Create a tropical atmosphere when hosting a luau for children.
Create a Hawaiian luau theme any time of year for a party that kids will love and accompanying adults will enjoy as well. Whether you're staging the party in your own backyard, a local park or an indoor pool in wintertime, a few special touches will create the atmosphere of a tropical luau for your children. Does this Spark an idea?
Backyard Paradise
Send out invitations in the form of flip-flops inviting people to your child's backyard luau party and ask guests to dress in the most tropical clothing they can. If you have a surfboard or tiki torch, place these by your front entrance to welcome party goers and set the atmosphere. Place a plastic pool in one area of the yard and fill it with plastic floating toys that have numbers in permanent marker on the bottom which correspond with numbers on party favors nearby. Children can place their hands behind their backs and grab a toy with their teeth to win the party favor with the matching number.
Decorate the yard with tiki torches that can be found in department and home improvement stores. String holiday lights in bushes, trees, or along the fence line if the party will be in the evening. Set up a table where the children can make leis using string and silk flowers.
Luau in the Park
While you might think it is more work to take decorations, food and other supplies to another location, it has its advantages. Rent a shelter at your local park near a playground area, and decorate it with palm trees and pineapples cut out of cardboard and painted or purchased at your local party store. Hang leis over the shelter rails or on tables. Purchase butcher paper, preferably in green, to cover tables and use scissors to cut strips at the edges for a frayed tropical palm effect. While the kids play, you can grill Hawaiian burgers. Grill burgers and pineapple slices, brush teriyaki sauce over the burger and pineapple, and place them together on buns for a great twist on an old classic. Make a mango salsa to put over hot dogs instead of the traditional relish. Hire or get a friend or relative to teach kids a traditional hula dance. The wonderful things about having your luau in the park are that others can find it more easily than a private residence, cleanup is easy and kids are entertained by the playground equipment while you prepare food or fun activities.
Luau in Winter
One complaint many children with winter birthdays may have is that they never get to have pool parties or summer-themed parties. Surprise your child by phoning the local YMCA or a nearby hotel with an indoor pool and rent the area for a luau party. Most hotels will make their indoor pool areas available for parties in winter seasons when they're not as busy with tourists. Send out invitations shaped like pineapples inviting kids to your winter luau, and remind them to bring their suits, but also warm clothing to change into before they head back out into winter weather. Provide each child with a plastic lei when they come in (plastic won't be harmed if it gets wet and dries more easily than silk). Make a cake shaped like a pineapple or a palm tree for the birthday girl. Cover tables with plastic tropical-themed cloths found at your local party or department store. Plastic items can be easily wiped down, as opposed to paper which will get soggy and make for difficult cleaning later. Play a "hot coconut" game in the pool. Get kids (with an adult or two supervising) in a circle in the shallow end of the pool and have them pass a coconut from child to child. The child left with the coconut in hand when the music stops or timer goes off is out of the game.
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