As some people on campus already know, I am the FAU luau master. Just ask anyone who was here over the summer. Your luau can never match up to mine, but if you want to have a great party on a budget, then listen up.
You’re going to need quite a few ingredients for your party, but you can do it cheaply if you shop around and get good deals.
Your list includes:Decorations: Christmas lights, palm fronds, sand, tiki torches, chairs.Dress: Hawaiian shirts, leis, straw hats, shorts.Music: Hawaiian classics — Jack de Mello, Don Ho, etc.Booze: beer and liquor, containers.Food: minimum snacks…I’ll explain later.Cigars: a necessity.
The way to make this party cheap is by having a couple of people chip in some funds and, more importantly, use what you have or what you can get for free. First I’ll tell you what’s free and then go on to what will cost you a few bucks.
No beach or luau party is complete without tropical decorations. Go the cheap and sometimes easy way: get things for free whenever possible.
Your initial investment should be a machete. Yes, a machete. Besides being fun to handle, it is a tool that you can get cheaply and will serve you in multiple tasks. The best place to get a good, cheap machete is the Sunrise flea market. At the stand with the Mexican men in the cowboy hats, there are some nice blades. You want a machete with a heavy blade, preferably with more weight towards the end of the blade. Without a sheath it will cost you $5.
While you’re at the flea market, go the black woman with the fresh coconuts in the produce section. You can pick up a half dozen nice coconuts for less than a dollar a piece. Stash the coconuts until you get some practice with the machete.
The best way to prepare yourself for whacking coconuts is whacking palm fronds. In addition, the palm fronds will make the primary decoration for your island bash. Find an uninhabited area with lots of low palm trees. Chop the stem close the base of full, green fronds. Cut fronds of different sizes for different rooms of your place. Make sure you get some fronds with very long, stiff stems. Chop enough to fill the bed of your truck or van; you will need them all. Bring the fronds back to your party place and prepare to deck the rooms out island style.
Set up your palm fronds everywhere there is room. For my party, we strung the palm fronds onto the handrails leading from the walkway to the porch. If you have a fence or pilings, etc., then attach the palm fronds to that. If you can’t afford or don’t feel like buying cheap landscaping wire, then use old wire hangars to attach the fronds.
Go into your garage and find as many boxes of Christmas lights as possible. String the lights around the palm fronds that you’ve set up, especially outside or on your porch.
After your fronds and lights are done, ask a friend or neighbor if you can borrow some island-style tiki torches. In exchange, you invite them to the party. Set up the torches at the end of your palm-frond-and-lights walkway. But always wait for the Big Kahuna to light the torches to ceremonially start the party.
This party will have a tropical island theme, so you have to match the terrain. Be forewarned; this part of the project is very physically demanding. Gather at least 4-5 friends, a couple of trashcans and a screen in an old window frame. Get a large vehicle, like a full size van or truck. Drive to your local beach, preferably at night so you get fewer strange looks. Scoop up as much sand as you can into the trash cans.
Use the screen as a sifter to obtain a fine, white, and powdery sand. Sifted sand poses no threat of bottle caps, sticks, glass, cigarette butts, and the rest of the trash on our beaches. Be a steward of the environment and take all the garbage you find to the trashcans at the beach.
Don’t overfill the cans. Powdered sand is quite dense and it will take all the people you have to carry the sand back to the truck and lift it up. Be sure the sand doesn’t tip over. Take the sand back to your place. Spread the sand from the tiki torches through the palm fronds and onto your porch.
Now that you have the setting right, how about the atmosphere? Download Hawaiian and surf classics like Don Ho, Jack de Mello, and Dick Dale for free from everyone’s favorite web sites. Burn two or three CD’s worth, put them on repeat, and you’re set for tunes for the night. A party favorite is the Bud: Mr. Hawaiian Shirt Pattern Designer commercial in between songs.
Set up some cheap plastic beach chairs, or tell people to bring their own folding beach chairs. You can also add to the beach theme by having people sit on beach towels. Let’s move on now that we’ve got the island theme completed.
For the island party to really work, everybody has to dress appropriately. Tell the gals it’s bikinis and the guy’s it’s board shorts. Tell them to wear their best (or only) Hawaiian shirts on top. Straw hats are acceptable accessories. Sandals or bare feet are the most comfortable in the beach sand. Pick up some cheap plastic leis at a party store. The cheap plastic leis are only 25 cents apiece. For my party, the hosts and contributors all had nice leis that cost around five bucks and we gave out the cheap leis to guests. While at the party store, also grab some tropical drink umbrellas for a buck or two.
If you and your friends are of age, then buy as much beer and liquor as you can afford. Don’t worry about getting the best quality; go for quantity. “Jungle Juice” is a good standby for tropical party drinks. It’s simple and easy to make in whatever flavor you and your guests prefer. Just mix your favorite fruit juices, chunks of fruit, and favorite liquors together in a large container. Allow it to sit and blend together overnight before serving. A watermelon filled with vodka or rum is another standby. Cut a hole in the end of the watermelon that is big enough to fit the end of a bottle. Pour in the booze and let sit overnight. Cut up and serve on a platter at the party. Just make sure your guests are aware that the melon is spiked. A keg or party ball of beer rounds out the beverages and gives your guests another choice. Plan on spending at least $100-$200 on your drinks, depending on how many people you plan on having.
Now it’s machete time. Be sure to use caution with the machete to avoid chopping off your or your guests’ fingers and toes. And be sure to put the machete somewhere safe during the party. Drunks and large knives tend not to mix well at parties. First get a drill and drill holes in the soft spots on one end of the coconut. Drain the milk from the coconut and either mix it into your jungle juice or chill it and save it for mixing shots. Next, put the coconuts on a hard surface or on the ground outside. Hold the coconut by the end and make absolutely sure your fingers are well away from the end you want to cut. You can cut the coconut in one chop or several strokes, depending on how good you are. I prefer to lop off the end of the coconut in one swift stroke. Try to cut the ends as straight as possible. Pack the coconuts with ice and use as cups for the jungle juice. Pour the juice over the ice, and add a straw and an umbrella and serve. The natural coconuts add the touch of authenticity to your tropical party that most hosts overlook.
While you’re at the liquor store, pick up a few nice cigars, if you like, for you and your close friends. Nothing says the “Big Kahuna” has arrived like a big cigar. Partagas cigars are a good choice for the novice. They’re big, but not too strong or expensive for the average man or woman.
Don’t bother wasting valuable funds on food. Tell your guests to eat ahead of time. A couple bags of chips or pretzels will usually suffice for those who get the munchies.
After you have made all your preparations, wait till all your guests turn up before starting the party. Pass out the leis as your guests begin to arrive. Gather everyone around the torches outside, light the torches and say a few inspirational words to your guests. Follow with a toast and get partying. Keep the music on, the drinks flowing, and the mood casual and you’ll have a great time without the hassles of a normal bash.
If you follow these guidelines, with help and cash from your friends, you can have a great time on a limited budget. If you’re as lucky as me, the luau won’t be over in just one night. You may have enough leftovers to let the party continue through the weekend.
And remember to keep your clothes on at all times!
Christmas lights: freePalm fronds: freeSand: freeTiki torches: freeBooze and cigars: $100-$200Kick-ass memories and achieving legendary party-god status: Priceless
