Midnight. Candy. Pulled Pork. Candied Bacon. Pineapple. Lights.

A colleague planned a midnight tropical luau party for a large summer camp. The camp was held three weeks in a row so we held the event three times. After setting it up multiple times, we became pretty efficient at putting together a large scale luau in record time. I was charged with centerpieces for the parties.

After searching Pinterest, I decided to try the pineapple tree centerpiece. It had a certain wow factor because of the height. There were two round tables with the main courses (BBQ pulled pork sliders, candied bacon, cut fruit) and two side tables where children assembled candy sushi (Rice Krispie treats and gummy candy). The main tables both had a pineapple tree.

My husband rigged a base which consisted of a piece of wood with a PVC pipe screwed into it. I covered it with a clear trash bag before putting the pineapples on it to keep it from getting covered in sticky pineapple juice.

Next, we used a pineapple corer to remove the middles. (Have a plan for the unused pineapple meat and juice.) We did it outside to cut down on the mess. The corer was very easy to use.

Then we slid the pineapples on to the bag covered pipes (biggest on the bottom) and added the shiny pineapple tree topper from Party City. It looked a little plain so I added some leis and a cardboard parrot for color.

Lighting is key for outdoor parties held at night. Our challenge was that no open flames were permitted. We resorted to fairy lights and twist LED lights that could easily be hidden and required small batteries.

To finish it off, I added sand around the base to absorb the juice from the pineapples and faux leaves and shells liven it up.

Theme: Midnight Tropical Party

Colors: Primary colors (rainbow)

Featured Items: Real pineapple “tree” centerpieces, fairly lights, bulb lights, leis, grass table skirts

Supplies: Plastic tablecloths, grass table skirts, bulb lights, fairy lights, sand, faux tropical leaves, leis, shells, small twist LED lights, Chinese lanterns, metal hooks for light strings, decorative paper pineapples

Centerpieces: PVC pipe, wood base, nails, 3 pineapples, pineapple corer (Aldi), plastic bags, palm tree topper (Party City), fairy lights (Amazon), cardboard parrot (Oriental Trading Company-OTC), leis (OTC) (Optional: faux tropical leaves, sand, shells)