Tiki Evites – the fine folks at Evite now have a few nifty tiki-themed templates to get your guests into the right mindset right from the start.  Evite has become the standard in inviting guests to any type of party and these are a-ok.

Set up a House Drink Menu – some of your guests will know their tiki drinks, some won’t.  Pick out a few of your specialties and scribble them onto a chalkboard.  This will help your guests feel more comfortable as they select a cocktail and will limit your ingredient shopping list a bit.

Proper Tiki Tunes – we’ve provided a few suggestions in the past and probably should do another music list soon.  Spend some time loading up your iPod with a respectable island playlist.  You cannot expect to set up a snazzy tiki bar, mix up a round of stiff rum concoctions, and expect your guests to be content with ZZ Top (on second thought, maybe you can…).

Tropical Coconut Cups – if you don’t have a full set of tiki mugs to share with your guests, these coconut cups will give you some island flair at a reasonable price.  They cost less than $1 each and all cocktails taste sweeter when consumed from a fake coconut mug!

Photo by Jeff Tabaco