Party in Hawaii

Taken from Sweetspot Magazine sent to me December 29.....check out the Hawaiian music site. I never knew Hawaiian music could be so much fun!! There is even a Christmas album which may become the must have album for my collection of odd Christmas tunes!

This newsletter is full of ideas for a Hawaiian party...I haven't had one or been invited to one for many years. Might be a good read for those of you who have travelled to Hawaii and are now missing your second home.

It's cold outside and budgets are tight. So this year, our-savvy-little-selves are staying clear of cash-grabbing New Year's Eve parties. Instead, we're spending the night in and doing it in style. Here's how you and your pals can join in the fun:

Décor
First, we're picking a theme for our impromptu party and going retro-Hawaiian with inspiration we picked up from our last trip to London's coolest pub, Trailer Happiness. (But any theme will do.) We're decorating the room with party lights (stolen from our Christmas tree), surf boards (erm, or in our case our snowboard) and colourful tropical fabrics (please, who doesn't have access to a thrift store boasting racks of $1.99 Hawaiian shirts?).

Guests
We're playing telephone, spreading the word with our guests coming in beachwear. If we're really ambitious we'll make leis out of paper and string. One of our favourite online resources is Party 411. They've got all the supplies we need for our pseudo-Luau.

Sips and Eats
We're serving Mai Tai cocktails, fresh fruit, shrimp rings and some yummy Ono Ribs. But there are more tropical-themed recipes in this awesome online guide: http://entertaining.about.com/cs/dinnerparties/a/luau_3.htm

Tunes
Set the mood with some Hawaiian music. We're downloading tracks from www.hawaiianmusicstore.com.

Entertainment
Nothing says Hawaiian than Elvis in Blue Hawaii. We're renting the DVD and popping it on for some side-splitting backdrop entertainment. Long live the king! Then later (after the Mai Tais kick in), we'll be suggesting a couple of rounds of Identity Crisis or The Therapy Game. We may even try our hands at island-authentic limbo and hold our own how-low-can-you-go contest. Party 411 has the kit.

We're feeling the Waikiki heat...all we need now are a few sun lamps, sand and a cabana boy to say "Aloha!"