Everyone loves to have a party, no matter what the age, parties are a great way to get together with friends and family and just enjoy good food, good conversation and fun. Parties can be especially important to seniors, especially those that find themselves in a retirement home or an assisted living facility. Summer time especially is a good time with the good weather and the ability to have a party outdoors. A really fun theme to consider when planning a party for seniors would be the Luau.
When you plan for one of these types of parties you need to concentrate on the decorations, to really pull off the Luau theme you need to make sure the decorations really express the Luau and the feeling of being in the tropics. So make sure you decorate with really colorful tropical flowers.
They don't have to be real flowers, although that would be a nice touch, just as long as they are flowers that represent the tropics, like Bird of Paradise, Canna Lilies, Hibiscus, and Orchids. Make sure that the table clothes that you pick have bright colors, they can be plain or they can be floral.
You should also make sure that as each guest arrives that you have someone greeting them at the door or the entrance to the backyard with leis. You can buy these at any party center or if you are energetic you and some friends can make your own from tissue paper.
You can also provide the women with a tropical flower to put in their hair, the best would be a Lily, Hibiscus or Orchid. If the Luau is mainly outdoors, make sure that you light the entire area up with tiki torches and to keep the mosquitoes away add citronella candles to all of the tables. You can paper lanterns around the luau area as well.
No party is complete without some sort of music and when it's a luau you should stick to the theme and try to rent the services of a band that plays steel drums or get one that plays calypso. These would be perfect for a luau theme. If you can't afford a band then try and get recorded music that would fit this kind of theme. You might even ask those invited to the party what their favorite calypso music might be so you can compile a list of favorites to be played at the party.
You need to ensure that the menu is as close to the them as possible too. You should include a variety of tropical drinks that include the cute little paper umbrellas and these drinks can be both alcoholic and non-alcoholic so the guests will have a choice. It's going to be hard to have the typical meat for a luau which is a roasted pig but you can serve some roasted pork with pineapple and cherries as well as ham, cherry and pineapple all put on skewers for kabobs.
You can also make kabobs that have ham with a variety of different fruits on it. It's best to also stick with finger foods so have lots of tropical fruits cut in cubes and things like fried shrimp and even fried sweet potatoes. You can find a variety of different recipes online for luaus so do your research.
Don't forget about entertainment of some kind other than music. For those who are in decent shape make sure to include the traditional limbo contest with a prize for the person who goes the lowest. Also play a variety of different word games or other group games that everyone can get involved with.
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