Author Gonzalo / Posts / Published: 06/01/2020
How To Plan Your Australia Day Party: 5 Party Ideas To Get Your Aussie On
Looking for Australia Day party ideas? Aussies love to party and we don’t need much of an excuse to get our Aussie on! From birthdays to Christmas, New Year, anniversaries, graduations, St Patricks Day, even just the fact that it’s the weekend or a public holiday is a good excuse for a party. So when it comes to Australia Day, all bets are off and the whole of Australia is in party mode!
What is Australia Day?
Australia Day is the official national day in Australia, it’s a celebration of Aussies being Australian. It marks the date in 1788 that the First Fleet landed at Port Jackson in New South Wales. On this day, Governor Arthur Phillip raised the British flag in Sydney Cove. It’s a day of reflection for many Aussies, thinking about what it means to be an Aussie, and celebrating and acknowledging our history.
What is Australia Day? Australia Day is an inclusive celebration, recognising our Aboriginal and TSI brothers and sisters, and all the people who have made Australia home from other countries. From a celebration of emancipation by the early convicts, Australia Day has turned into a national celebration of multiculturism, founded on a sense of ‘a fair go’ and the freedom to live how we want. More than half of our population attend celebrations hosted by local councils, community groups and state governments, the rest of us just love to party at home, on the beach or at the park. It’s one of the best days of the year!
What date is Australia Day?
Australia Day is celebrated every year on 26th January. In 2020, this date lands on a Sunday, so the public holiday is on Monday, making it a long weekend, which is perfect for an Australia Day party.
Australia Day Party Ideas:
An Australia Day party gives you endless opportunities for Australia Day party decorations, Aussie themed costumes, food, drinks and lots more! Do you want an intimate lunch for ten at home in the garden or do you want a rambunctious beach party? How about taking the kids to the beach for the day or going camping with friends? You could also have a picnic in the park or a pool party in the garden. An Australia Day party brings everyone together, even friends and relatives that couldn’t get back for Christmas or the New Year, high tail it home so they can join in the Australia Day festivities.
Don’t forget that Aussies love games, so think about embroiling everyone in a game of thong tossing, backyard cricket, and slip ‘n’ slide for the kids.
So your main Australia Day party ideas are the following: huge beach party, picnic at the park, family trip to the beach, camping trip, intimate lunch at home or a pool party in the garden. Once you have settled on your theme and location, you need to start making all the necessary arrangements. So let’s take a look at some of the steps involved in organising your Australia Day party.
Invitations: The best way to set the tone of your party is to send out invitations. Sending themed invitations is a great idea! They can be beach themed invitations or elegant invitations for an intimate lunchtime celebration. They can also be in the shape of a tree for a picnic at the park, a kangaroo or a beach ball for a pool party, a thong for a beach party, even an Aussie hat for a camping party.
Photos: Everyone will want photos on the day, so set aside one person with a decent camera who will be responsible for taking party photos. You can put these up on Facebook or Instagram, so everyone can download their own set of party photos as keepsakes.
Food: There’s lots of fabulous Aussie food you can put together for your Australia Day celebrations, but what you select will depend on which of the Australia Day party ideas you have selected. Unless you are having a sit-down luncheon on the day, finger food or a picnic will be your best options. BBQs in the garden is also a great idea on Australia Day and you can often find these at the beach as well, either operated on propane or with a stack of firewood stored at the side. Aussie food to consider for your party include Lamingtons, meat pies, green and gold muffins, Pavlovas, Tim Tams, vegemite sandwiches, Anzac biscuits, snag sandwiches, steak and prawns on the barbie, vanilla slices, calamari, kebabs, damper and lots of salad.
Drinks: Wine, beer and soft drinks are usually the order of the day. Also make sure to have lots of fresh water available, particularly if you are out in the sun because it’s usually very hot in late January.
What Decorations Are Used On Australia Day?
As with the food, the decorations will depend on your venue, but you can also ask everyone to wear an Aussie themed costume to your party. It will likely be hot on the day, so if you’re outside in the heat your guests might not stay in their theme outfits very long, but it definitely adds a certain Aussie element to the day. Think about kangaroo or koala costumes, beer keg costumes, Aussie flag costumes, shark costumes, green and gold light up noodle hats, Aussie outback hats with corks dangling and anything green and gold. Our CostumeBox vaults are filled with green and gold costumes and decorations, so check us out early before everything is gone!
Australia Day party decorations should also be focused around a green and gold theme and can include blow-up kangaroos and crocodiles, and Australian flags and bunting. Then there’s Aussie flag tablecloths and serviettes, and green and gold balloons. You could even arrange for all the kids to have Aussie themed face painting on the day – flags and green and gold being very popular. There’s also green & gold beach umbrellas, beach towels, blow up pink flamingos or big banana floaties for the pool.
So now you know all the best Australia Day party decorations, party ideas, theme costumes, foods and drink that will make your party the best ever - why not check out the CostumeBox vaults for more inspiring Australia Day ideas?
Author Gonzalo / Published: 8 January 2020