KID'S LUAU PARTY IDEAS
Looking for some luau ideas for your kid's party?
A luau party theme is a great theme for a kids party. It's fun, festive, and perfect for those hot summer days.
Here are some easy ideas to help you get your Hawaiian-inspired party started!
LUAU PARTY INVITATIONS
When it comes to luau party invitations, just think tropical: palm trees, shells, tropical flowers, coconuts, etc. are all good starting points.
You could easily make your own invites by drawing or printing tropical images onto craft card and then writing something like the following :
Invitation
Aloha (child's name)
Are you ready to party?
You are invited to limbo on down at : (Address)
Put flowers in your hair, wear your best tropical island attire, and get ready to hula and limbo, that's if you dare!
Flower Invite
Using colored craft paper, cut out a simple flower shape with several petals on it. On each petal write one part of the party details and then in the middle, put a photo of the birthday child.
Sun Umbrella Invite
Get a piece of colored card and cut to the size of the desired invite. Glue a smaller piece of white craft paper onto the card so that there is a visible colored border all round. Write on the party details then attach a paper drinks umbrella with a bit of tape.
Flip Flop Invite
Using strong colored card, cut out a flip flop shape. Write on the party details. Make three holes and thread through some colored ribbon to resemble flip flop straps. You could also adorn it with some small paper flowers.
IDEAS FOR DRESSING FOR A LUAU
A big part of the kid's luau party is the dressing up! Clothing should be fun, bright and tropical. Imagine grass skirts, flower leis, flower hair accessories, Hawaiian shirts, straw hats, flip flops and sarongs.
A grass skirt is quite easy to make by cutting a piece of elastic to the size of your child's waist and then folding pieces of raffia over the elastic. Once done, trim the raffia at the bottom to make it even.
Ask everyone to come in at least one tropical item and then you can always supply a few extra items for those kids needing a little extra something. You could give each kid a flower necklace/bracelet/anklet/hair decoration for the girls or bandannas for the boys when they arrive.
You could also find out the Hawaiian version of everyone's names in Hawaiian and write them on small name tags – the kids are usually fascinated by this.
KID'S LUAU PARTY DECORATIONS
Think bright, flowery, tropical and festive and you can't go wrong. There are tons of websites selling luau party supplies, however, you can also make many of the decorations yourself using cards, glue, paints and a little imagination. Here are more ideas:
- Raffia Skirting
Place raffia skirting around the main food table or if you can't get hold of any just use a colorful cloth. - Tiki Torches and Lanterns
If it is an evening party, go overboard with lots of lanterns and tiki torches dotted around the garden or porch. - Towel Seats
Forget chairs and instead get the kids to sit on beach towels or straw mats when eating. - Wall Decorations
String up netting on the walls and attach paper fish and shells. Paint a beach scene on lining paper and attach to the walls. Also, get down to your local travel agents and ask for posters of tropical islands and even have a few holiday brochures dotted about. - Get Flowery
Put brightly colored flowers everywhere. Make them yourself out of tissue paper to save money. At the entrance to the party, fill a large bowl with water and float some orchids or lilies in it. - Palms
Buy an inflatable palm tree to have in one corner of the room. Or save money and make your own by asking your local carpet shop for long cardboard carpet rolls to paint brown and attach some palm leaves made out of green craft paper. - Table Decorations
Use coconut shells or scooped out pineapples as serving bowls. Serve drinks in coconut shells or bright plastic cups with a paper umbrella. Dot shells around the tables. Learn to fold napkins in the shape of a lotus flower. - Music
Get the party swinging with some topical luau party music.
KID'S LUAU PARTY IDEAS FOR GAMES
Here are some games that will be great to play at the luau party.
Limbo Contest
A limbo contest is a really fun activity for all ages and is a great way to get the party momentum going. You can use a long thin bamboo garden stick or even a broom and have two people hold it up.
Hula Hoop Contest
A great game and the kids are usually much better at it than the adults!
Musical Beach Towels
Lay out enough beach towels for each child, minus one. Put on the music and get the kids to dance around. When the music stops, each child has to quickly lie down on a towel. Whoever doesn't get one is out, but they can help you with the music.
Coconut Bowling
Line up some small plastic bottles filled with sand. Give each child a couple coconuts and see how many bottles they can knock down.
Coconut Bombs
Line up some coconuts and see who can hit them the most times using small water balloons.
Beach Ball Volley Ball
Use a blow up beach ball rather than a proper volley ball as they are a bit hard.
Piñata
To add to your luau party ideas, have a piñata! They are super fun and the kids love them. You can easily make your own pinata.
LUAU PARTY IDEAS FOR FOOD
Kid's luau party ideas will get you thinking of fruit and tropical drinks or if you think that the younger kids might turn their noses up at the idea of fruit, bring in the BBQ. The more exciting the food looks the more it is likely to get eaten. Use empty coconut shells, scooped out melons and pineapples, banana leaves, wicker baskets and plastic sand pails as serving dishes to give a real tropical feel.
- Fruit Kebabs. Use seasonal fruit and put bite size pieces on skewers. Consider having a bowl of melted chocolate sauce to dip them in as a real treat!
- Hawaiian Pizza
- Snack Buckets. Serve mini snacks in sand buckets with plastic shovels as serving spoons.
- Fruit Smoothies. Combine fruit, plain natural yogurt and a little fruit juice in a blender. Give it a whiz and create a refreshing smoothie drink. Serve in tall plastic glasses, topped with an umbrella and a cherry.
- Hawaiian Cocktails. Mix fruit juices with some lemonade in tropical cups or real coconut cups. Top with ice.
- Blue Lagoon. Add a small dash of blue food coloring to a glass of fizzy lemonade. Top with an umbrella and a bendy straw.
- Volcano Bombs. Pile scoops of ice cream on a large platter to form a volcano shape. Drizzle with strawberry and chocolate syrup. You could even set it alight by placing a half egg shell on the top filled with a tablespoon of brandy. Set it alight and watch the kid's faces! Remove the brandy egg shell after the flames die down.
- Banana Cookies
- Pineapple Cake
- Flower Cookies. Make or buy plain cookies and top with sugar flowers.
- Island Cake. Using a large square tin, prepare a basic vanilla cake. When cooked and cooled, cut out small indentations to make an island shape of your choice. Place on a large cake board covered with blue cellophane to represent the sea and then cover the cake with pale yellow frosting to represent the sand. Decorate the cake with plastic palm trees, umbrellas and clusters of sugar flowers.
KIDS LUAU PARTY FAVORS AND PRIZES
Fill up beach pails or straw hats with goodies or make tie dyed cloth bags. Favor ideas might include:
- Light up rainbow lei
- Hibiscus water bottle
- Child's natural hula skirt
- Pretty paper fan
- Ankle bracelets
- Hair flowers
- Bandannas and straw hats
- Anything with a sea or beach theme e.g. notepads, key rings, stickers
- Beach balls and inflatable toys