- Make a tropical fruit dish by carving out a large watermelon and filling it with tropical fruits. The kids will think the watermelon is so cool that they will eat all of their healthy fruit without complaining. Of course, what tropical party is complete without some smoothies. Serve smoothies with one of those little umbrellas coming out of the top of the glass. The 9-year-olds will enjoy playing with the umbrella as much as drinking the smoothie.
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Tiki hutMake, purchase or rent a tiki hut. Tiki huts scream tropical paradise and are perfect for giving your 9-year-old and her friends a place to gather together. This decoration should be the central focus with all other decorations surrounding it. You may want to include some tiki statues, palm trees and coconut center pieces. If you plan on having this party at night, you will need some tiki torches to light up a path to the party area. They will also help to keep the bugs away. - Make sure you have some items that will help your 9-year-old's friends feel like they are at a tropical party. For example, you will need a lei for each guest to wear around her neck. A fresh flower can be places in each of the girl's hair. You may also want to provide some grass skirts and coconut bras (to be worn on the outside of their clothes) for doing some hula dancing.
- Purchase or borrow a couple of reggae CDs and have them playing in the background. You may also want to clear a dance floor and allow the children to dance to the music. Make sure you check the tapes first to make sure they don't contain any messages that are inappropriate for a 9-year-old to hear.
- Play an instruction hula dance video for the kids. Then have them tell their own story by using the hula moves they learned in the video. Award prizes to the best hula dancers. Limbo is another game that is perfect to do when hosting a tropical party for a group of 9-year-olds. Use some of your music from above and find out how low they can go.
