Summer Hawaiian Luau Birthday party

Who loves a theme birthday party? I forgot to post this last summer and didn’t want to post it in the winter but Saturday was Sammy’s birthday and we threw another luau party for her. Her Aunt Karen was shocked we were having another luau party for Sammy, but when you spend money on decorations it’s silly not to use them again!

Last summer was our sweet Sammy’s 30th birthday party and we decided the theme would be a luau party.

Theme parties are great because everyone likes to dress up! It’s a party everyone can enjoy and have fun. You have read my tailgating party from last fall where everyone wore their favorite college attire on the golf course. Adults still like to play dress up!

For Sammy’s birthday, we told everyone to wear their favorite tropical outfit. Except for Sammy, she was going all out Polynesian hula girl! She did a hula dance all around our yard for her grand entrance.

We had 20 family members who celebrated Sammy’s 30th birthday with us.

Wear something Tropical

Who doesn’t love pulling out tropical clothes in the summer? My son Michael really got into the spirit and purchased the matching Tommy Bahama silk shirts for my husband and his brother Alex to wear on Sammy’s birthday.

My dress and Sammy’s are from SteinMart and mom bought her top from Chico’s of course. Palm print clothes are always trending in the summer.

Tables set for the Party

For our party, I purchased everything at Party City, Amazon, and Home Goods. Orchids and pineapples came from Kroger and were the easiest tablescapes. I was on the hunt for palm leaves and tropical banana leaf plants but didn’t want to spend money on a palm tree to go all Morticia Addams on it.

The plastic parrot glasses and pineapple plates were on sale at Home Goods and were perfect for our party!

The Menu

Drink Du Jour was a Pineapple Margarita, but I used an Anejo Tequila, which is an aged tequila and dark in color. I probably should have used a silver tequila like the recipe called for but it’s what my husband prefers to drink. Everyone thought it was delicious! I also used pineapple juice found in the dairy section, not canned. Canned anything has a metallic taste.

I had made everything beforehand and decided on our party to serve kabobs. We had a beef, chicken, and shrimp kabobs. Trust me, these recipes are FANTASTIC! Alex and my brother were the grill masters for our party.

Spicy BBQ Shrimp Kabobs

A simple fried rice dish is made ahead and warmed up when ready to serve.

Fried Rice

This Tropical Pineapple Salad is excellent the way it is, but I also added strawberries and blueberries.

The cake was from Publix, which has a wonderful bakery!

Sammy was so cute last year for her birthday last year but I wanted to show you her weight loss transformation after losing 25 pounds. I have written about Sammy’s weight loss journey and the photo below was taken on her birthday this year. The dress is loose fitting and can you see how thin her face is? She has been so terrific in keeping her weight down and we hope it continues. She has eliminated sugar, flour, and processed food completely from her diet. She only allows herself one cheat day a week and yesterday was her cheat/birthday.

She has done this on her own and I give credit to the Whole 30 diet and her FitBit Versa for keeping her on track.

Down Syndrome adults tend to be overweight because their lower metabolic rate means that they burn fewer calories overall compared to a typical adult and need to need to exercise more to burn off the same number of calories.

However, weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. Sammy lost weight by cutting calories and met her 10K step goal. This is what we all should be doing, not just children born with Down Syndrome.

Shop for Your Luau Party
[sc name=”luau”]

Thanks for stopping by!

Do you enjoy throwing a themed party?

This post contains affiliate links that may earn income for Hello I’m 50ish.

Aloha!