Endless Summer: a luau party, planned

The look: a sunset palette with tiki torches and hibiscus

Sunset orange, hot pink and yellow, set against tropical greens. Bamboo and natural wood tone down the brights so it reads as a beach rather than a craft shop.

Light is the centrepiece once the sun goes down. Tiki torches along the garden path, festoon lights overhead and lanterns on the tables turn an ordinary garden into an island evening.

• Tiki torches or solar garden torches along the path, kept well away from anything that could catch.
• Hibiscus flowers, real or silk, on every table and tucked behind the bar.
• Whole pineapples as centrepieces, with a tea light in a hollowed one.
• Palm leaves and monstera leaves as table runners.
• A bamboo or grass-skirt front on the bar table.

The invitation

Bright and warm, with a hibiscus or a sunset on it. Say whether the party is outdoors and suggest a dress code, such as island shirts and sundresses. A line about bringing a layer for after dark saves guests from a chilly last hour.

You're invited

Tropical Luau

Aloha! Grab your brightest shirt and join us for a birthday luau under the tiki torches.

✓ Going? Maybe✗ Can't

The tiki bar, with an alcohol-free menu

Serve everything in coconut cups, hollowed pineapples or tall glasses with a paper umbrella. Rum drinks suit the theme, but alcohol is optional, and the alcohol-free drinks get the same umbrellas.

• A rum punch in a big dispenser with orange, pineapple and lime slices floating in it.
• Piña coladas, blended, or a virgin version with coconut cream and pineapple juice.
• A tropical mocktail of passion fruit, mango and soda water.
• Coconut water served straight from the coconut.
• A jug of iced water with mint and cucumber on every table.

Island food and the cake

Grill food is the heart of a luau. Cook most of it ahead and let one grill run for the theatre of it.

• Slow-cooked pulled pork with slider buns, or a whole roasted pork shoulder if you have the oven.
• Teriyaki chicken skewers and grilled pineapple wedges.
• Coconut rice and a big bowl of tropical slaw.
• Grilled halloumi or tofu skewers with mango salsa for the vegetarians.
• The cake: a pineapple upside-down cake, or a two-tier cake in sunset ombre with fresh hibiscus on top.

Music and games

Steel drums and ukulele while people arrive, then something more danceable after the cake. Keep the games light: this is a party for wandering with a drink.

• A lei at the door for every guest, made from silk flowers or fresh ones if you can.
• A limbo contest after the cake, with the bar lowered by the guest of honour.
• A hula hoop competition: last one still spinning wins.
• Coconut bowling on the lawn with a row of plastic bottles as pins.
• A sunset toast, timed for when the sky turns orange.

How the two hours run

1. 0:00Guests arrive, get a lei and a drink from the tiki bar.
2. 0:30Coconut bowling and hula hoops on the lawn.
3. 1:00The grill opens: dinner served.
4. 1:45Torches lit and a sunset toast to the guest of honour.
5. 2:00Candles on the pineapple upside-down cake.
6. 2:15Limbo contest, then the dancing starts.
7. 2:45Last drinks under the festoon lights.

What to buy

Pack sizes are for about 15 kids. In PartyPal the list sizes itself to your headcount.

Common questions