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Summer luau party guide

People outside at a luau party.

Say aloha to summer with a luau! Celebrate a birthday or even just a casual backyard gathering with Hawaiian-themed decorations, dishes, drinks and activities.

Decorations

Nothing says luau like tropical flowers and greenery. Buy a bouquet of orchids, birds of paradise, anthuriums or ginger, or get hibiscus or palm plants in pots. Or for a more affordable and unexpected option, buy some flat tropical leaves, such as the philodendron leaves (available at florists) shown here. You can even write guests’ names on them with a chalk marker or permanent marker and use them as place cards. Add fruit, including baby bananas, citrus, kiwi and papaya, as an accent. Mix and match wooden or bamboo dinner plates with bright napkins and woven straw napkin rings or placemats.

Evite Aloha Summer Tropical Luau Party
Evite Aloha Summer Tropical Luau Party
Evite Aloha Summer Tropical Luau Party

Dishes

Keep eats easy yet on theme. Set sail with a pineapple boat appetizer—simply cut a pineapple in half lengthwise and hollow it out, then use as a serving dish for mango salsa. For the entrée, grill kabobs or fish and serve with a salad on the side.

Evite Aloha Summer Tropical Luau
Evite Aloha Summer Tropical Luau
Evite Aloha Summer Tropical Luau

Dessert

For a simple dessert, dish up coconut and mango or raspberry fruit sorbet in lemon cups and serve with little wooden spoons. To make the lemon cups, just cut the top third off the lemon and a small slice from the bottom so it sits flat, then use a knife to cut around the inside edge and hollow it out.

Evite Aloha Summer Tropical Luau

Drinks

Get the luau started with piña coladas and cranberry-pineapple lemonade. To add extra pizazz to your party drinks, serve them in hollowed-out pineapples and/or add fun garnishes such as cocktail umbrellas, tropical drink stirrers, pineapple, citrus, maraschino cherries and mint sprigs.


Evite Aloha Summer Tropical Luau Party
Evite Aloha Summer Tropical Luau

Activities

Your guests will go coco-nuts for this photo booth. Tape palm fronds and philodendron leaves to a brightly-colored wall and create some fun photo props using some paper and wooden dowels. Adorn your guests with fresh flower leis (available at florists) or fake ones (available at party stores or online). Now turn up your Hawaiian music playlist, do the hula and snap some party pics. More ideas: hula hoop or limbo contests!

Evite Aloha Summer Tropical Luau
Evite Aloha Summer Tropical Luau


Get your luau started with invitation from our summer invitation gallery.

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What makes Evite SignUp Sheets different from other signup tools?

Developed hand-in-hand with community organizers, PTA presidents, parents and teachers, Evite's signup sheets are designed to make organizing volunteers a breeze. Here are a few ways SignUp Sheets are different than other signup tools:

  • 100% free: SignUp Sheets are free to use.
  • Ad-free: No popup ads ever! Our signup sheets remain clutter-free, keeping your volunteers focused on signing up.
  • No extra login required: Seamlessly use your Evite account to create and manage your signup sheets, keeping all your events in one convenient location.
  • Automatic reminders and notifications: Stay on top of your event with automated reminders and notifications for you and your participants. Perfect for busy parents, teachers and anyone juggling multiple commitments.
  • Customization options: Tailor your signup sheets to your specific event, whether it's a school fundraiser, potluck, volunteer opportunity or team activity. Add custom tasks, time slots and requirements for smooth coordination.
  • User-friendly experience: Our intuitive interface makes creating and sharing signup sheets simple for everyone, regardless of tech experience.
  • Real-time updates: Get instant notifications whenever someone signs up or makes a change, so you always know where things stand.

Choose Evite SignUp Sheets for the easiest, most streamlined way to get volunteers and signups for your next event!

What is a SignUp Sheet?

Signup sheets are the perfect way to streamline scheduling, volunteer recruitment, class parties, snack duty, potluck organization, parent-teacher conferences and more! You can think of them as your digital assistant for coordinating events and tasks and ensuring that your event is a success.

Evite SignUp Sheets offers parents, teachers and event planners customizable online forms that organizers and volunteers can access and update effortlessly. Volunteers can choose their preferred time slots, sign up for tasks or indicate what they'll bring to the event. It only takes organizers a few minutes to create a signup sheet and send it out with a shareable link, so they can get the word out via text, email or social media—whichever way they prefer! 

Long story short, SignUp Sheets save everyone involved tons of time, avoid scheduling headaches and ensure everything runs smoothly before and during the event.

How do I create a SignUp Sheet?

Creating a signup sheet has never been easier than with Evite! Here’s how to create a sheet that’s sure to make your event an absolute success:

  1. Go to Evite SignUp Sheets and choose the template that best fits your needs. Evite offers multiple signup sheet templates perfect for every occasion, including:
    • Signup sheets for one day events (without different time slots), perfect for when you’re organizing a class party, potluck or end-of-season party.
    • Signup sheets for single or multiple day events (with time slots), perfect for when you’re organizing concession stand volunteers, fundraisers, parent-teacher conferences, meal train, post-game snack duty or during appreciation week.
  1. After selecting your sheet template, create a title for your signup sheet and add the date, the location, the time (if applicable), who the organizer is, the organizer’s phone number or email and an optional note describing the event to your volunteers. You can also change your signup sheet background and title image if you wish!
  1. Next, create slots for your signup sheet. If you aren’t logged into your account, you will need to do so at this point, but luckily, you can use your existing Evite account (no need to create yet another login!). What you’ll include here will depend on what your event needs, but you can include a list of what’s needed (along with optional descriptions), how many volunteers are needed, and dates and times.
  1. After creating your slots, you can then add a wish list from any retailer or include supply suggestions from Evite’s retailer partners. These are to help your volunteers find and purchase supplies quickly and easily.
  1. Finally, review your sheet, copy your shareable link and send it out to everyone on your list! Every time a volunteer signs up for a slot on your signup sheet, Evite will email you. We will also send reminders to you and your volunteers before your event so no one will forget about it, and we’ll even let volunteers know if you remove their slot or cancel your event sheet so you don’t have to!

What information should be included on a SignUp Sheet?

When it comes to signup sheet information, there are some essentials to include regardless of what you’re organizing:

  1. A title for your signup sheet. Tip: Aim to keep your signup sheet title concise but clear. You want volunteers to read it and have a general understanding of what your event is about, and also make it easy for them to look for later if they need to reference your sheet again. You have the option to include a more descriptive note in a different field about your event, so save the more in-depth details for that!
  1. When and where the event is taking place. 
  1. The organizer’s name and phone number.
  1. Slots for volunteers to choose from. Once you choose the SignUp Sheets template that fits the occasion, the slots you’ll need for your sheet will be right there and ready for you to add the relevant info, such as dates, times, items to bring and tasks to complete. 

When adding your slot information, clearly define what people are signing up for, especially for a what-to-bring list or role assignments. If you want someone to bring healthy snacks for kids to enjoy after a game, specify that. You want your volunteers to feel confident in what they’re bringing and to make it easy for them to know what’s expected of them. It will save them time and stress (and you, too!). That being said, if you make your ask too specific (for example, asking for a hard-to-source item or something expensive), you may not end up with a volunteer for it. So be clear about what you expect, but also be reasonable!

Aside from providing the basic signup information, you can also add optional descriptions to both your entire signup sheet and individual slots. While not required, they can help guide your volunteers further and provide more information. You can add information about allergies, preferences and general info about the event. You can also add a wish list to make it easier for your volunteers to bring exactly what you need!

What are the benefits of using a SignUp Sheet template?

Signup sheet templates offer a ton of advantages for both organizers and volunteers and with Evite SignUp Sheets, you'll enjoy even more benefits than other digital and paper signup sheets! Some benefits our signup sheet templates offer include:

  • A 100% free experience (no subscriptions required!).
  • Shareable links for quick and easy sharing.
  • No need to create another login—you can use your existing Evite account.
  • The option to add a wish list to help your volunteers out.
  • Automatic reminders—we’ll remind everyone on your behalf.
  • An easy-to-use experience with eye-catching guided templates.
  • Clean, modern designs with no pop-up ads.

With Evite SignUp Sheets, you can enjoy organizing and coordinating all your events with ease. Signup sheets streamline the signup process for everyone involved, ensuring that everything will go to plan on the day of your event while saving you precious time in the process.

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