Luau Theme Party

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A Luau party has fantastic images!

Palm trees, surfboards, lei, tiki lights, tiki masks, papaya and wonderful friendly people who just love life. The best of the graduation party ideas.

With lots of fun, energy and enthusiasm your luau graduation party ideas can be a brilliant success.

A luau party gives a fantastic sense of the island atmosphere with ukulele music, beautiful flowers, wonderful friendly people, and the most fantastic Hawaiian scenery.

Graduation Luau Theme Party - Invitations

The Luau theme free printable graduation invitation below is excellent. Feel free to use it if you'd like. Just right-click over the image and save it to your desktop. You can then print as many as you need.

Please feel free to use this free printable invitation as you wish. Click here for detailed instructions on printing, personalizing, wording ideas and also making your own luau party invitations.

If you feel adventurous you can create a message in a bottle. Put in some sand, shells, starfish and include the invite.

Add some fun things to the envelopes. You can add palm tree or lei confetti. You could also add luau theme party stickers.

Graduation Luau Theme Party - Decorations

For an exciting luau party it is fantastic to have lots of decorations. You'll know how far you can afford to go here.

Beach Party Kit.

You can aim for a real luau theme or the best beach party you can set up.

Entrance

Create a fabulous entrance to your tropical paradise.

• A banner announcing the Luau graduation party.


• Tiki Torches


• Helpers dressed in Luau costume


• Hawaiian music playing


• Plastic pink Flamingos.

Scene Setters

• Surfboard and any surfing accessories you can borrow, including wet suits. Create a surfers corner if you have enough decorations, perhaps adding a kiddie pool for effect


• Huts as stalls for fruit drinks, fruit and fake tattoos


• Tiki Lantern Garland


• Luau Banners and Murals


• Put up some toy parrots or even those tropical birds made from tissue


• Lots of signs with Aloha and Surf's Up


• Tiki Masks


• Tiki Torches


• Hollowed out coconuts with tea lights


• Real or fake flowers would add a great touch. Hibiscus are excellent.


• Pictures and murals of an island paradise, volcanoes, beach, sea, fish, tropical birds and palm trees. If you have an artists friend you could have them draw a Luau theme mural. The guests can color it in, draw on it and leave messages for the graduates as the party goes on


• Put Hawaiian travel posters on the walls, also Hawaiian newspapers may have colorful sections with great photos and stories of the islands.


• Life sized cutouts of hula girls


• Fish netting hung up with fake seaweed (green streamers), starfish, fish and a shark


• Create a sand flooring effect with brown packaging. Cover with shells, starfish, fake palm trees, palm fronds and a tiki hut


• Sand box decorated with starfish, shells and seaweed


• Hang different colored leis all around the venue


• Mural with and underwater scene full of colorful fish and coral.


• Scuba diving area with equipment and suits


• Beach shacks


• Create a fake sandy beach scene. Use a refrigeration box, or a convenient corner of the venue. Add lots of sand, top up with shells, starfish, palm fronds, tiki masks, pineapple and coconut.


• Decorate your toilet with seashell soaps and beach towels. You might be able to attach fish shapes to the walls.

Great Decorations

• Streamers, hanging sand, green, and colorful ones all around


• Put up wind chimes


• Tropical lights


• Plastic Fish


• Put up some sun umbrellas


• Use raffia trim for tables and around the walls.


• Use shiny ribbon hanging down in doorways.


• Pineapples, coconuts and papaya


• Coconut scented candles


• Display any Hawaiian vacation photos you can borrow on a PC monitor.


• Blow up sharks, dolphins and whales


• Make, from cardstock, hibiscus, volcano, sharks, whales, dolphins, octopus, sea turtle, palm tree and pink flamingo.


• Toy crabs and lobsters with nets


• Toy starfish and real shells

Table Decorations

• Centerpiece - Tropical fruit such as papaya, pineapple and coconut. Also Lei and Hibiscus.


• Neon colored table cover


• Or, a white table cover which can also be covered in stamps in the shape of sea shells, starfish, dolphins and sharks.


• Add sea shells, toy starfish, Raffia skirting, tissue flowers and coconuts to the table.


• Luau napkins, plates, cutlery, and coconut cups.

Decorate guests

Decorating your guests can be fun. This is a brilliant way to add to the luau theme and getting your guests in the graduation party mood!

• Give each guest a Lei as they arrive


• You could arrange face painting. Guests could agree to be decorated as Hawaiian warriors.


• Fake Hawaiian tattoos.

A great idea is to have a box of guest decorations at the party entrance and hand them out liberally!


There are lots of brilliant luau decorations at the World's Largest Party Superstore.

Graduation Luau Party - Costumes

The fun really starts here. A Luau party is the best of the graduation party ideas.

The images of luau are amazing. Tropical paradise, sun, sea, sand, hula, lei, surfers and palm trees.

If you wish to make your own you should be able to make very good costumes.

• Be a surfer. You just need a surfboard and swimwear. Add surfer sun screen (lots of colors!) over your face, a flower lei wristband and any surfing accessories you can borrow


• Tissue flower lei and grass skirts made from brown paper. Carry a tiki mask, fake palm tree, coconut, pineapple or papaya for effect


• Simple T-shirts with Hawaiian scenes on them. Just use t-shirt pens and draw a tiki mask to your own wonderful design. You could also draw a palm tree, orchid, hibiscus, or even an island paradise. Add lei and flower wristbands


• Colorful Hawaiian shirts, shorts and dresses. Garland with lei, flower wristbands, hat and carry a coconut half with drink and straw!


• Fruit on a hat! You can use fake fruit and design a real work of art. A prize for the best would be great!


• Be a fish, lobster or shark

Guests in costume will really make your luau party come alive.

Graduation Luau Party - Food and Drink

Create a fabulous Luau feast.

• Fruit kabobs with lots of fruit including pineapple and mango.


• BBQ


• Hawaiian Pizza


• Beef teryaki served on sticks


• Coconut shrimp


• Lots of bowls of fruit and coconut


• Bright Candy


• Sea shell pasta


• Sweet potatoes


• Shell shaped chocolates


• Pineapple and papaya


• Green salad or tuna salad


• Mahi Mahi


• Lomi Lomi Salmon is made with cold diced salmon, tomatoes and onion


• Hawaiian


• Turn a beachcomber hat upside-down, line it with plastic wrap, and use it as a serving dish for chips, pretzels, crackers or other dry food. Macadamia nuts is a good option.


• Pineapple upside down cake.


• Lots of fruit drinks, with fruit smoothies and of course lots of water


• Coconut drinks


• Mix orange and pineapple juice with peach nectar and serve in glasses with crushed ice.


• Banana Boat treats - to prepare this awesome treat slit each banana open lengthwise and put ice cream, mini marshmallows and chocolate chips in the slit (add whip cream if you want).

The presentation of the drinks can be excellent using half coconuts and hollowed out pineapples to serve.

Graduation Cake

The graduation cake page gives all the cooking tools, recipe, ingredients and tips you need to create amazing cakes. Also lots of great ideas on cake decorations, cake designs, cupcakes and graduation cap cake.

Graduation Cake Decorating Idea

1) Completely cover the cake in white frosting.
2) Next cut a grass skirt drastically leaving only the waistband and a couple of inches of skirt.
3) Attach the waistband around the side of the cake.
4) Now pipe a message on the top – something like – “Congrads (name of graduate)”.
5) Add some colorful cocktail umbrellas onto the cake to add some vibrancy.

Another idea is, bake a graduation cake and cut it into the shape of an island.
Frost the cake and then decorate with sand colored, palm fronds, and shells in the right colored icing.
Write congratulations graduate in white icing.

Also the graduation cake can be shaped like a surfboard, palm tree, or volcano for example. The cake could also be frosted to look like an island, it can then be decorated with blue sea around it, fake sand and seaweed.

A graduation cake is one of the best graduation party ideas.

Graduation Luau Party - Games

Icebreakers

• Hawaiian Names - Write each guests name translated to Hawaiian on a name badge. Each guest which Hawaiian name is theirs.


• Hula Hoop - give each guests a hula hoop, put on some music and see who can keep theirs going the longest. You could make the hula hoop part of the favors.

Musical Towels

Set this up just like musical chairs except using towels. Use ukulele music to give the game the right feel.

• Set out one less towel then guests participating to start.


• Play the music and ask guests to walk around the towels


• When the music stops guests must try and sit on a towel, the guests without a towel is out.


• Withdraw one towel and start again.


• Repeat until there is one winner sitting on the last towel.

Limbo

• This traditional game can be played with a simple long stick held by two people. Guests limbo under the stick. If they don’t make it they are out. The stick is lowered and guests go under again until there is one last player still in who is the winner..


• A great twist if you are playing at night is to use the beam of a flashlight as the stick.


• Another twist is to use a garden hose with some holes in it and water spraying gently out of them. Guests will need swim wear for this one.

Beach Ball Relay

• Set up a short course which guests can run along and back.


• Give each team a beach ball which they must hold between their knees without using their hands.


• When you say go the first person in each team runs along their course, and back, with the beach ball between their knees.


• They pass the beach ball to the next person in their team who does the same.


• Repeat until everyone in the team has completed the course.

Beach Volleyball

Set up a proper beach volleyball court and get guests into teams. They can play the game according to formal rules.

You can make this a mini tournament with prizes for the winning team.

Surfing

• Set out a surf board.


• Appoint a team of judges.


• Contestants must demonstrate their favorite surfing moves.


• Play great surfing music


• The judges will decide who wins.

Also you could have a surfing fitness exercise. A qualified instructor could put guests through a genuine surfing exercise routine.

Sprint Races

Set out a sprint course say 50 yards long. Guests simply race along the course, wearing Luau costume!.

Fairground Style Luau Party Games

• Set up a coconut shy


• Set up a table with stacked tin cans. Give players tennis ball to throw at the cans.


• Stack up plastic cups upside down on a table. Standing behind a line give guests a water pistol which they use to knock over the cups


• Put a stick in the ground a few feet from a play line with nothing behind the stick so guests can throw things without anyone being hurt. Give contestants tennis balls or horseshoes and see who can land nearest the stick.

Fruit Bowling

This is a fun game. Set up a short bowling alley with skittles at the end. Give guests a fruit such as pineapple or coconut to use as their bowling balls.

Hula Dancing

Set up a dance floor and great hula music. Have a hula dancing competition with judging and prizes.

Magnetic Fishing

To emulate fishing you can have Magnetic Fishing.

• Simply draw colorful fish on all colors of card stock then cut them out.


• Attach a paper clip


• Setting up a fishing rod with a magnet on the end.


• Ask each guest to try and catch as many fish as they can in a minute.


• You can stage the game in many ways with the simplest being just to put the fish on a blue sheet and have the guests sit on chairs to make it slightly harder

Beach Art

• Set up a good size sand box in your backyard.


• Give guests streamers, shells, toy starfish, toy fish, toy surf board and anything else you think can be used.


• Guests have to use the available decorating items to create a wonderful scene like an island paradise, palm tree or even the graduate‘s face.

Paint a Shell

Give each guest a large shell and paints to create their own design. Set everything up on a table as it will get messy!

Tissue Flowers

Materials needed for one flower - 4 sheets of 6"X6" tissue paper (multi color) plus 1 pipe cleaner

How to make a Tissue Flower:

• Stack 4 pieces of tissue paper together.


• "Fan fold" the tissue paper.


• Fold back and forth until you have about a 1" X 6" piece.


• Cut both ends of your tissue strip to round the corners.


• Squeeze the tissue paper in the middle and twist the pipe cleaner tightly to secure.


• Make a fan on both sides of the pipe cleaner.


• Gently pull up each of the four layers of tissue to make the flower petals.

Leis

Give each guest different colored tissue paper and ask them to create their own lei.

Volcano

For adults, you can make a volcano. Keep children safe!

• Create a say 1 foot tall volcano with modelling clay.


• Half fill the volcano with baking soda.


• Slowly pour in vinegar until the volcano erupts!

There are kids craft kits which do this too!

Tattoo

Give guests pens and paper and ask them to design a cool Luau tattoo.
Similarly guests can design their own Tiki mask.

Message In A Bottle

• Arrange a table with empty plastic drink bottles (with the lid opened wide enough to place the shells), sand, shells, glitter, safe glue, small plastic fish and paper.


• Have the guests decorate the bottle inside and out if they wish.


• Guests can then write their message on the paper and seal it inside the bottle. They can leave it behind for the guest of honor.

Decorate A Flip Flop

These flip flops can be part of the party favors too! Give guests a flip flop and materials to decorate it. That could be stickers, glitter, glue, sand, baubles and paper shapes.

Similarly you could decorate sunglasses, a hat or even a pineapple.

For all of these luau party games have lots of luau theme prizes.

Graduation Luau Party - Favors

There are great luau theme favors:

• Floral leis or Kukui nut leis


• Coconut cups


• Tattoos


• Hula Skirt


• Luau Hats


• Straw beachcomber hat


• Personalized lip balm


• Sunglasses


• Beach balls


• Luau toys


• Luau music CDs


• Shell necklace


• Small surfboards, grass skirts


• Fish squirts


• Sunscreen


• Pinwheel


• Shells


• Coconut or pineapple


• Yo Yo


• Blow up shark, whale or dolphin


• Lantern


• Snorkel, mask and flippers

There are masses of favors at the World's Largest Party Superstore.

Graduation Luau Party - Music

Hire a real Hawaiian band for authentic effect. They can work with the audience and help them learn the dance steps. They can also organize dances. Set the scene for the band by setting up a bandstand complete with palm trees and hibiscus.

Lots of Beach Boys music would be excellent. Also the soundtrack music from the Elvis Hawaiian movies.

Hire a DJ who can also work with the party goers to really boost the party.

Graduation Luau Theme Party - Ideas

More great ideas for your luau party.

• Make sure everyone has their photo taken against a Hawaiian backdrop. Send on the photos with their thank you. Also, if you can, show the photos on a screen during the graduation party


• Use a Hawaiian translator who can the guests names in Hawaiian.


• Give Luau style awards certificates for prize winners.


• Give each guest a disposable camera and encourage them to take all the photos they can of the luau theme party. You will have some amazing photos once they are developed.


• Ask an expert to give a Lei making demonstration


• In keeping with the great tradition of story telling hire story teller or ask a talented guest to perform at the Luau theme party.


• If you have musicians among the guests ask them to form a ukulele band and perform at the graduation party.


• Perhaps your area has a Hawaiian exhibition or even an excellent show at a local Museum. If you cannot have the graduation party at the beach this may be a great alternative.


• Ask a travel expert and cultural expert to give talks on great areas of the island to visit and all about the culture specially for the luau theme party guests.


• Pressed flowers such as hibiscus can be great for the luau theme party scrapbook


• Check out the Hawaiian newspapers. Some of them will have cartoon strips of island life which may suit your guests as decorations or even the books could be favors


• Magazines on Hawaii such as the ones read by local people can be displayed at the party.


• Find a selection of postcards which could be part of the favors. Hopefully you can find ones on national parks, Volcanoes, flowers, stunning island views and local people


• You may like to have an area of the luau theme party dedicated to the Volcanoes. This can tell everyone how the islands were formed and all about current volcanic activity. You can even safely arrange a volcano demonstration by making a safe sand pit and using baking soda and vinegar.


• There will be lots of gifts for the graduate. Thank You notes written by the graduate are the best!


• Younger kids need some free time just to play, arrange activity areas where they can choose what to do, or just run around exploring the luau theme party


• Protect your furniture, luau theme party ideas can be messy


• Talk to your neighbors in advance of the luau theme party. let them know the timings.


• Save money and have a joint luau theme party with other graduates.
  This can give excellent cost sharing, lots of people to do the work and help find items at cheaper costs.


• Save money and book luau theme party venues for the cheaper weeknights perhaps giving more money for the luau theme party.


• Think about the luau theme party venue and the likely weather. A tent, kindergarten, YMCA, local park or school gym can be great alternative venues for your luau theme party.

Share Your Graduation Luau Theme Party

If you would like to share your complete luau theme party with us send us your graduation party story and photos and we will create your own luau party page and photo gallery hosted on our site. (Family and friends will be able to find inspiration from your graduation party and comment on your ideas.) If you share your complete luau theme party details you will be automatically entered into our next contest. This year we are having a bumper $100 prize fund. There will be an overall winner and runners up prizes. The winner will be the best overall graduation party story and photos.

It all adds up to the excitement of the luau theme party. A luau theme party is one of the best graduation party ideas.

Good luck with your graduation luau theme party.

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