Luau Party

luau party napkin


Can you say "La Bomba!" Bring Hawaii to your backyard with a Luau party. Break out the Hawaiian shirts, wear a lei, drink from a coconut and do the limbo. Nothing says al-relaxo more than partying under the sun with some luau Hawaiian music playing and having a drink with an umbrella in it.


luau party napkin

Can you say "La Bomba!" Bring Hawaii to your backyard with a Luau party. Break out the Hawaiian shirts, wear a lei, drink from a coconut and do the limbo. Nothing says al-relaxo more than partying under the sun with some luau Hawaiian music playing and having a drink with an umbrella in it.



Luau Party Invitations

  • Send a postcard with a picture of a beach, or people in grass skirts
  • Insert petals from a flower in the envelope or a drink umbrella
  • Send a message in a bottle



Luau Party Decorations

  • Set the mood right as you are entering the party
  • Get bamboo and wrap the edges of potted flowers, around the bar / food tables, and to accent the backdrop of different stations. You can create an entryway that is made out of bamboo. Hang large Hawaiian flowers from all areas as accents.
  • Have a welcome sign and hang leis beside so each guest gets a lei as they enter the party zone.
  • Bring in extra greenery for the event. Often you are able to rent plants that are for sale from local flower shops. This way it is a fraction of the price with a huge impact. Try to get lots of large leaf tropical plants and accent them with pops of color in the flowers.
  • For a banner use large leaves and attach the letters to say happy birthday, happy anniversary, etc. make it personalized.
  • Tiki torches
  • Floating silk flowers - have these in glass bowls and if you have a pool use this to your advantage to have floating flowers, and floatables.
  • Leis and necklaces
  • Tropical parasols
  • Plastic, balloons or toy lobsters, crabs and starfish
  • Beach balls
  • Palm trees - make out of a pool noodle covered with butcher paper, add a few balloon coconuts and top off with a few large banana leaves made out of cardstock. Try to have different sizes. To make taller palm trees tape two pool noodles together.
  • Where to sign - at the top have a tropical bird
  • Large banana leaves - real or made out of bristle board
  • Surf and boogie boards
  • Centerpiece of a banana leaves with a real pineapple wearing sunglasses wearing a lei, or blow up flamingos (pool ones for a drink) and fill with flowers
  • Use wooden discs for the plate holders.
  • Set up a tiki bar - line with grass skirts (open and staple to attach) and accent the backdrops with thin long grasses. Fasten teki masks and flowers around the top.
  • Use old wooden pallets to create a large sign that says “Aloha” paint in fun tropic soft shades like a washed out pink and aqua blue
  • Make large paper tropical flowers to hang throughout the party area
  • Use sand pails to hold the utensils. Wrap your utensils in colorful napkins and add a flower to hold them together on the front.
  • Use a balloon archway to accent the food or drink stations
  • Maracas
  • Seashells
  • Create a large number to represent the age of the birthday - make a cutout of cardboard and then hot glue gun the flowers from a lei to cover the cardboard.
  • Have sunscreen and bug spray for guests to apply if necessary



Luau Party Attire

  • Sunglasses
  • Beaded necklaces
  • Beach hats
  • Hula skirts
  • Beach hats
  • Flower in hair
  • Flower leis
  • Hawaiian shirt
  • Grass Skirt

Luau party attire
  • Sunglasses
  • Beaded necklaces
  • Beach hats
  • Hula skirts
  • Beach hats
  • Flower in hair
  • Flower leis
  • Hawaiian shirt
  • Grass Skirt
luau party attire

Luau Party Games and Activities

  • Play Tropical Luau music or reggae and calypso
  • Limbo contest - set up a station so your guests can try this on the own or do as a large group activity
  • Hula dance/belly dance
  • Tiki Toss - get a large board and paste or paint large tiki faces on the front. Toss the bean bag through the mouth to win a prize.
  • Play a fun game of badminton
  • Flamingo ring toss - set up a few lawn flamingos and their heads and necks become the aim for your ring toss
  • Rent a large water slide and bouncy castle
  • Lei race - set a number of leis in a hula hoop. Race to put on a lei, then have your partner race. Keep going until you are wearing all the leis.
  • Bracelet making - make beaded bracelet with names and flower beads
  • Tropical flower hair accessory station - make your own headbands and hair clips by hot glue gun the tropical flowers onto the headband or hair clip.
  • Hula challenge - how can hula hoop the longest
  • Bonfire
  • Water balloon fight
  • Tropical Photo Booth:
  1. Get lots of large cardboard boxes and paint them before the party to look like teki statues. These will make a fantastic backdrop. Also have grass skirts, coconut tops, large sun hats, sunglasses, etc. for you guests to wear for fun photos.
  2. Or set up a surfer delight photo booth. Have a surfboard for your guests to stand on. Have the ground look like the water and backdrop and side looks like you are under a large wave.



Hawaiian Party Food & Drink

  • Accent your food tables with tropical fruit that is still untouched. Use pineapples, coconuts, etc as displays.

Make sure that your food is a reflection of your guests tastes. Use fun glassware with mini umbrellas.

  • Kabobs: chicken, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, and pineapples with taco shells
  • Pulled pork - you can have it cooking for the day at your home the day of the party. There are people you can hire that come with the large barbeque to cook the pig.
  • Seafood: shrimp cocktail, lobster, scallops, mussels, calamari, crabs, etc.
  • Sides: Rice, steamed vegetables
  • BBQ: hotdogs, hamburgers, with all the fixings
  • Fruit: kiwi, strawberries, banana chunks, mangos, cherries, mandarin oranges, watermelon, grapes
  • Drinks: pina-colada punch, strawberry daiquiri, pink lemonade
summer fruit tray

Fun Food Ideas:

  • Fish and Chips - fishy crackers and tornado round chips
  • Donuts with artificial pineapple tops
  • Driftwood - pretzels
  • Beach sand - sugar candy sticks
  • Coconuts - chocolate covered almonds (double and triple check allergies if nuts are at your party)
  • Beach balls - cheesy puff balls
  • Pool floaties - jelly candies
  • Live bait - jelly sugar worms
  • Water bottles dressed up with lei and grass skirts
  • Blue jello - top with some whip cream and shark candy
  • Candy kabobs - use kabob sticks and fill them with candy
  • Ocean water - blue punch



luau themed candy bar

Dessert Ideas:

  • Sugar cookies in the shapes of tropical flowers, flamingos, surf boards and tiki masks
  • Cupcakes with fun colored icing topped with a mini umbrella
  • Tropical Reef Cake by Bonnie Morsette (Crossville, TN) - This Tropical Reef Cake is made out of rice crispy treats covered in brown sugar. The dolphin is rice crispy treats covered in modeling chocolate and the structure holding him up is formed from rice crispy treats covered in icing and candied sugar. The coral is made from royal icing and candied sugar. The turtle is made from modeling chocolate and the fish, shells and other structures are formed from fondant.




tropical reef cake

Tropical Reef Cake
By Bonnie Morsette (Crossville, TN)

  • Accent your food tables with tropical fruit that is still untouched. Use pineapples, coconuts, etc as displays.

Make sure that your food is a reflection of your guests tastes. Use fun glassware with mini umbrellas.

  • Kabobs: chicken, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, and pineapples with taco shells
  • Pulled pork - you can have it cooking for the day at your home the day of the party. There are people you can hire that come with the large barbeque to cook the pig.
  • Seafood: shrimp cocktail, lobster, scallops, mussels, calamari, crabs, etc.
  • Sides: Rice, steamed vegetables
  • BBQ: hotdogs, hamburgers, with all the fixings
  • Fruit: kiwi, strawberries, banana chunks, mangos, cherries, mandarin oranges, watermelon, grapes
  • Drinks: pina-colada punch, strawberry daiquiri, pink lemonade
summer fruit tray

Fun Food Ideas:

  • Fish and Chips - fishy crackers and tornado round chips
  • Donuts with artificial pineapple tops
  • Driftwood - pretzels
  • Beach sand - sugar candy sticks
  • Coconuts - chocolate covered almonds (double and triple check allergies if nuts are at your party)
  • Beach balls - cheesy puff balls
  • Pool floaties - jelly candies
  • Live bait - jelly sugar worms
  • Water bottles dressed up with lei and grass skirts
  • Blue jello - top with some whip cream and shark candy
  • Candy kabobs - use kabob sticks and fill them with candy
  • Ocean water - blue punch
luau themed candy bar

Dessert Ideas:

  • Sugar cookies in the shapes of tropical flowers, flamingos, surf boards and tiki masks
  • Cupcakes with fun colored icing topped with a mini umbrella
  • Tropical Reef Cake by Bonnie Morsette (Crossville, TN) - This Tropical Reef Cake is made out of rice crispy treats covered in brown sugar. The dolphin is rice crispy treats covered in modeling chocolate and the structure holding him up is formed from rice crispy treats covered in icing and candied sugar. The coral is made from royal icing and candied sugar. The turtle is made from modeling chocolate and the fish, shells and other structures are formed from fondant.
tropical reef cake

Tropical Reef Cake
By Bonnie Morsette (Crossville, TN)



Hawaiian Party Favors

  • Shell earrings
  • Pair of thong sandals
  • Lei
  • Surfboard key-rings



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