Throwing a Backyard Luau is Easier Than I Thought!

Last weekend, I threw my husband a luau party in honor of his new job (he just started today!!) that requires him to spend approximately two weeks each month in the Caribbean. I was a little more excited than usual to throw this party because the theme was so easy to work with! You may recall the issues I had finding decorations for my awesome 80s party last month. Not this time! I had two friends loan me decorations that they already had for their own impending luaus and the rest I quickly picked up at my local Party City.

The first thing I did to prepare for this party was wash every single towel I owned. I stacked them all up, nice and neat, in the event that anyone forgot to bring a towel. I wasn't sure if everyone would want to swim, but I assumed (I know my friends pretty well) that after having  a few drinks, those that didn't plan on swimming would change their mind. I also made sure that I had plenty of clean bathing suits. And guess what? Three people borrowed swimsuits because they changed their mind and wanted to go in the pool!

Balloon Time was nice enough to provide me with a free Balloon Time 50 Helium Balloon Kit for me to use for the party! What a difference it made with all of those colorful balloon floating around the house! My daughter was put in charge of the balloons and she had a blast filling them up! Having that splash of color all over the house during the party definitely made a difference in the ambiance. I love balloons...as you can see in the third picture, I still had a birthday balloon tied to my dining room table from my party three weeks ago. ha ha! I've used Balloon Time helium kits before this party and I just love them. They are affordable - the 50 balloon kit is only $35 at Party City, and so easy to use.

Do you see my dog Foxy in the first photo? She was obsessed with the balloons and kept trying to steal them from my daughter as she was filling them with helium!

One of my friends let me borrow those cheesy "scene setters' you see in the background - they come in a huge roll, just like tablecloths, and I plastered them all over the inside and outside walls in the house. I also stuck little tiki god candles all over for a bit of that luau feel. Even the tooth picks for the meats and cheeses were tiki gods and swords, and I used little tropical themed centerpieces for each of the tables.

Everyone thought the decorations were so cute! One of my friends actually approached me and asked if I had ever considered becoming a party planner! THAT was the highlight of the evening for me. I really love to throw parties and to be told that I throw such a great party that I should do it for a living? Wow. And this friend of mine used to be an events coordinator, so she really knows what she is talking about!

I kept the menu very simple for this party - because, let's face it, I knew everyone would end up in the pool and there would be a ton of uneaten food leftover! I bought shrimp cocktail platters and used cute martini glasses for the cocktail sauce. I made two batches of brownies, bought a package of mini chocolate eclairs, and a friend made a coconut creme pie and those were the only sweets I served. I also bought a simple veggie platter and a salami, crackers and cheese platter, and made fried mozzarella sticks, and my mom brought over a 7 layer dip and meatballs.

The only thing I actually 'made' was a fresh fruit salad. I chopped two pints of fresh strawberries, half of a pineapple, a bag of white grapes and added a jar of mandarin oranges and threw them in a large bowl. I then added a quarter cup of fresh lemon juice and four tablespoons of Splena and mixed it thoroughly. Once it sat for a few hours in the fridge, it created nice, light syrup. There was nothing left of the fruit salad after the party!

Speaking of the after party...ugh. What a morning. The house? It was a mess. The backyard? It was a mess. Luckily, I had the foresight to walk around the house after everyone left at - wait for it - FOUR AM - with a dirty towel to mop up the mess from everyone leaving in wet bathing suits and towels. I knew it would happen - I mean, any fool who throws a pool party knows that the floor gets wet when the party is over!

Do you see what I see? Yes, that is my camera (thank goodness it's waterproof) at the very bottom of our pool. This is where I found my camera after the party!

I woke up early, started cleaning up and taking down decorations and let me tell you, I was guzzling water and Ito En Tea\'s Tea. I had recently received some samples in the mail and it was just the thing I needed to recover from my dehydration after a night of drinking with my friends! The Tea's Tea that I had was a all-natural, zero calorie, zero carb unsweetened green tea. Because I am doing a low carbohydrate diet right now, it perfect. I drank two bottles!

I love how refreshing green tea is, and Ito En Tea\'s Tea is no exception. I felt much better after drinking it and I love that I didn't have to worry about calories or sugar content!

Now to plan my next party...I'm thinking "School's out for summer!" for my daughter and her cousins and friends!

*Thank you to Balloon Time & Ito En Tea's Tea for the products I mentioned in this post. I did not receive compensation, merely samples to facilitate a review. All opinions are 100% my own.