Birthday happiness

My birthday party table with candy buffet, watermelon shark and huge themed birthday cake courtesy of my wonderful boyfriend. We ate and ate and ate ourselves into a birthday tropical paradise!

Whew it's been a while since I uploaded anything or did a blog entry. I haven't even told you how my birthday party went! It was a few weeks ago and the luau theme was smashing! The weather cooperated and, though extremely windy, it was a hot and lovely night.

My luau-themed food went over well too. I started with the idea to roast a pig but that didn't fly. Then I dumbed the idea down to pulled pork sandwiches. That would have been more work and messiness than it was worth though. So in the end I did a bunch of finger foods, some on sticks, that guests could pick up and eat while mingling with a drink in one hand. For that drink, I made huge batches of sangria. One batch was my regular birthday (or any special occasion) alcoholic sangria. The other was a non-alcoholic sangria punch for anyone who wanted something refreshing but didn't want the buzz. The recipe is from Kraft Foods and it's served me well for a few parties. Seriously, it tastes just like the real thing!

For the food I made:
- fruit kabobs (self-explanatory enough)
- pigs in a blanket (get it??)
- candy buffet with tropical-themed candy like Swedish fish, gummy sharks, sour fruit, etc.
- Hawaiian pizza on a stick (this was a kabob of ham, pineapple and cheese with pizza dipping sauce)






And finally the main event:

My watermelon shark! I saw a picture of this online and knew I had to make it as the centerpiece of my party. I got directions here and enlisted my sister to help carve the shape of the shark mouth and teeth. Using blueberries for eyes and more Swedish fish as the shark's food, the whole thing was a big hit!

Add in some twinkle lights on the patio, a few leis for guests to wear, some beach balls and you've got yourself a party. So there it is, a long-awaited update and a recount of my birthday luau party. With a little imagination, Internet researching and some food I was able to create a tropical paradise birthday party.

And I whopped it up a bit with some sparklers at midnight!