You Can Make Your Own Luau Decorations.

Got a luau coming up and want to have fun before it starts? Make your own decorations. Throw your own great luau for any occasion, no matter what it is — wedding anniversary, birthday, or just for no reason at all. You can make your party a lot of fun and still keep your costs down by getting creative yourself with some magazines, scissors, plastic fish, Styrofoam, and a glue stick.

Think bright and sunny tropics

Use your decorations to create a mood of living in the tropics. Use images like palm trees, coconut leaves, tropical flowers like orchids and hibiscus, Hawaiian ambience-inducers like erupting volcanoes and humpback whales, just about anything that will bring the spirit of Hawaii into your party — make that luau.

You can make collages with your magazine pictures using images all of turquoise blue oceans, sailboats, sundrenched beaches, ocean sunsets, beach shacks, or anything that's going to invoke a wife for you, for your party invitations. If you're really feeling mischievous, send the invitations out in Hawaiian, and then let your friends figure out just what it is you're trying to say.

Decorate the sides of tables with make-believe grass skirts by cutting green garbage bags into long thin strips not more than 1-1.5" wide. On a warm day, have a table or ceiling fan working lazily to create an impression of an ocean breeze blowing softly through the hula skirts.

Your luau needs a theme

Establish a theme when it comes to making luau decorations - would you like a marine motif or a beach party? Or would you like to invite the Goddess Pele to fire up the event? If using a an ocean theme, find plastic tropical fish from the local party or toy store and hang them from the ceiling on clear fishing line.

Hanging the fish at different heights will give you and your guests the illusion that you are on the ocean floor and when you look up come see the fishes swimming overhead, just going along about their business in the ocean. Hang seaweed that's plastic from the ceiling, tack fishing nets up on the walls, or do anything else that will give you an "oceanic" ambience.

Create the appearance of an ocean floor by painting giant clamshells onto cheap secondhand white sheets and draping them over your sofas and lounge chairs. Hang a giant inflatable humpback whale at the doorway to welcome guests and get them into the spirit of the luau.

Beach culture for a little while

Focus on a beach "feel" for your luau decorations. Lowrise tables draped with beach towels, beach balls thrown haphazardly around the room, and beach mats placed on the floor instead of using chairs will give things that definite "beach casual" quality. Have a contest whereby you have guests come in flip-flops they've decorated themselves. The person with the most creative design goes home with a Hawaiian prize like a pineapple or a coconut.

And while Hawaii is certainly about casualness, fun and sun, it's not all that. There's also a deep and lasting culture of ancient and mystical traditions, which you can also include in your party. You can re-create "old" Hawaii by hanging "ritualistic" wooden masks on the walls or making totem poles out of painted Styrofoam cubes. Old Hawaiian temples called heiaus will give you an idea of what you can do. Find pictures of them to inspire you creative spirit.

Position the temple totems in various corners of the room, dim the lights, use only tiki torches and candles for lighting and paste glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling to create the appearance of a night sky.

You can also create your own volcano out of chocolate. Of course, everyone's probably going to want a bite, which is exactly the idea. If you want to make it "smoke," you can use dry ice. These simple ideals will do a lot to make your party into a luau with not much effort. And with them, you'll have Hawaii's deep, enduring spirit with you. Aloha! Remember not to take anything too seriously, and just kick back and have some fun.