How to Make Hawaiian Decorations

From children's birthday parties to swinging cocktail parties, summer picnics to weddings, Hawaiian decorations are a popular theme, adding tropical color to an event. Making decorations is easy and affordable so, in no time, your guests will be transported to a Polynesian luau, especially if you shake up a pitcher of Mai Tais.

Things You'll Need

• Craft supplies Lights Themed dishware

Instructions

Do-it-Yourself Island Style

1. Start simple. Use patterns and colors to create a Hawaiian theme. Check fabric shops or craft stores for yardage of big floral prints on sale and use the fabric to cover tables, dress windows, drape over patio chairs, create sarongs, tie into bows, line baskets or fold into napkins. Hawaiian decorations tend toward bright and jewel tones such as verdant green, poppy orange, hibiscus red, ocean blue and sunny yellow.

2. Add flora and fauna. Flowers, vines and greenery are ideal Hawaiian decorations, whether they come from nature or the craft store. Place leafy potted plants and bright tropical blossoms in painted pots or bright glass vases.Try your hand at making big tissue-paper flowers and stringing them from porch rafters, trellises, fences and around furniture. Pots of lucky bamboo are another tropical element.

3. Integrate natural materials into the decorations. Hawaii is a place of natural wonder and the decoration can reflect its bounty. Use palm fronds and coconuts as table centerpieces. Fill tin buckets with sand and set candles inside. Create basket arrangements with raffia, tropical fruits, leaves, stones and seashells. Create a canopy with a net and weave flowers through it. Put starfish and sand dollars near place settings.

4. Fire up your lighting scheme. Hawaiian decorations might include carved wooden Tiki torches or bright paper lanterns. You can also make luminarias with paper bags and tea lights. If you are feeling really, set up a fire pit in the back yard for a clambake. You can improvise a mini fire pit with a Hibachi or a ceramic garden chimney.

5. Consider diving into a DIY project. Martha Stewart, the queen of crafty, takes on some bigger Hawaiian decoration projects (see Resources). She gives instructions on how to assemble a Tiki bar, how to sew up some flowered floor cushions, how to outfit a cooler with its own grass skirt, how to string up a row of flower-shaped party lights and how to adorn an ice bucket with ti leaves.

Tips & Warnings

• Create a fun backdrop by painting a beach wall mural or creating a Tiki totem pole from cardboard boxes.

• Check with your landlord or city before building a fire pit.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Hawaiian Decorations from Martha Stewart