Carved Tiki Mask
When it's your turn to throw a party for your circle of friends, why not go Tiki? A tiki party allows a cool combination of retro chic, cocktails and easy, luau-style foods. The best time to throw a Polynesian pop fete is in the summer, when the evenings are warm and the torches don't need to be lit until 9 or 10 at night. But anytime can be tiki time if you set the mood with kitschy decorations and cool party favors. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Decorate indoors and outdoors. It's inexpensive to deck your place out the tiki way. Your goal is to have Polynesian flavor, obtainable with fake or real tropical flowers, paper lanterns, bright party lights, bamboo, sand, totems, masks, candles and torches. Check out the bountiful adornments at Oriental Trading Company (see Resources). If you need to decorate on a budget, make tissue paper flowers, paint beach scene wall murals, create paper tiki masks, add bright blossoms to the garden and stoke up the fire pit.
2. Play thematic music. If you want a lively soundtrack that inspires dancing, go for the drum-based over the ambient. Some suggestions include cuts by Tikiyaki Orchestra, Dew Drop Inn, Terotua and his Tahitians, Cave of Uldo, Akex Keack's "Surfer's Paradise," and Martin Denny. A little less authentic but very upbeat is "Drew's Famous Tiki Bar Party Music." There are also abundant CD mixes from which to choose, such as "Vegas Vic's Tiki Lounge," "Mondo Exotica" or "Tiki Lounge." For a video backdrop, show Elvis in "Blue Hawaii" or the classic island adventure flicks "Fair Wind to Java," "Aloma of the South Seas" and "Her Jungle Love."
3. Cook luau-style dishes. Old school tiki menus of the 1950s are lost in the land of gelatin salads and ketchup-based marinades. Instead, stoke up the fire pit, hibachi or barbecue and add sauces with an island influence. Add a kick of spice to complement the cocktails, which tend toward the sweet side. Some tiki taste sensations include tamarind, sesame oil, coconut milk, mango, fish sauce and tahini.
4. Mix up cocktails. A tiki fete wouldn't be the same without a variety of umbrella drinks. Go for a blender of margaritas or pina coladas, or make a pitcher of sangria. Mojitos are a little more labor-intensive, because you have to crush mint. There's always the tiki classic, the Mai Tai. The Trader Vic's 1944 recipe calls for 2 ounces of rum, the juice of one fresh lime, 1/2 ounce of orange curacao, 1/4 ounce of rock candy syrup, 1/2 ounce of orgeat syrup. Shake vigorously and top with a sprig of mint.
5. Make the party family-friendly. Serve up the barbecue sans spices, or serve burgers and vegetarian burgers off the grill. Drinks can be as simple as punch with some sliced strawberries floating in it, or you can make virgin cocktails with a spritz of Italian soda in mineral water. Add a paper umbrella or bright bendy straw for a little pizazz.
Tags: stoke fire, Tiki Lounge, Tiki Party