Beach and Backyard Luau Party Ideas

Bring the beach to your home by planning a cool Hawaiian luau party in your backyard! Whether it’s for a birthday, anniversary, or a simple get-together, you can never go wrong with a Hawaiian-themed party. 

Traditionally, luaus (or feasts) are held in Hawaii to honor important events in the aloha state (i.e. weddings or arrival of dignitaries). While this may sound intimidating, it’s actually pretty easy to replicate, scaled-down, at home, as long as you cover the basics. 

What do you need for a Hawaiian themed party? Here are the main things to consider when planning your indoor/outdoor luau party:

• Decorations
• Costumes
• Food and Drinks
• Games

Decorations

If you’d like a Hawaiian-inspired party, focus on incorporating key tropical pieces in your decorations, like palm/coconut leaves, coconut, pineapple, seashells, inflatable pool rings, tiny silk parasols, and fresh tropical flowers from your local flower shop (i.e. orchids and hibiscus). 

No fresh flowers? Not a problem! Grab a pack of fabric flower leis and make it part of your tropical Hawaiian decor. Hang them, make them part of your tropical birthday backdrop, or add them to your centerpiece—leis are super versatile and fun to work with, especially when throwing a backyard tiki party.

If you have time to spend, adding these thoughtful tiki decorations will take your party to the next level:

• Volcano. Buy or create a cool volcano centerpiece made of clay, dirt, or papier-mache. Add some dry ice for the best results. 
• Makeshift beach. Fill a pool with sand and include sand molds, toy shovels, and beach toys for a fun beach effect. If you have a sandbox, that works too!
• Inflatable pool. If you don’t have a backyard pool, get an inflatable pool for kids to wade in for added fun. Remember to add pool rings, animal floats, and water toys too! 

Costumes

You may ask your guests to wear floral clothes (shirts, dresses, or shorts). Chances are, they’ve already got floral print outfits in their wardrobe. However, if not, Hawaiian print clothes are very easy to find, whether online or at your local retail store. 

For added fun, you may prepare cool party accents and wearables for your guests, like the following:

• DIY grass skirts
• Puca or seashell necklaces (or bracelets)
• Fresh or fabric Hawaiian flower leis
• Funky LED party sunglasses
• Straw hats 
• Pool rings and pool floats
• Tiki masks

For an added surprise, you can let your guests take these items home with them as a party souvenir!

Food and Drinks

Barbecue, pork roast, seafood (shrimp, salmon) and kebabs usually go well with backyard luau parties, but if you don’t have much prep time, pizza is awesome too!

Since fruit is another key element to tropical parties, you can go crazy with pineapples, papaya, coconut, mango, watermelon, and other tropical fruits.

For refreshments, serve fresh tropical punches, shakes, or even powdered fruit drinks with fresh fruit. Serve drinks in real coconut containers or design glasses/goblets with a slice of lemon or lime (or any fruit), or with a paper cocktail umbrella. 

Games

Parties are incomplete without cool games! Here are a few fun luau game suggestions to complete your awesome Hawaiian backyard party:

• Scavenger hunt. Grab a pack of toys or party favors for kids to find and keep for themselves during the game.

• RC Boat race. Make your home beach party more exciting by racing remote control boats on the pool. For an added challenge, turn the race into an RC boat relay and have two competing groups instead of just two individuals.

• Classic party games. You can’t go wrong with a fun limbo game, hula hoop contest, or even tug-of-war! 

Enjoy Your Hawaiian Backyard Party

Get ready to bring the beach to your home by making the best Hawaiian backyard party ever! And in case you share your favorite party photos with our toys in it, remember to tag us on Facebook (USA Toyz)  or Instagram (@usatoyz).