This year, we toned it down... just a bit. We wanted to celebrate her Summer birthday with everything summer: sand, water, squirt guns, bubbles, watermelon and BBQ. The more we developed the theme, the more we kept daydreaming of tropical drinks, fresh pineapple and Waikiki Beach (it's been a while). So we combined the themes and give you:
Aloha {Love} Summer
Bringing the Aloha in!
One of the best things about this theme is that it can be done relatively cheaply. I made festive wreaths using drink umbrellas. Bamboo torches were purchased from Kmart at $3 each! I found fake Hibiscus bunches at a dollar store for $2.50 to give them a pop of colour. I made a "tiki bar"/ "shaved ice stand" using cardboard and raffia ribbon. I used chalkboard easels for fun signage (thanks Cynthia for loaning us one!). And picked up 2 decoration packs from the party supply store, that were 50% off!
Slip n Slide/ Wet n Wild Jumping Castle
This was the highlight for many of Eloise's guests. On a trial run for just the Birthday Girl and Eden in the morning, even being on a slope, it wasn't fast enough so Mr.H brought out the dish soap and zip! down they went! And a side benefit, they didn't need showers post-party! Hee, hee. Once we set out clear directions "down the slide, walk up the grass" it was quite orderly. And Uncle Ed leant his muscles to give those who needed a push.
Choose Your Weapon
It's a hot topic at the moment, but our guns were harmless... if you didn't mind getting wet. Water guns + water balloons = fun!
Drink Menu
Mellow Yellow= Traditional Lemonade
Sunny Deelight= Tropical Juice
After tasting a friend's Batman cake a few weeks before, I asked for the recipe. It was Planet Cake's vanilla butter cake with white chocolate ganache. Yum! She did warn me that the cake baked very flat. And for a cake that needed height, I doubled the recipe... then again. Then unfortunately one of the layers crumbled so another batch when in on Friday night. That was the start of my cake-tastrophe!
Friday was 35.5c (or 96F). I purchased Fondarific to cover the cake. Well, on the bucket, it clearly stated "Do Not Use in Temperature over 100F". Well, I have 4 degrees on it. I should be fine. Wrong. It was so soft. I couldn't pick it up. Meanwhile, my yummy white chocolate ganache was melting, dripping onto the cake and making the it virtually impossible to adhere the Fondarific to the cake. It's a good thing my cake would be covered in "sand" because when I finally slapped the Fondarific on the cake and got it to stay, it looked like Eloise had made it.
I used ground cookies with edible sprinkles for the "sand". With the remaining Fondarific and "sand", I covered the turrets, door and windows that were part of a pre-loved Wilton's Romantic Castle set I purchased just for the party (with Eloise's Disney Princess-itis, I looked at it as an investment!)
It's not perfect, and I worried all night and morning that it would collapse. It truly was a Sand Castle cake!
Little did we know that Australia would be in the midst of a heatwave. Tuesday before the party saw the national average temperature at 43c (that's 109.4F) and on Eloise's birthday the predicted temperature was 41c (105F). That's hot. Luckily for us, it was a more pleasant 32.5c (90.5F)
So Grab Your Lei and Hula Our Way!
Eloise had 23 mini- guests on her birthday! It was wonderful to see our friends get into the spirit of the day, donning leis and Aloha shirts (from size 1 to adult!). Eloise wore a Mothercare Hibiscus print dress and Eden wore an adorable Aloha outfit sent to him (at birth) from one of my wonderful housemates from UCSB.
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| It was 100F at 9pm on Super Hot Tuesday (8 Jan) |
So Grab Your Lei and Hula Our Way!
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| I made it! (E Tu Designs... coming soon!) |
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| Aloha! |
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| Birthday kisses! |
One of the best things about this theme is that it can be done relatively cheaply. I made festive wreaths using drink umbrellas. Bamboo torches were purchased from Kmart at $3 each! I found fake Hibiscus bunches at a dollar store for $2.50 to give them a pop of colour. I made a "tiki bar"/ "shaved ice stand" using cardboard and raffia ribbon. I used chalkboard easels for fun signage (thanks Cynthia for loaning us one!). And picked up 2 decoration packs from the party supply store, that were 50% off!
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| Styrofoam wreath and drink umbrellas created this festive Aloha! |
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| Guests were greeted with leis... if they forgot theirs! |
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| Fire ban... these torches were just for display! |
Fun in the Sun
From sandcastle building to our wet n' wild jumping castle, there was plenty for Eloise's friends to do.
WPH Ink
Guests could get tropical tattoos at WPH Ink.
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Hula Hula
Do the hula!
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| Daddy showing Eden how to hula (hoop) |
Photo Op Booth
My go-to source for party supplies is Oriental Trading Co. Even with the shipping costs (and conversion rate), it's still cheaper! I saw this and burst out laughing. Eloise loves her photo ops so it was perfect. And a very handy Mr.H built a sturdier stand for it.
And the photos also make for lovely inclusions in our Thank You cards too.
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| Cutest Hula Couple! |
Slip n Slide/ Wet n Wild Jumping Castle
This was the highlight for many of Eloise's guests. On a trial run for just the Birthday Girl and Eden in the morning, even being on a slope, it wasn't fast enough so Mr.H brought out the dish soap and zip! down they went! And a side benefit, they didn't need showers post-party! Hee, hee. Once we set out clear directions "down the slide, walk up the grass" it was quite orderly. And Uncle Ed leant his muscles to give those who needed a push.
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| Morning test run |
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| Slippery Soapy Fun! |
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| Eden gives it the "WEEE!" award for Most Fun |
Choose Your Weapon
It's a hot topic at the moment, but our guns were harmless... if you didn't mind getting wet. Water guns + water balloons = fun!
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| The inflatable palm tree was recycled from Eloise's Monkey First Birthday |
It's 5 o'clock HERE!
This is probably my favourite aspect of the party, and not because I like a drink... or two! We set-up the Tiki Bar to hand-out adorable personalised pineapple cups with mocktails for our under-aged guests.
Drink Menu
Mellow Yellow= Traditional Lemonade
Sunny Deelight= Tropical Juice
Oh, and our Happy Hour: Mermaids drink free!
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| Pineapple cups from Oriental Trading Co. I used glitter glue to personalise them! |
Menu
Classic Summer tastes with a twist of Aloha!
Guests dined on salads (needed in the heat!) and hot dogs, sliders, teriyaki chicken & pineapple skewers, and chorizo & haloumi skewers. Mr.H says "everything tastes better on a stick".
For dessert: candy skewers, cookies, Under the Sea Jello, and watermelon... if you dare!
No luau is complete without a Kalua pig. My mouth waters just thinking about it. Unfortunately we couldn't cook a pig in-ground so these are the next best thing.
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| Flip-Flop cookies (made from Nutter Butters) |
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| Shark Attack! watermelon (carved by Mr.H due to my allergy!) |
No luau is complete without a Kalua pig. My mouth waters just thinking about it. Unfortunately we couldn't cook a pig in-ground so these are the next best thing.
The Cake
I indulged Eloise's Disney princess obsession with a sandcastle cake, topped with a castle and Ariel too. This was a bit like my Everest. There was the stacking of the cake, the edible sand, the turrets... oh my! And did I mention the heatwave? My last day "off" to bake was Tuesday, the day that broke all the records and was so hot, a new colour was added to the weather map. Needless to say, I spent the day with my lovely S-I-L in the comfort of the coldest place I know, the movies! And not running the oven.
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| Sandcastle Cake |
After tasting a friend's Batman cake a few weeks before, I asked for the recipe. It was Planet Cake's vanilla butter cake with white chocolate ganache. Yum! She did warn me that the cake baked very flat. And for a cake that needed height, I doubled the recipe... then again. Then unfortunately one of the layers crumbled so another batch when in on Friday night. That was the start of my cake-tastrophe!
Friday was 35.5c (or 96F). I purchased Fondarific to cover the cake. Well, on the bucket, it clearly stated "Do Not Use in Temperature over 100F". Well, I have 4 degrees on it. I should be fine. Wrong. It was so soft. I couldn't pick it up. Meanwhile, my yummy white chocolate ganache was melting, dripping onto the cake and making the it virtually impossible to adhere the Fondarific to the cake. It's a good thing my cake would be covered in "sand" because when I finally slapped the Fondarific on the cake and got it to stay, it looked like Eloise had made it.
I used ground cookies with edible sprinkles for the "sand". With the remaining Fondarific and "sand", I covered the turrets, door and windows that were part of a pre-loved Wilton's Romantic Castle set I purchased just for the party (with Eloise's Disney Princess-itis, I looked at it as an investment!)
It's not perfect, and I worried all night and morning that it would collapse. It truly was a Sand Castle cake!
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| Happy Birthday Eloise! |
Eloise's Shaved Ice
The cold treat of choice (brah!) in Hawaii is Shaved Ice so Eloise opened up shop after lunch! Our menu flavours: Cola, Lime Margarita (Virgin), Strawberry Daiquiri (Virgin), and Orange Mango.
We Hope You had a Hula Lot of Fun!
What can I say? Other than helping Eloise celebrate her birthday, our guests come for our now infamous swag bags! It's also one of my favourite things to put together.
Our guests hula-ed home with a sandcastle moulding bucket, sunglasses, hotdog or hamburger erasers, flip-flop keyring, candy (hotdog or hamburger gummy, fruit sherbet and pineapple lollipop), bubbles and their pineapple cups. Our under-2 guests received all of the above, minus the eraser (too small!). They received very fun DIY fish squirters (just draw with a Sharpie!).
Our guests hula-ed home with a sandcastle moulding bucket, sunglasses, hotdog or hamburger erasers, flip-flop keyring, candy (hotdog or hamburger gummy, fruit sherbet and pineapple lollipop), bubbles and their pineapple cups. Our under-2 guests received all of the above, minus the eraser (too small!). They received very fun DIY fish squirters (just draw with a Sharpie!).
Thank You!
We have such wonderful family and friends who shared the day with us, and they got into the spirit of the day, donning Aloha shirts! I loved seeing our little guests in their Aloha shirts, some vintage!
Post-Party
The men in our house were a bit tired.
I have to say, maybe we are getting the hang of our home-grown parties... or it was just that I didn't spend the month prior to the party fighting pneumonia (get your flu shots!)... but it was much more relaxed this time. In less than 24 hours, Mr.H was asking when our next party was... sigh.
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| Eloise had a guest staying, George the Giraffe. He lives at pre-school and visits his friends on the weekend. She was the first to get to bring him home! |
Post-Party
The men in our house were a bit tired.
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| Like father... |
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| Like son! |
I have to say, maybe we are getting the hang of our home-grown parties... or it was just that I didn't spend the month prior to the party fighting pneumonia (get your flu shots!)... but it was much more relaxed this time. In less than 24 hours, Mr.H was asking when our next party was... sigh.
