Tailor your luau to the resources you have.
A luau is a Hawaiian-themed event suitable for many occasions. You can throw a luau to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or any number of holidays. From a planner's standpoint, themed events can be intimidating, but with a little creativity, you can turn your back yard or other venue into a tropical paradise for free. Rather than focusing on your expectations of a luau, brainstorm to come up with what you have the resources to put together with little effort or cost.
Hawaiian Pot Luck
Have guests bring a Hawaiian-themed dish.
Catered parties can be expensive. Make your luau a pot-luck event, and use this to engage your guests in the theme. Suggest that guests put a Hawaiian spin on a regular dish; for instance, mini pizzas with pineapple slices become Hawaiian pizzas. Assign specific dishes or categories of dishes for your guests to bring, and encourage creativity. At the event, label each dish with a festive Hawaiian name, like "John's Mele Kaliki-Muffins" or "Rachel's Kahuna Cookies."
Talent Show
Get a lively crowd engaged in some hula dancing.
It's common for luaus to have a performance component. If nothing else, guests will expect some hula dancing. Inquire within your group of friends to find out if anyone is skilled in the art. If there is a dancer in the group, hire her to perform and engage guests. You can also engage a lively crowd in a brief hula-dancing lesson. If you don't have a skilled hula-dancing friend, use the Internet to learn some basic moves. Post a sign-up list for a talent show that will follow the hula-dancing.
Lei Game
The guest with the most leis wins.
If your luau is based around a specific occasion or event, you can play the lei game. Give each guest a lei as they enter the party. Throughout the party, guests cannot speak of the event that is being celebrated. For instance, if it's a graduation party, guests can't say the word "graduation." If one guest hears another say the forbidden word, he can claim that person's lei. At the end of the party, the guest who has the most leis wins a prize.
You can purchase leis in bulk from a party store for just a few dollars. For an even more economical version of the game, use any other item that you have around the house that can be "collected" throughout the game--paperclips, rubber bands or any small token will suffice. Be creative!
Tags: your luau, guests bring, hula dancing, leis wins, lively crowd, most leis, most leis wins