Pineapple and coconut
Even if you must have it indoors, you can celebrate your birthday in tropical style. See palm trees, seashells, coconuts, grass skirts and flowered shirts. Feel the sand between your toes. Eat fresh fruit, kebabs and sushi rolls, and drink colorful punch. Hear easy laughter, gentle waves and a steel drum. You've just imagined a terrific tropical-themed birthday party. Does this Spark an idea?
Invitations
Make your own tropical birthday party invitations using pastel-colored card stock, floral print origami paper or a natural-looking paper. Decorate the cards with stickers or stamps of seashells, palm trees, tropical flowers such as hibiscus, bamboo or even an ocean scene. Tropical- or luau-themed birthday invitations are available for purchase as well. Include on the inside the party details, including whether it will be held indoors or out so guests can dress appropriately. If you want guests to come dressed as islanders, consider offering a prize for the best Hawaiian shirt or the longest grass skirt.
Party Decorations
Give guests leis when they arrive--these can be the cheap, brightly colored plastic kind, the real deal ordered from a florist or something in between. Consider playing a CD or MP3 of ocean sounds, steel drums, acoustic guitar or reggae to set the mood. Use fresh flowers and fruit (pineapples, mangoes, kiwis or something similar) as centerpieces wherever possible; light tiki torches if your party is outdoors. Separate rooms with matchstick blinds or raffia and shell fringe. Fill a plastic kiddy pool with sand and set lawn chairs around it to encourage guests to sit and wiggle their toes in the sand (assuming you aren't already on a beach, of course). Inflatable palm trees, grass table runners and a surfboard propped up in a corner also add a festive, tropical feel.
Festive Food
Fish-shaped candy (like Swedish fish) is good to have in little bowls around the party area, as are macadamia nuts and goldfish crackers. Kebabs of any kind make great tropical birthday party food; consider making them with fresh fruit or grilled meat or vegetables. Make or order Hawaiian pizza, which is tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella, Canadian bacon and fresh pineapple. And don't forget frozen drinks like margaritas or fruit smoothies, both of which require at least one blender and lots of ice cubes. Top these with a little paper umbrella and a maraschino cherry. The birthday cake should also be thematic, decorated with palm trees, surfboards, flowers, flip-flops, bamboo or hula dancers.
Tropical Activities
Hire someone to teach your guests do the hula. Instead of playing Hot Potato, play Hot Coconut. Pass a coconut around a circle while music plays, and when the music stops, the person left holding the coconut either sits in the middle or controls the music for the next round. Play a bowling game using coconuts as balls and half-liter water bottles (filled with just enough water to be stable) covered in colored tissue paper as pins. And don't forget the limbo. A quieter activity for those less game-inclined could be decorating inexpensive flip-flops with gems, paint, plastic flowers or glitter.
Tags: palm trees, birthday party, fresh fruit, tropical birthday