bought angel food (round) cake, that has pineapple in it. The recipe says to top with fresh strawberries, but I used pineapple rings instead, which makes it look Hawaiian.
Ask everybody attending the party to wear hawaiian shirts if they have them -- pick up some "extras" at Goodwill/yard sales to have on hand.
Have fun -- and ALOHA!!! (01/20/2006)
By Becki in Indiana
Bright and colorful is the way to go for a Hawaiian luau. Inexpensive items include paper decorations such as tropical fish and inflatable palm trees. You can also go to your local craft store to buy palm fronds or supplies to make grass tiki huts. (01/20/2006)
By Dee
