It was this time last year that Moana was released on home video, so my oldest decided she wanted to feature the flick during her squad sleepover to celebrate her 9th birthday. The movie’s Polynesian influence was the perfect inspiration for an island inspired fete so I used this as my jumping off point for our party theme.
To set the tone the invitations featured a pretty pineapple design and I added these fun and fruity watermelon stickers from the dollar store to adorn the handmade paper envelopes.
For the décor, I decided to hit the local party supply store as they have a pretty great roundup of luau themed decorations. The island was decorated with a grass tableskirt and grasscloth looking placemats (the latter of which I already had).
I found these incredible coconut vases that I filled with pink and orange carnations from the grocery store. I also picked up clementine oranges with the stems and leaves attached as it added to the tropical vibe.
The Pua stuffy was a gift for our birthday girl purchased at The Disney Store.
These vibrant tiki wall plaques added to ambience and festive party picks in tropical colours were a nice touch on the cupcakes.
I often shop my house first when I have a party to plan, borrowing décor from any and every room if necessary. The lush green wreaths are the ones I hang on my porch in the spring and summer.
Displaying the movie case helped set the stage for our theme. I then cut out some spiky shaped leaves from green construction paper and paired them with mini yellow balloons to make these adorable pineapple wall decals.
The fringed birthday banner and tissue paper flower decals we already had from a previous party, but were originally purchased at Target.
The ukulele was a souvenir gifted to my husband after a friend’s trip to Hawaii, as was the mini surfboard art. I blew up some mini pastel coloured balloons and grouped them with faux greenery for a fun wall hanging.
For the dinner table, I used a scrap of leftover palm print fabric from pillows I had made for our home. Walmart had these sweet little palm leaf side plates so I picked up four at only a couple of dollars each and placed them over our everyday white plates.
These adorable plastic coconut cups with lids were also from the party supply store. I used a gold paint pen to write each girl’s name on their cup. Dinner consisted of Hawaiian pizza (naturally) and pineapple juice.
After dinner the girls played charades and headbands. Set up their sleeping bags and put on their pyjamas. Then they cozied up to watch Moana. I set up a popcorn bar with a few fun treats including gummy fish, sour watermelons, chocolate covered berries and M&Ms (Moana + Muai).
I also snagged this awesome Ice Shaver for under $20 at the party supply store and we made our own Shave Ice (a Hawaiian treat) and topped it with pureed pineapple and strawberries. These cute bamboo spoons were a fun touch.
After the movie ended and the giggles died down, the girls settled into their sleeping bags to tell secrets until they talked themselves right to sleep.
In the morning I set up a breakfast bar that included coconut yogurt with granola and a halved pineapple filled with chopped fruit, as well as toaster waffles with maple syrup and watermelon wedges on sticks. Yum!
The girls dressed in their matching “squad goals” t-shirts that I found at H&M for $8 and had placed in their favour bags along with a flower lei, hibiscus hair clip, coconut drinking cup and a bag of tropical skittles. Altogether the goodies came in around $15 per guest.
It was a really fun party to plan and put together but I am exhausted just writing about it. So it will definitely be a rare occasion in this household.
