Hawaii|Mokuʻāina o Hawaiʻi

Coconut Shell

The Coconut Messenger; An Original Hawaiian Luau Invitation

Part of the fun when throwing a party is sending out the invitations and the anticipation of a great response. You will often find the more creative and interactive the invitation the more excited the guests will be. A well planned and thoughtful invitation tells the guests you are putting together an equally well thought out party to match and they will really want to be there.

 

There are many exciting ways to invite guests to a Hawaiian Luau, but here is one I think is quite original, I call it ‘The Coconut Messenger’. Now this one takes a bit of effort, and depending on where you live could also be a bit expensive, but they are certainly worth the extra effort if you want to impress on your guests how cool your Hawaiian Luau is going to be.

 

The idea is to deliver a whole coconut shell to your guests which must be opened to reveal the invitation hidden inside, the fun is in the opening of the coconut which can be quite a challenge if you don’t know how.

 

You will need:

 

• As many coconuts as you have guests
• Coloured paper for the invitation
• Card stock or paper for the instructions
• Rafia or twine
• A screw driver, corkscrew or hammer and nail
• Laminating machine if possible

 

 

First let’s make the invite, keep it simple such as a handwritten note, or printed paper using a cool font. Parchment would add a nice touch too.

 

Once you have created the invitation if you have a laminating machine handy then laminate it as this will protect it, but if not just roll the invite into a tight scroll and wrap in plastic wrap ready to be inserted into the fresh coconut.

 

Usually a coconut is opened simply by giving it one hard knock in the exact right spot, at which time the coconut simply falls apart into two almost perfect halves. But for the purpose of this exercise we will need to drain the coconut water first as we are going to insert the invitation into the coconut and deliver it unopened.

 

 

To drain the water you will need to open one of the eyes, the three spot found on one end of the coconut. You can do this using a hammer and clean nail, a screw-driver or corkscrew. Make sure one of the eyes is opened wide enough for you to insert the invitation scroll.

 

Now place the coconut over a glass and allow the water to drain, to make it drain faster you can make a hole in the tail end too. Now let the kids drink the water, it is delicious and good for you, and is nice when chilled. When you are satisfied the coconut has been drained long enough you can insert the invitation.

 

Now for the tricky part, opening the coconut:

 

Now, being married to a pacific islander gives me the benefit of knowing the secrets to opening a coconut with out sending shards of shell flying in all directions, but this is still a job for grown ups okay.

 

Your guests will need instructions on cracking open the coconut, after all, opening a coconut when you don't know how can be a tad difficult, so your instructions could read like this:

 

I am the Coconut Messenger! I have two eyes, a mouth and a tail, and, I have a message inside...Open me!

Hold me in your hand with your thumb on my mouth and my tail facing the tip of your fingers...turn me around till you find my back, an obvious line. Now give me a good hard whack right on my back with a hammer and I will open to reveal my message to you!

 

Attach the note to the coconut with a piece of twine or raffia and leave on their doorstep. Fun huh!

About the Author

The Party Mums is a great place to start when planning the perfect party for your kids. We love to DIY wherever possible and keep the costs down. You'll find loads of great DIY party invitation ideas in our site and by signing up for our mailing list not only will you receive a great FREE article on how to throw the perfect party for kids of all ages, but you will also have access to our monthly members only Invitation Templates.

With The Party Mums your future parties will go down in the annuls of children's history as THE best ever.

Enjoy them while they're young!

What's better for orchids: dried coconut shell or charcoal?

One greenhouse guy says coconut shells retain too much moisture that can rot the roots, while my gardener swears by them. Greenhouse guy says use charcoal broken up and decorative pebbles to beautify the pot. Opinions?

Depends on the species. Some orchids like dendrobiums do better in bark or fibers that retain more moisture, some like vanadiums do better with the charcoal or gravel options that maintain a little drier environment.

Anything and everything with a coconut shell!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, March 14th, 2010 at 8:52 am and is filed under Hawaii. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.