Way down south in the Imperial Valley, California (my hometown), it reached a scorching 113°F this summer! That type of heat called for some creative ways to stay cool when we’re outside. Allow me to share with you a fun, family tradition that you can carry into the early fall months that is bound to be a great start to the season!
Invite a few friends over to your 1st annual Luau Party! Or, blast some Jimmy Buffet music, and your neighbors will likely turn up in their favorite Hawaiian shirt. Once you have enough people, kick off the party with Aloha Limbo! Pull apart a few flower leis, tape them together, and have two of your guests hold the string out straight for others to see how low they can go! Those who can’t quite keep up with this back-bending classic can take to the sidelines and provide some encouragement.
The next game you’ll want to set up is Pineapple Bowling! Simply arrange five pineapples as bowling pins and have your guests stand around 15-20 feet away. Have some coconuts on hand to use as bowling balls and watch the fun begin.
Now it’s time to crank some Beach Boys songs and play Musical Towels! Arrange about ten towels on the grass and have guests dance their best hula until the music stops. Remove a towel each time a player is out until there’s one player remaining! I suggest giving a lei to each winner of each of the games played to keep your guests in a festive mood.
Your guests’ stomachs may be growling by now, so carry out two bowls of chopped fruit, spoons, and skewers. Let the Kabob Relay begin! Set the bowls of fruit on the opposite side of the lawn and split your guests into two teams. Give each team a spoon and let them begin running to the other side on the count of three. The first team to use all of their players to successfully carry all of the fruit (one piece at a time by spoon) to the other side wins! The catch? They must assemble the fruit on the skewers provided.
Look up ‘aloha’ on the internet for some more fun luau games, snacks, and decorations to complete this fun activity!
