Planning a little girl’s birthday party? How about an Aloha – Hawaiian Island event?
This party is reasonably inexpensive, but it is always a huge hit with any number of young girls. This party is best suited to little girls (preschool through 3rd grade), although the ideas could certainly be adapted for older girls.
Children can even help with the pre-party planning and preparations.
Invite Your Friends!
Purchase or create invitations. (Making your own is simple, using online printable cards or computer clip-art.)
Instruct guests to wear their bathing suits and shorts to the party.
You will want to mail your invitations about two weeks before the event. Be sure to include a map to your party location!
Creating Your Own Tropical Paradise
The preparations are fun. How much time will it take? That’s up to you! Decorations and supplies may be purchased (even online), or you can create them yourself.
Purchase blank white mural paper. Non-glossy banquet table rolls also work well. Many local newspapers will sell left-over newsprint rolls for nearly nothing. Enlist the kids to make floor-to-ceiling tropical murals with crayons and markers. (You might sketch cartoonish outlines, and let the children color them in.)
Hang your murals in the garage or basement.
Use the leftover paper to make a festive tablecloth (A picnic or ping-pong table is perfect for a party.). Set out crayons, markers, and stickers, so your partygoers can decorate it.
Purchase silk flowers or make tissue-paper flowers to decorate each place setting.
Visit a local appliance store for empty washer-dryer cartons. (Most appliance stores are only too happy to give these away.) Using a serrated (steak) knife, you can cut out windows and doors to make tiki huts. Cut open brown grocery bags and fringe them to make thatched roofs.
Use additional grocery bags to make fringe to hang in the entrance to your party room, so it appeared to be another island hut.
If you wish to add color, purchase several yards of inexpensive tropical fabric. Tack this up, or drape it over anything you wish to cover. (We hid all our industrial shelving in the basement with festive material.)
Perfect Party Favors
Purchase a box of dark green drawstring garbage bags. Fringe the bottom edges to make drawstring hula skirts for the guests.
Purchase inexpensive floral lei necklaces for the guests. (Look for these at discount card stores or online party outlets.)
Give each guest a silk or tissue paper flower to wear in her hair. (Older girls will enjoy making their own paper flowers.
Take digital or Polaroid photos of all the guests, so they will have take-home souvenirs. (We like to use digital photos on our thank-you notes for each guest.)
Festive Fun
Played tropical, island-themed music. Ideas might include movie soundtracks, such as THE LITTLE MERMAID or LILO & STITCH.
Let the kids play in the tiki huts.
Teach the girls to hula dance.
Adapt a few traditional party games to the Hawaiian theme. For example, you might play “Pin-the-Flower in the Hula Girl’s Hair.” You might play “Ring Around the Island.” Older children might enjoy simple “Survivor” challenge games. (Set up an obstacle course in the yard: over the swingset, under patio furniture, around the tree, and more.)
Purchase or make a papier-mache piñata. Hang this outside from a tree branch or swing-set. In inclement weather, hang the piñata in the garage.
Serve Hawaiian punch and cut-up pineapple, goldfish, and other island-themed treats.
Have fun!
Hau`oli la hanau!
(That’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY in Hawaiian.)
