Calling all Parrotheads and Creative People

[mrsltg]

I NEED HELP!!!

DH and I are throwing a Cheeseburger in Paradise party to celebrate Caroline's 1st birthday. We were going to have a pirate party but I stupidly mentioned the idea to a friend who is now having a pirate party for her son - I digress. DH is like the little girl in the Universal commercial - if we throw one more princess party he is going to hurl!

DH and I are parrotheads. We have gone so far as to put a tiki bar on our deck. We also have pink flamingo string lights and manner of Buffett/tiki paraphenalia. The party is the second Saturday in June. It will be a good mix of adults and kids. I am planning to put out the kiddie pool, have the sprinkler going, and some sort of bubble maker. We'll serve, what else? Cheeseburgers in Paradise and lots of fruity concoctions in both the adult and non-adult varities.

Here's where I need help... Decor! What should I use to decorate? I was thinking lots of beach balls, maybe some cheap pool inflatables? What else?

Thanks for all ideas!!!

 

[debster812]

pop over to the Oriental Trading Post website. They have pages upon pages of Parrot Head/luau/tropical 'stuff'.

I have a friend who has made door wreaths from wreath frames and cut up plastic leis.

I think inflatables are always good. We have 2 parrots and and 2 flamingos that have been to Buffet shows with us, for going on 9 years in a row.

Sounds like a super cute party.

 

[barkley]

we went to a kids party several years ago with a similar theme. the dad went out and bought several cheap slip and slides and those sprinklers that shoot water at different time intervals and put them all over the place for the kids to splash around in. for decor they got a bunch of colorful inner tubes and pool floaties which the kids then took home with them (a great way to clean up in my estimation). but i thought one of their best ideas came with their "goodie bags". dad went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of sand buckets-in each he put a bag of chips, a capri sun, a bag of fruit treats, a little sample size container of sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses, and a bottle of bubbles. the kids munched on the snacks while they waited for the food to cook, and they used all the other stuff over the course of the day. oh-they also used a bunch of garrish beach towels as table cloths (got um cheap at the dollar store).

if you are going to have even a small kiddie pool up make sure there is a responsible adult seated next to it the entire time-the party we went to did'nt have one because they did'nt want to take any chances with a toddler sneaking in unnoticied (too easy for a tragedy to occur).

 

[mrsltg]

Great ideas to both! Thanks so much! I definitely think the goodie bags will be sand pails.

Thanks again!

 

[CPM]

I've had a Margaritaville party. It was a 40th birthday party, not for children but children were present.
Lots of blow up sharks!! I had them hanging from the back of my house, on the overhang.

I rented frozen drink machines!! That was a huge hit. You can do these as virgin instead of real liquor if you are worried about the kids getting at them.
We also had jello shots. You can make jigglers instead,maybe in flamingo shapes.
We also used sand buckets as serving bowls, and a baby blow up pool held food as well. It looked so cute.

Oriental Trading and Party City have so many fun items for this type of party! You can get the girls big straw hats and flamingo sunglasses.

What fun you will have!!!

BTW, if you have a Publix near you, they can make rainbow bread for you and you can make cute little sandwhiches that will be very colorful.

 

[gris gris]

Parrotthead here - gris gris ! Did you get tickets to a show this year? I have lucky Ticketmaster fingers and ended up with 6 to Great Woods and 6 to Jones Beach.

Anyhow I have a recipe (but it's at home, I'll post it later on) for "cheeseburgers in paradise" - they're little cookies made to look like cheeseburgers. Nilla wafers, shredded coconut colored green, etc....I'll get it for you when I get home. They look just like little burgers and taste great.

Also my daughter came home once with cupcakes made to look like a little beach scene. The frosting was light blue (like the ocean) and there was a little Teddy Graham on each one, plus a strawberry or orange creme saver candy (beach ball), and a drink umbrella. The person who made them also crumbled up some graham crackers and put the crumbs on 1/2 of the cupcake under the teddy graham to look like sand. Very cute!!

Don't forget the Corona and limes

Sounds like a great party. I wish we could come!

 

[kpm76]

We're doing a similar theme for my sister's bridal shower....she is a HUGE Buffet fan!! We're having her cake in the shape of two flip flops and the cake lady is going to put a pop tart under one of them....lol. Her invitations have flip flops on them and for favors I think I am making candy in the shape of palm trees, hawaiian shirts, flip flops etc.

 

[gris gris]

Geez I just re-read your post and see you wanted decorating ideas and not food ideas. I'm not creative with decorating

 

[goofygirl]

You can have these laying around:

Sunglasses

Flip flops

suntan lotion


Seashells

Get a cheap box and fill it with "pirate loot": candy coins, beads, glitter

Lei's

blow-up stuff, like someone else said.

if you want to go to the trouble, you can make a volcano with paper mache.

 

[mrsltg]

These are all great ideas!

I love the ideas for the cookies and cupcakes. I am also going to make a cake I saw in a magazine.
- one pound cake
-lots of bead necklaces
Slice the pouncake about 2/3 of the way through lengthwise so it now has a hinged lid. Place the beads in and have the ends hang out - you now have a treasure chest!

You all are fantastic!

WARNING::: I am the least creative person in the world so if you come up with a really good idea that's difficult I may have to have you come to the house to help me....

 

[MagicalMom]

You have to get this parrot dress.

http://www.abcdistributing.com/store/0406F1/80.cfm?q=dress&prevIndex=0&nextIndex=2&t=29&cart=

 

[gris gris]

Here's the cheeseburger cookie recipe courtesy of the Pirates in the Pantry cookbook (Parrotthead club of CT):

1 can vanilla frosting
red, yellow & green food coloring
1 box of Nilla wafers
1 box of mint cookies (like girl scout thin mints)
shredded coconut

Mix red and yellow food coloring with vanilla frosting until you get a nice "yellow cheese" color.
Mix a few drops of green food coloring with the coconut to make lettuce.
Spread the cheese onto inside of Nilla wafer, stick a mint cookie onto it , put some shredded coconut on the mint cookie, then stick another wafer on the bottom.