All about the Moana birthday party I put together:
I wanted to throw myself another themed birthday party this year after skipping the last two years. Moana felt like an easier theme to do, as there’s plenty of luau party supplies available. And even if Moana 2 was not my favorite, it felt timely since that movie had come out in the past year!
As an adult, my parties have a big focus on food and drink. But I still like to plan some activities and other things to go along with the food! And of course I do my best to add some fun decorations.
If you want to put together your own Moana birthday party, here’s a look at some of the details and ideas I incorporated.
This post contains affiliate links – that means it costs nothing extra to you when you purchase by clicking the link but I make a couple of extra cents to support the blog!
Moana decorations
I was able to find a lot of generic luau and Hawaiian-themed party decor that worked well – I really liked these tropical flowers and leaves to help set the mood. I used Luau themed plates and napkins to go with them. And when Party City was going out of business, I managed to grab a Moana Happy Birthday banner!
Another focal point was where I set up the photo booth. I had a Moana backdrop that said “What can I say except you’re welcome?” with silhouettes of Moana, Maui, Heihei, and Pua. To make it a little more festive I added these fish nets.
I also believe that a fun tablecloth can really add a lot! Rather than overwhelming the space with more luau-themed pictures, I went with a set of ocean tablecloths.
In order to label all of the food and drink items, I created my own party food tents and printed them. I added some Moana characters, and they were very easy to print and set up. Definitely an easy way to add to the Moana theme.
Finally, I went through my Disney collections for anything Moana themed to add to the tables.
Moana birthday party food ideas
I had a number of snacks and food items for my party – both “entree” type items and desserts.
For the more savory dishes, I made Hawaiian ham sliders, chicken nuggets, pigs in a blanket, and coconut rice. The ham sliders I prepped ahead of time and were able to just stick them in the oven. I decorated them with toothpicks I made using the printables from this blog post.
I went with chicken nuggets and pigs in a blanket because I wanted to give them some clever names – so they became “Boat Snack!” and “Pua in a Blanket” (sorry HeiHei and Pua!).
For sweet options, I decided to go with cupcakes instead of a cake. I used a vanilla cake mix, but I wanted to incorporate the tropical vibes a bit more so I also made a passion fruit curd to use as a filling. It was my first time making anything like that, but I think it turned out really well!
To decorate the cupcakes I dyed vanilla icing green, and then had a green gel icing to create the “Heart of TeFiti” on top. It wasn’t overly complex and I was happy with how they looked. I also added a Moana-themed cupcake wrapper.
In honor of Tamatoa, we also had some “shiny snacks”! I got some chocolate coins and Rolos (basically any candy that had a gold wrapper!). But the real fun was in the plate – I got a gold plate and used purple paper to add some details to make it really look like these were Tamatoa’s snacks!
For anyone who wanted a lighter option, I had a fruit salad using tropical fruits like pineapple and kiwi.
Moana themed drinks
I love to have fun cocktails at my parties, and I’ve gotten creative lately with inventing some of my own cocktails as well. I had 4 specialty alcoholic drinks and 1 non-alcoholic mocktail. We also had water, soda, and beer.
A few of these drinks were a twist on a classic beverage. The non-alcoholic one, called the Moana, was layered lemonade and hibiscus iced tea. The Maui Mai Tai was mostly just your typical Mai Tai. The Montunui Sunrise was a version of a Tequila Sunrise that added mango juice.
The most fun drink was probably what I called the “Wayfinder’s Wave.” This was inspired by the “Seven Seas Lagoon” cocktail served at Disney World. I got mini fish bowls to serve them in and they are garnished with gummy fish and glow cubes.
And finally I had to have a coconut drink! The Kakamora Kooler was a coconut rum punch, but I served them in plastic coconut cups. I even painted a few of them to look like the Kakamora.
I always like to have bottled water on hand for parties. Since water and the ocean are such an important part of Moana’s story, I made the water bottles a bit fancy! I created and printed water bottle labels inspired by her island.
My friend picked up some of the beer for the party and was very on theme by getting beers from Maui Brewing Company!
Moana party games and activities
This was a fairly casual gathering, but we did have some activities and fun things to do! We started by watching the movie. Most people had seen it before, but we had one or two guests who were watching for the first time!
Once the movie was over we socialized and I encouraged people to participate in some of the activities I had created. At the “games” table I had some activity sheets and crafts.
Coloring sheets were popular with adults at my last party, so I made sure we had some of those with colored pencils and markers available.
I created a few of my own activities as well. I had a Moana trivia sheet, as well as a “guess the lyrics” game.
For those feeling a little more crafty, I had a jewelry-making spot! I had some tropical-themed beads as well as some that were close to the turquoise color of Moana’s necklace.
I also had a photo booth area set up with props and encouraged people to take pictures!
And I’d also like to take a moment to celebrate my cat Sam, who was very present at this party. He loved people and loved being around everyone. Sam passed away a few weeks ago (just a month after my birthday). He was the best, sweetest cat. I miss you, Sam <3
I own a number of Disney board games, and brought some of them out. We chose to play Disney Family Feud, but after a few rounds the general consensus was that the answers they had gotten for this game were… not the best. In fact, they were pretty awful.
Many of the questions were along the lines of “Name the Disney character most likely to XYZ” (think things like “the character you’d most want to play video games with,” “the character you’d want to be best friends with,” “the character who would be good at playing the drums”).
I don’t know who they supposedly asked, but almost every question had Mickey Mouse as the #1 or #2 answer! Even when there are clearly characters who would be much better choices. So we made up our own version of the game instead. My friends invented a game they called “We asked 100 Beckys” in which I had to leave the room while they read the questions and tried to guess what my top answers would be. That was a more fun way to play!
We ended the night by watching Moana 2.
Moana party favors
Back when I was a kid, I loved getting a treat bag or goody bag. As an adult you typically get a favor when you attend a wedding, but we don’t really give little favors or gifts at “regular” parties anymore. So I figured my friends would enjoy a few surprise parting gifts!
I got colorful treat bags and filled them with a few simple but fun items. Each bag had a pack of Moana fruit snacks, a few Moana stickers, and some tropical temporary tattoos. I had also had leis available for people to wear when they arrived and I encouraged them to take a lei home if they wanted.
Where to get Moana party supplies
Finding the perfect items for your Moana party can be a bit of a challenge if you want to go beyond the typical commercial items with the characters on them. One thing that helped was to search more for luau party supplies. I also searched a lot for beach or ocean themed party items.
While I got a lot of my Moana party supplies from Amazon, there were a few other places that were helpful too! I made a lot of my own stuff that I could print, and I now have some of it for sale in my Etsy shop. I also hit some local party stores and Dollar Tree (they have some great tropical themed items if you are planning this party in the beginning of summer!).
Looking for an easy way to create your own Disney-themed party at home? Check out my party printables available on Etsy! Just print and assemble and you’ll have some great decor for your next event!
Related Posts
What is your favorite part of this Moana birthday party?
The plastic coconut cups and Te Fiti cupcakes are way too cute! I love it all.
Thank you! 🙂
You are so creative with your parties,!