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25 Luau Party Ideas to Steal from a Professional Event Planner

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Grab some tips from a professional event planner and copy these amazing luau party ideas.

Inside you’ll find including Dollar Tree party ideas, tropical decorations, kids food, and a set of free printables to download.

A photo of palm trees a tiki arch and a flower lined chalkboard with a text overlay 25 jaw-dropping luau party ideas to steal

What do you do when you’ve got the sweetest little girl turning seven years old and you’re too busy with work and your younger child to do much about it? You let someone else do the work, that’s what you do.

In this case, that would be my former-caterer stepmother. She knows how to take easy-to-find items from Party City and The Dollar Store and turn them into one big ball of awesomeness.

And this amazing backyard luau for my niece is the perfect example.

To be fair, there are some over-the-top aspects of the party that are outside the average budget. Things like the giant slide, table and chair rentals, the miniature beach, and all the extra greenery add up very quickly.

But don’t be fooled by the sheer abundance of decor. You can adapt many of the unique and creative ideas to host a party people will be talking about for ages to come.

Table Of Contents
  1. Luau Party Decorations
  2. Luau Party Food
  3. Luau Party Games and Activities
  4. Extras that Make All the Difference
  5. Now It’s Your Turn
  6. Free Luau Party Printables

RELATED>>>>REAL TIPS FOR PLANNING A PARTY ON A BUDGET

Luau Party Decorations

The entrance to a luau party, with a tiki arch, palm trees, and a happy birthday sign bordered in colorful Hawaiian leis.

Start with the Perfect Welcome

For this party, the driveway was taken over with giant palms, a tiki archway, an “Aloha” sign and a colorful chalkboard welcome sign. Talk about a grand entrance.

While bringing in giant palms and a full-size tiki archway may be out of most people’s budget, the chalkboard sign framed in Hawaiian leis is a simple touch just about anyone can pull together.

If you’re on the crafty side, you can also use a cutting machine like the Cricut to cut out an abundance of tropical leaves to create a similar effect over your doorway. (so much more affordable!)

Luau party decorations including a tiki planter centerpiece with orchids, and tiki goblets wrapped in leis

Set the Stage by Setting the Table

So, you may not be able to import a 10×20 foot beach to your backyard, but you can definitely copy some of these luau party ideas from this awesome table setting:

  • Start with brightly colored linens on your tables (tip: shop your home for bedsheets and washable blankets)
  • Make luau themed centerpieces using Tiki tumblers and faux plants. (or you can buy actual tiki planters, too)
  • Layer on some raffia and palm leaves (Tip: take apart a cheap grass skirt for the raffia, and use a cutting machine to cut out palm leaves)
  • Add Dollar Tree luau themed goblets at each place setting
A temporary beach for a luau party with tables covered in colorful linens, a banner of grass skirts, and surf boards
Fishnets and seashell wind chimes hanging from a ceiling, and a table with a ribbon skirt and glass beads scattered on top

Luau Decorations Around the Food

Behind the mini beach was a detached garage that was transformed into a ‘tiki bar’ with some awesome creative takes.

  • Decorative fishnets and seashell wind chimes were draped from the ceiling
  • Grass beach mats lined the walls
  • A ribbon skirt is a great alternative to grass skirts on tables
  • Glass beads and seashells were scattered all over the tables, and
  • Tropical flowers garnished most of the food

I have to admit, that ribbon table skirt is one of my favorite touches. It just goes to show that luau party decorations can go beyond grass table skirts and tiki torches.

Colorful grass skirts and Hawaiian leis used as decorations for a luau party

RELATED>>>>SEE HOW WE ADAPTED MANY OF THESE IDEAS FOR OUR FROZEN-THEMED LUAU PARTY

Double-Duty Luau Party Decorations

One of the best lessons from this party: Make the most of your favors by using them as decorations!

  • Colorful grass skirts and Hawaiian leis were clothespinned to a string to create a bright and cheerful banner behind the mini beach.
  • Bracelet leis were twisted around the stems of the Dollar Store tiki goblets.
  • The grass beach mats along the garage walls were handed out as favors too.

So smart, right? Not only does this mean you’re buying less stuff overall, it also means you have less to store after the party, and even helps a little bit with the cleanup. It’s a total win.

Looking for an easy way to get your luau party decorated? Grab a free set of luau party printables at the bottom of this post!

Luau party food for kids, including pizza, fresh fruit skewers and macadamia nuts

Luau Party Food

Kids Luau Party Food

While the kids were more interested in the giant waterslide than anything else, there was plenty of kid friendly luau themed food, too. Some of the favorites included:

  • Gatorade slushies
  • Fruit kabobs
  • Hawaiian pizza, and
  • Sweet Maui Onion Chips (OMG, so good)
  • Tortilla chips and salsa
  • Goldfish crackers

More Kids Summer Party Food Ideas:

A buffet at a luau party with tiki centerpieces, vegetables, a bowl of chips, a vegetable tray and chicken skewers

A Few Extra Foods for the Adults

With a party this big, you want to make sure that the adults feel welcome too. And that basically meant a menu perfect for kids, while also having some more ‘sophisticated’ options, too. Things like:

  • Bites of crab meat
  • Fresh vegetables
  • Bowls of Macadamia and other tropical nuts
  • Edamame, and
  • Skewers of chicken satay

Pro Tip: Crab meat can get suuuper expensive, but your local seafood or grocery store might have a crab-claw platter for less that you can order and put on your own tray.

Photos of a 65-foot tiki themed waterslide and a hula dancer giving a hula lesson

Luau Party Games and Activities

Waterslide & Water Play

The main attraction of this party was clearly the 65-foot tiki themed waterslide. But if you don’t have room for something that big, place some inflatable palm trees to the top of a slip and slide for plenty of fun.

Hula Dancing

At this party, a professional hula dancer came in and gave a hula dancing lesson. It was so much fun seeing all the kids try to sway their hips like the dancer.

If hiring a professional is out of your budget, you can also set up a station to display hula dancing tutorials on YouTube and let the kids follow along.

Other Crafts and Ideas:

If you’re looking for a quiet activity for the kids to do, this Tiki Totem Pole craft and Tiki themed golf game look like they could be a lot of fun.

You might also want to check out these Free Printable Luau Party Charades my top tips for planning party activities for toddlers, and for older kids, too.

Extra towels, sun visors, and sunglasses

Extras that Make All the Difference

One of the most important tips I learned from my stepmother is to go out of your way to make guests comfortable.

At a luau party…especially one with water-themed activities, set aside an area for items guests may have forgotten. It doesn’t have to be as big as these stations, but having have at least one basket filled with items like:

  • Extra towels
  • Sunscreen
  • Sun-visors, and
  • Sunglass

Now It’s Your Turn

For most of us (myself included), our budgets aren’t big enough to pull together a luau as big as this was. But as we’ve seen, we can adapt this inspiration to come up with smaller, more intimate, and just as awesome luau party ideas for our own events.

From this party, you can get a similar feel by doing things like:

  • Welcoming guests with palm branches and a fun sign
  • Add colorful linens and Tiki themed centerpieces to your tables
  • Decorate with inexpensive items such as fishnets and grass skirts
  • Serve simple food with a Hawaiian themed twist
  • Include some fun activities, using inexpensive decor items and YouTube videos to adapt them for a luau party theme, and
  • Grab some extra towels and sunscreen from around the house for guests who might need them.
mockup of pages of luau party decor with text overlay grab your free luau party printables

Free Luau Party Printables

Party printables weren’t included in this event, but I couldn’t help myself. I have a simple set of tropical-inspired printables that would be awesome to add to all of these luau party ideas. Click here to see what’s included and to download your free copy. (or check out all my summer party printables right here.)

Luau Party Supplies Mentioned in this Post:

Which of these luau party ideas is your favorite?
How would you adapt these luau party decorations and ideas for your own party?

Join me over at Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter,

for more fun ideas and inspiration!

About Leslie

Leslie is the passionate party planner in her family. Living with metastatic breast cancer since 2022, she is determined to find a way to continue making amazing parties for her kids that don't leave you exhausted. To do that Leslie combines the experience she learned working for a professional event planner with the reality of a busy family life to create party inspiration that the average mom can reproduce and be proud of.

Comments

  1. Nadia says

    This is the coolest backyard party– that I actually think I might be able to copy — that I have ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love the way you set up the seating, the food… and let's not even talk about the bouncy water thing. OMGosh — no way I can show these pictures to my 7-year-old. I just love what you have done! So much fun!!!

  2. Leslie says

    Thanks Nadia! I didn't actually do any of the design work for the party, but really wanted to share this pictures with everyone. Seriously…these pictures don't even show everything (like the seating for the adults and the dinner buffet!) Hope to see you again soon!

  3. Ann-Kay says

    That looks awesome and I LOVE the giant slide! Whoever planned the party did an awesome job! The pictures look great, don't worry about the quality. I can totally feel the hawaiian spirit right now. Fantastic!

  6. Leslie says

    @Ann-Kay – Thanks! I'll pass along the accolades. The giant slide was a huge hit!

    @Sara – Thanks for stopping by. I'll try to check out your link party soon!

    @craftedniche – Of course you're not to old for the slide! The adults were going down it as well…my BIL actually took T down it a couple times and she still talks about it!

    • meme says

      Hi can you tell me where to finde the tinki head centerpieces that you have on the table? Im referibg to the ones with the purple orchids in them

      • Leslie says

        I didn’t actually put the party together, but it looks like she used tiki planters or vases and then put orchids inside them. I know that the hostess often finds a lot of her party decorations at TJ Maxx and Big Lots. Those stores may have something you want in stock right now since Luau parties are big during the summer. It also looks like you can get similar items on Amazon, just search under Patio, Lawn and Garden for “Tiki Head Pot” or “Tiki Head Planter” and then look for the size you want.

  14. Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled says

    Wow, amazing luau indeed! My daughter wants a hawaiian-themed 9th birthday but I may have to scale it down from this amazing party. The jumping castle is a kids dream! Visiting from Celebrate Your Story party.

  15. Kim Seghers says

    Wow! What a awesome birthday party! Any kid would be excited to have an amazing party like that! Great job and everything looks so beautiful!!

  16. Emily says

    This party looks amazing! I love the homemade beach and the food looks delicious. What a great theme for a summer birthday.

  21. Amanda says

    Oriental Trader and the Dollar Tree are my go to’s for party supplies. This is a party that I would love to attend! Outstanding decor and food.

  22. Marcie says

    That’s so smart to leave out extra sunglasses and sunscreen for your guests. I’ve never thought to do that before!

  24. Vivian K says

    OMG this is adorable!! I know it is a kid’s party but I would love to have this done even for my own birthday! 😛 so creative. Definitely saving this blog for later.

  29. Marie Moody says

    Now that’s one lucky young lady to have such a grand party! Almost makes me wish I was that age again! Fantastic… no wonder she’s still talking about it. Yes, I bet a lot of things could even get bought at the dollar store and make a birthday party like that or similar at least! Great idea. Thanks for sharing!

  30. Jann Olson says

    It really is an amazing party. She went all out for sure!! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

  31. April J harris says

    I love that this luau party is adaptable for both kids and grown ups! Your ideas really are fun! Scheduled to pin and share on the Hearth and Soul Facebook page. Thank you for sharing, Leslie, and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party. Have a wonderful weekend!

  34. Kimberly says

    Wow! If the pics can convey fabulousness, I can only imagine what the real thing looked like. Your stepmother did a great job. I have seen most of the decor and accessories at Dollar Tree, but you are right about doing it big so it really pops. Thanks for sharing on Traffic Jam Weekend, Leslie.

  35. Evelyn Dortch says

    This looks a great party for adults as well as kids. Definitely incorporating some of this into my next gathering. Thanks for sharing at #WoW Words on Wednesday

    • Leslie says

      The water slide is a rental from a place in Richmond Virginia. It’s such a hit with both kids and adults that they’ve actually rented the slide again several times over the years.

    • Leslie says

      I believe the Tiki welcome arch was either rented or purchased. It would be an incredibly DIY, though. Let us know if you try to make one!

  38. TIny FISHiNG says

    These ideas are fantastic! I especially love the tiki bar setup and the vibrant floral arrangements. Can’t wait to incorporate some of these into my next summer gathering!

  39. CampWithMom says

    I absolutely loved these Luau party ideas! The tropical theme is perfect for summer gatherings, and I can’t wait to incorporate some of the decor tips you shared. The cocktail suggestions sound delicious, too! Thanks for the inspiration! 🌺🥥

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