Post #213609 by lastmango on Thu, Feb 9, 2006 6:46 AM

Wow, sorry to hear this. I guess we were lucky to have the exact opposite experience at our first Tiki party. We had made a small Tiki bar in our basement after we moved into our current house. In the fall when it was decided that it was our turn to host our family Christmas Eve party, I casually mentioned that it would be fun to make it a theme party like 'Christmas in the Islands'. I though it would be a fun way to help us through our long Canadian winter. There we some groans and jokes from my family, and I thought no one would take my suggestion seriously.

So when the Christmas holidays arrived, we decorated the bar, bought extra leis, loaded the stereo with calypso and exotica cds and stocked up on both beer and liquors for the big party. On Christmas Eve, I was behind the bar in my best Hawaiian shirt and my wife was wearing her island dress and her new leis.

I was pleasantly shocked to see that all of our family and friends had taken the suggestion to heart. Everyone came to the party in their best island outfits under their heavy winter coats and boots. Some even brought their own leis, and all the kids had plastic grass skirts. One couple even brought fresh cut pineapple cups for their island drinks. I could not make the drinks fast enough and everyone had a great time.