Even though the leaves may be turning a gorgeous shade of orange and brown, doesn’t mean that throwing a tropical luau-themed birthday party is out of the question. If you’re looking to imbue a bit of summer into your drab fall or winter birthday parties, here’s an excellent idea courtesy of our friends Marisa and Lisa at LA Party Stylists. Marisa, mom to Lillie, decided to take her daughter’s love of hula dancing to the next level. Not only were Marisa and Lisa (she even took the photos!) kind enough to share their photos of the sweet birthday party, but they also gave us some inside tips on how this celebration came together. Ah, to be the daughter of a party planner. We all can dream, right?
When you’re the daughter of a party planner, extraordinary birthday parties are the norm. For Marisa’s daughter’s third birthday party, she took her little one’s love of hula and tiki torches to a whole new level with this awesome celebration that featured hula dancing and a tiki piñata.
The party took place in Marisa and Lillie’s backyard, which would be really easy to emulate if you live in a warmer climate like Los Angeles. If your city isn’t blessed with year round sun, then host your luau party indoors with bright tropical decorations such as tablecloths, streamers and other colorful decor to recreate a tropical island.
Believe it or not, Marisa made the hula girl cake. She dishes to us that you simply need to use a Wilton doll cake pan. The trick is to use a grass frosting tip to get the grass skirt effect. To make the cake a little larger and more substantial for her entire party, Marisa baked another 9 inch round cake, stacked the doll cake on top of it, and then frosted them together. Just a little bit of ingenuity, creative flair, and patience and you can easily make your own hula girl cake!
Head to your local bakeshop for hula girl and tropical cookie cutters. Lillie insisted that her mom make hula cookies but only if they had blonde hair like hers!
If you’re in Los Angeles, head to Party City and Moskatels in Downtown L.A. for all of the store-bought party goods. If you don’t live in the SoCal region, call up your local party shop or check out Etsy for some personalized goods.
All the printed matter for Lillie’s third birthday was designed by Gretchen Postiglione at P.Ink Creative and the party favors were personalized Hawaiian t-shirts from Etsy vendor 98Bottles.
A birthday party, especially when there are antsy little kids involved, wouldn’t be complete without tons of activities. Here, Marissa brought in a hula dancer and three musicians. After the show, the dancers taught the kids some hula dance steps. There was also swimming and water tables filled with soapy water for those non-hula inclined. We love how even the dads are getting into the hula.
A special thanks to our friends Marisa and Lisa at LA Party Stylists for sharing their inspirational photos and ideas. Do your kids love to hula? Do you think they’d love this theme? Share with us your thoughts on this party and the photos in the comment section below.
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