Entertain Your Guests with Hawaiian Party Games & Activities

No matter what the occasion, games and activities really bring a Hawaiian Luau Party to life. Check out these great suggestions:

Make Your Own Flower Leis

Lei making is an integral part of any celebration in Hawaii. Flower leis are fun to make and an excellent way to get your guests into the spirit of the luau! Here’s how to get started: Collect enough flowers for all of your guests to make at least one lei. You will need approximately 50 blossoms for each lei. Any medium-sized flowers will do fine, such as plumerias, roses, carnations or daisies. You’ll need to get your hands on the longest sewing needles you can find, and about 60 inches of thread per lei (dental floss works great!). String the flowers from head to base and make sure they are close together to form a nice, full lei. How about giving out prizes for the best or most creative leis? Have fun with this wonderful island tradition!

Invite a Hawaiian Dance Troupe or Storyteller to Perform

Turn your luau into an authentic and unforgettable event by inviting a Hawaiian dance troupe or Hawaiian storyteller to perform. Imagine how delighted your guests will be to actually see native Hawaiian dancing and music performed live by grass skirted Hula dancers and colorfully clad musicians. You’d be surprised how many Hawaiian organizations exist around the country. To find a dance troupe in your local area, check out universities, dance schools, local theater groups or even the chamber of commerce.

If it turns out that your area simply doesn’t have any resources, you could always create your own show! Get a Hawaiian music CD, or have someone capable play the ukulele. Before your performance, borrow a book or video on Hula from your local library to help learn the basics. Some things to remember while dancing the hula are: keep your feet flat and your knees bent, take small steps, your eyes follow your hands and your hips sway naturally without wiggling. A few of the more common motions of Hula are:

Aloha: Starting at the lips move your hands palms down toward your audience.
Eyes: Place your fingers at eye level and draw hands apart.
Grass Skirt: Hold parts of your skirt away from your body.
Rain: Raise both hands to one side of your body and bring them down together while wiggling the fingers.

Translate Your Guests Names into Hawaiian

There are only 13 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet: A, E, H, I K, L, M, N, O, P, U and W. The consonants H, K, L, M, N, P, and W are pronounced exactly as in English. If a name ends in a consonant, add a vowel. Always place a vowel between consonants.

Pronunciation of Vowels
A – ah
E – ay
I – ee
O – oh
U – oo

The following conversion table can be helpful in translating names:

Name Translation Examples:
Brad – Palaka
Jen – Leni
Ralph – Lalepa
Noreen – Nolina
Stuart – Kuaka
Emily – Emele
Shane – Kane
Kim - Kimi

Play Some Games!

One traditional Hawaiian game is called ‘ulu maika (rolling stone disks). Similar to horseshoes, you simply set up a small stick post in the ground, and gather some stones for throwing. Each person chooses a stone and tosses it at the post. Whoever’s stone lands closest to the stick wins! Other traditional Hawaiian games include ‘o‘o ihe (spear throwing) and moa pahe‘e (dart sliding).

Some non-traditional games can be fun too. How about the Limbo? Or you could have a hula hoop contest awarding prizes for the longest hula, the most unique hula, and for the person who can successfully hula the most hoops! A luau is the perfect opportunity to play lawn games such as bocce, croquet, badminton, or even volleyball if you have enough room.

 
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