HAWAII THEME CHRISTMAS PARTY TIPS

* Use Hawaii theme Christmas cards as your party invitations
* Have guests wear name badges with their name translated into Hawaiian

* Decorate your party location in silk flower garlands

* Adorn your guests in fresh or silk flower leis.

* Have a Hawaiian Santa and/or Hula Menehune

* Have a Makepono Gift Exchange

* Play fun Hawaii theme Christmas Games

* Play Hawaiian theme Christmas music
* Use Umbrella Straws in Drinks

* Have Hawaiian theme place cards at the dinner table

* Wrap gifts in Hawaiian Christmas paper

* Read out loud a Hawaii Christmas story

* Decorate your Christmas Tree and/or Buffet Table in Hawaii theme ornaments, silk flower garlands, and Hawaii theme fairy lights

HAWAIIAN SANTA & HULA MENEHUNE

Have a man, preferably tanned or a darker skinned man, to play the Hawaiian Santa. Have him wear a white Santa beard, a red Santa hat, Aloha shirt, shorts, and beach shoes.

In addition to or instead of a Hawaiian Santa  you can have a lovely lady dress as Santa’s helper Hula Menehune (elf) dressed in a green real grass skirt, a red, green or white top (bikini or t-shirt), a

red Santa hat

, and a red silk flower lei.

MAKEPONO GIFT EXCHANGE

Have a Makepono (bargain) gift exchange. Everyone has at least one gift that they’ve received in their closet that's a perfectly good gift, but does not suit their taste or they already have one. Tell each guest to bring a gift wrapped item they had previously received as a gift and have never used. Have your guests place their Makepono gift under the Christmas Tree or on a gift table when they come in. We recommend the host provide a few extra Makepono gifts for those who may forget. Then have your Hawaiian Santa and/or lovely Santa’s helper Hula Menehune (elf) distribute the gifts randomly to the guests. Encourage everyone to mingle to see what other people got and trade among each other. As they saying goes; one persons' trash is another persons' treasure. This fun activity won’t cost anyone anything and is a great mixer!

HAWAIIAN CHRISTMAS WORD FINDER MIXER

Game Preparation

This is a really fun mixer that gets your guests to mingle! Create name badges for each guest with their name in Hawaiian (see our name translation resource at www.alohafriends.com/name.html ) Then below their Hawaiian name put a Christmas related word in English and its translation in Hawaiian. Words can be used on more than one name badge.

How Game Works

When your guests arrive have them put on their name badge and give them a paper listing all of the English Christmas words and advise them to mix with the other guests to find the translation for all of the words. Advise each guest once they have located all the translations to put their name on their answer sheet and have a drop box or basket for your guests to put the completed answer sheets in. Later during the party randomly pull a winner from everyone who returned a completed Christmas words translations answer sheet and award a prize. Christmas Phrases:

Angel – Anela

Candy – Kanake

Christmas Eve – Ahiahi Kalikimaka

Christmas Tree – La’au Kalikimaka

Elf – Menehune

Garland -  Lei

Gift – Makana

God - Akua

Holly – Kawa’u

Jesus Christ- Iesu Kristo

Joy, Happy – Hau’oli

Love – Aloha

Merry Christmas - Mele Kalikimaka

Mistletoe – Kaumahana

Ornament - Wehi

Peace – Malu

Reindeer - Leinekia

Santa Claus – Kanakaloka

Snow – Hau Kea

Snowball – Popohau

Snowflake – Hau puehuehu

Star - Hoku

Wreath – Lei

THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT GAME

You will need

A prize wrapped in several layers of gift wrap and boxes (The more the merrier)

1 Pair of Gloves that will fit up to the largest hands of your guests (The bigger the funnier)

1 Hat (Santa hat, knit hat, or beach hat)

1 Die

How to play:

Have those who will be playing stand in a circle with the gloves, hat, and wrapped box placed in the center of the circle. The game begins by someone rolling the die. Each player in turn rolls the die once. If the player rolls a 3 (three) they will then pass the die to the player next to them, then hurry into the middle to put on the gloves and hat and start to unwrap the package. Players must move fast because the next player who rolls a 3 must pass the die and rush to the center where they will take the hat off of the person already unwrapping. The player already in the center must stop unwrapping immediately, take off the gloves, gives them to the next person who begins trying to open the present with the gloves on. The person bumped from the center returns to their spot in the circle. The game continues like this until the package is completely unwrapped. The last player unwrapping receives the prize. Keep in mind the trickier you wrap the gift the more fun it is to open!

CHRISTMAS CANDY GAME

You will need:

8 different individual serving size candies (Candy Cane, Chocolate Santa, M&M’s, Peanut Butter Cup, etc)

2 dice

How to play

Have everyone who will play sit on the floor in a circle with the packaged candy in the middle of the circle. Go around the circle and have everyone say their name and how they know the host. The host then makes sure that everyone knows what candy is in the middle by introducing each piece of candy. The person to the host’s right begins by rolling the dice. If they roll a 7, they can take one of the candies from the middle. The die continues to go quickly around the circle while people keep picking up candy. When all of the candies are taken, people then can get other player's candy. In order to get their candy, they must state the person's first name and the name of the candy they hold. The player who rolls a 7 and matches the name of the candy and the person takes the other's candy. If they forget either name, they miss their turn and the dice goes to the next person and they continue to roll. One person can get more than one candy and people can hide the candy behind their back. The host calls the end of the game after 20 minutes or whenever they see fit. This is a great way of getting to know people's name and how to get your favorite candies!

HOOKED ON CANDY CANES GAME

You will need:

Full size individually wrapped candy canes (not the mini's)

Red Solo Cups

How to play

Scatter candy canes on the playing table. Each player puts the stick end of a candy cane in their mouth. When the game begins each player tries to hook candy canes on the table using the candy cane in their mouth, without using their hands! Once they hook a candy cane they must place it in the red solo cup to count. This is trickier than it sounds and is a lot of fun! Run the game for 2 minutes and the person with the most candy canes in their cup is the winner!

GRAB THE LUCKY CHRISTMAS GECKO BY THE TAIL

You will need

bandanas or T-shirts or paper tails

Santa Hats (optional)

How to play

Break your guests into teams of 3-5 people. Have the members on each team of 3-5 people hold on to each others waists or link elbows to create the lucky gecko. Put a Santa hat on the head of the first person and tuck a bandana or t-shirt or paper tail in the back pocket of the end person so it hangs out and acts as the gecko tail. The object of the game is to steal the tail of the other geckos while avoiding other geckos who are trying to steal your tail. Teams must stay linked to participate, no letting go to grab the tail. Only the first person can reach for the opponents tail. Once a team’s tail has been stolen the team must go to the sideline. The last team to have a tail wins the title of the ultimate Lucky Gecko Tail Catcher and a prize.

SUGGESTIONS FOR PRIZE PRESENTATION

Decorate your Christmas tree in Hawaii theme ornaments and when someone wins a game allow them to choose an ornament from the tree to keep as their prize!

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