Savor some South Pacific with your friends this summer: host your own tiki party. Set the island tone for your guests with this luau tropical tiki hut invitation from paperlicious.com. If you plan to ask guests to dress in their tiki-best, remember to mention that in the invitation. Ordering from paperlicious is so low hassle, you'll have plenty of time to transform your space into the tropical tiki paradise that this hip invite promises your party pals.Bit of
tiki history for you. This type of food and flair became popular in the United States in the 1940's-1960's. Trader Vic is credited for introducing many recipes for food and drink to this culture. There still are several Trader Vic restaurants or lounges in the US today. Check out www.tradervics.com for more tiki history. Or order Trader Vic's tiki party book for expert advice on how to plan your party.A summertime outside space at a pool or back yard naturally lends itself to this type of party, but if weather doesn't cooperate or you need a little summer sizzle in your winter, indoor works great, too. Decor is essential and can be either light and bright with flowers (orchids, birds of paradise) birds, paper lanterns and the like. Or you can go retro lounge feel with rafia style grass skirts on tables, real fishing nets on the wall, brown beaded curtains, polynesian god statues, and tiki lanterns lining the path of your party. Play some polynesian jazz for your friends. Try Martin Denny or Arthur Lyman.
Food and Drink are perhaps the most important piece to bring the ooh-la-Shangri-la-la-la to the table. How about a real roast pig? If you're not a fan of hooves on the table, make the centerpiece a stuffed animal pig with tropical fruits all around the platter with it: pineapples, mangoes, bananas, etc. Try this "Classic 'Tiki' Mai Tai" drink from myrecipes.com or check out this blog devoted entirely to tropical drinks. This is a great opportunity to fire up the bar-b-que and try out some
of these great grill recipes from fabulousfoods.com. Remember to serve your drinks in these tiki god mugs from retroplanet.com. Send your guests home with their mug for a fabulous favor.Now turn the music up and get down low: Time to LIMBO! Any music will do and any old broomstick for that matter. Be sure to take some great pictures to keep the fun alive after the party is over.
