42 and cloudy is not your typical weather conditions for Hawaii, but nobody seemed to mind. Our living room and dining room here in Washington State were transformed into the sunny shores of Hawaii for Gracie's Luau birthday party.
We had a beach cake, palm trees (some complete with monkeys...though I'm not sure what that has to do with Hawaii) grass skirts (even one for the table), lei's, flowers for the hair, Hawaiian breeze (brought to us by my Mother-in-Law who graciously stopped by the store and bought tropical breeze air spray) and of course Hawaiian music.
For the "luau" portion of today's events, we had Hawaiian Punch and Hawaiian Pizza. Yes, it is a little like saying French fries are from France, but MOST of the kids didn't seem to mind. One very bright party goer did point out that "It's not really Hawaiian because it has Canadian bacon on it" she then went on to add "but it's my favorite so I don't mind"
After the luau, the kids played games. Hula Hoops of course! We had a hula hoop contest which somehow progressed into a jump rope contest. Which then naturally progressed into Hide and Seek....Hawaiian style.
It is amazing when you get a group of kids together the games take on a life of their own.
Hawaiian style hide and seek by the way, has very simple rules I was informed by another one of party. Once you are found, you and "IT" have to race for the base while Hula dancing. Of course!
About this time the sun decided to make an apperance at the Luau. So for a brief time, and if you wore a jacket, it was bright, the sky was deep blue and the sun was shining like the beaches of Waikiki.
After Hawaiian hide and seek they came back inside (because it was still 42 degrees out there) and decided to...what else....hula dance! Surprisingly, one of the boys was pretty good!
Then it was time for presents. What a haul!! These kids brought puzzles, games, dolls, one girl brought two beautiful sweaters from Nordstrom!
Then naturally they were ready for cake and ice cream. Chocolate with cherry filling and their choice of vanilla or tropical sherbet! But first we had a very rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" complete with popping sounds, monkey noises and beeps! And considering half the party goers call her Clare and the other half call her Gracie they decided before the singing portion of the event began, to all sing "Gracie Clare" at the appropriate place in the song.
On a side note: I have to say, Central Market has the BEST cake I have ever tasted. Just an FYI for anyone in the area. They actually used real cherries for the filling. So good I almost had a second piece!
Anyway, about this time the parents started arriving and the kids said their goodbyes. The Luau was a hit.
I can best sum it up with the parting words of one of Gracie's little girlfriends, "Mrs. Clare's Mom, this was the best birthday party ever!"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment