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Luau Graduation Theme Party

A Graduation Theme Party

What better place to relax and celebrate than the beach! Every graduate dreams of those beautiful summer days spent cavorting and playing in the sand and water. Find your nearest beach—whether at the local park, the Oceanside, the lake—or your backyard, and get ready to surf your way to a great graduation party at the beach. If you want to make this kind of party a rousing success, I have one word for you; Luau!

Graduation Invitations

There are many creative things you can do for invitations to your Luau Party. Try tying an invitation to plastic sand shovels, or write your invitation on a plastic sand bucket or beach ball. Include fun novelties inside the bucket like sunglasses that indicate the year of graduation or sand (in a bag, or else you'll really tick your guests).  

Try using Ziplock bags filled with sand, paper umbrellas, beach confetti and other mini beach items with a piece of paper describing all the party details.  Then g

Send neon or colored graduation year glasses. In one of the lenses glue a picture of the graduate in beachwear and in the other paste the invitation.

Invite your guests to dress for the beach and/or to dress as a "tourist." This always proves to be entertaining as people arrive. You might get them started by sending them this hula skirt and lei set as part of their invitation.  With that kind of an invitation, no one will send regrets!

Don’t forget to check out Party411’s personalized graduation invitations , which are an easy and fun way to get the party started.

Graduation Decorations and Party Supplies

Set the stage for your guests from the minute they arrive at your party. If located at an actual beach, you might have signs welcoming them to the party or festively decorated tables and chairs.  If at home, line the drive way and yard with palm trees, a tiki hut, tiki torches and use your doorway as the entrance to a big sandcastle. Make the doorway the entrance to a big sandcastle.  Build sandcastles out of cardboard and spray paint them with faux-sand, available at craft stores.  Make flags out of lightweight cloth to fly from the castle top and attach them to small wooden rods, also available at a craft store.  Write your custom message on the flags, like "Welcome" or "Bob's Graduation Beach Bash." Consider making enough to line the driveway or sidewalk with your sandcastle flags. Use the colors of your grad's school (either past or future).

TO SEE ALL OF OUR LUAU DECORATIONS VISIT LUAU DECORATING411.

Throughout the house or venue, carry the beach theme. If you are so bold, get sand and dump it on your patio or kitchen floor (if you're really adventurous). Hang beach balls from the ceiling and in doorways. You might hang b-lights (the small Christmas lights) and string plastic sand shovels on them, too. Imagine what your grad would like to have at the beach and use those ideas to personalize the overall decorations of your party place.

Sign-in board - Party411.com can create a caricature of your grad laid out on a beach towel in the sun.  This makes a great focal point and inspires guests to leave messages.

Centerpieces - Remember when we made sand castles as children, in the little plastic castle molds? Follow your theme with sandcastle centerpieces. Either build a castle out of cardboard, paint it with glue, and roll it in sand, or build an actual sandcastle. This might prove to be a little more challenging and time consuming. This time, instead of just filling them with wet sand, buy bags of dry sand at the hardware store and mix your sand with a glue/water mixture. This way they won't fall apart when the sand dries. Use mini flags as you did at the doorway.

Another thought is to attach theme balloons to the inside bottom of plastic pails. Use sun shaped balloons along with Mylar or latex ones in the colors of your grad's past or future school. Fill the pails with loose sand and maybe even a few shells or plastic shovels. Use nose and ear plugs as confetti, or sunshine erasers that look great on a black tablecloth. Colorful luau themed confetti is also available.

Tablewear - There are many choices here, depending on what you want to do. Use solid colored paper products in the colors of your grad's past or future school.  We have a wide selection of luau theme paper goods that are a fantastic way to add more luau party good essentials to the graduation party. If you want to focus on the graduation (what a concept!) go with these colorful graduation paper goods.

Add zest to the table top by using flower bracelets around cutlery wrapped napkins. Since you’ll be having all of those tropical drinks, light them up in style with light up luau lights and serve the drinks in neon coconut cups.  And don’t forget, to add palm tree candles, a raffia table skirt, and flip flop coasters while you are at it!

Seating cards - Sunglasses make great seating cards! No need for Oakleys, you can get inexpensive glasses by the dozen. Or what about goggles? Guests will get a kick out of goggles with their names on them.

Maybe you should just visit our Luau Party Planning Guide for tons of great luau decorations and ideas.

Menu

Start your beach party graduation off with a cold soup such as cucumber soup. The next course can be a selection of salads - pastas, vegetables, grains, etc. My favorite EASY, yet classy salad is a mixture of greens such as arugula, radicchio, belgian endive and curly endive, with a homemade vinaigrette (1 part red wine or balsamic vinegar to 3 parts olive oil, salt and pepper to taste). BBQ ANYTHING is the perfect main course. A selection of fresh fruit, lemon bars, coconut bars, and other finger desserts is a great finish to this fun fresh meal. Of course, don't forget the graduate's "Congratulations" cake.

If you really want to go traditional, check out these Hawaiian recipes or these popular luau recipes.

Activities

Add a steel drum band or DJ who plays island, reggae and beach music, and your friends will have a fabulous time! Guaranteed.  And of course you can not have a luau graduation without a good game of limbo!  Visit the Party411 luau party games page for more great activities. You might consider a roast and toast for your beloved grad, too.

Favors

Fish squirts (little rubber fish that you fill with water, squeeze and squirt) are great fun if the party is outside. Another idea is to send guests home with their own tropical shot glasses or for a younger graduate a neon tiki cup.

Or, as you know, a personalized candy bar wrapper is perfect for any theme party.

Graduation and Luau Party Planning and Decorating Ideas from Party411.com

 

Planning and Gift Guides

Graduation Party Planning Guide

Graduation Planning Checklist

Luau Party Planning Guide

Need a perfect gift? Graduation Gift Ideas

Looking for the perfect thing to say at your Graduation or to your Graduate? Graduation Quotes

 

Decorating411

Graduation Decorating411

Luau Decorating411

 

Creations For You!

Graduation Theme Party Creations for You

Luau Creations For You

 

Fun Luau Games

Luau Party Games

 

Great Graduation Party Themes

Club Crazy 8s - A 2008 Graduation Celebration

It's All About You

Open House

Grade "A" Graduation Party Ideas

It's A Land of Oz Graduation

Take Us to Vegas

Oh, the Places You'll Go: Dr. Seuss Graduation Party

Head for the Beach

A Sporting Life

Our Version of "The Graduate"

Roast the Graduate

 

Questions about graduation party planning? Ask the Experts!

 

Congratulations from the Party Girl and Party411!

 

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