Awesome Australian things
Hey legends!
So I'm going back to America next Thursday..lots of feels
But when I go home, my friends really wanna have an Australia party (can you blame them?) But, even though I've been here for nearly four months, I honeslty couldn't throw an Australia-themed party by myself - so HELP 🙂 what are your favorite Australian things/foods that aren't vegemite?
OR YOUR FAVO(U)RITE AUSTRALIAN SAYINGS (because I love them so much, and I need all my friends to hear them ALL)
Comments
Aw I hope you enjoyed your time in Australia @ohheylisa !
If you're having an Australian party you definitely need lammingtons! And don't use your giant American red plastic cups you need those tiny little white cups we seem to get stuck with in Australia (basically to satisfy any kind of thirst you need to refill it 39473947 times). Oh, and sparklers when it gets dark!
You need hot chips with tomato sauce - tell them they're not allowed to call them "fries" or "ketchup" 😛
Also I've heard that it's not a thing in America?
I love party planning, so I'm just going to put out a few ideas:
For Australian sayings, You could find (or make?) a list of our lingo to print out and give to people to attempt to speak with. Or make a game of it where they get a phrase and have to figure out what it means. I think I remember one on Koala-net or something.
You could put on a movie or any shows you enjoyed that you came across on as either another point of entertainment or background noise.
Alternatively of course there is Australian artists or songs about Australia as background noise. You could go in the way of putting on songs by artists or going for the more well known/typical ones like Men At Work's Down Under.
Show off your pictures from your trip somewhere, somehow. You can dedicate time to a slideshow of it, or even get them developed and scatter them on a table or hang them up.
If you have time, you could ask some of the people you've met to give you message on camera, to both celebrate/show off your trip and to show some of the accent or any natural differences. (You could have them say a bunch of sayings too?)
If you wanted to get pretty stereotypical you could have a dress up element. People could come as kangaroos, crocodiles etc. or they could be in more of the Steve Irwin sort of outfit that we may think of. Maybe you could bring back/make some cork hats, or just clothing with the flag or Southern Cross on it.
And I absolutely second the other ideas.
You could definitely play a game of 'guess what this means' with our lingo!
Death stare anyone who says 'Throw another shrimp on the barbie'
Make EVERYONE try vegemite!
I hear the real cheap shops have those clip on Koala's and are great for real cheap souvenirs.
Don't forget to tell them about your close encounter with a drop bear!
If you are having a meal at this party, you can't go pass a barbie with sausages and steak and heaps of salad sides.
Take some milo back with you. Stay clear of Fosters, no one here drinks that shit.
I would say play goon-of-fortune, but do you guys even have hills hoists back in the states?
Oh my gosh, please place pass the parcel. Apparently you guys don't even have it back there. Classic childhood game!
@Birdeye I thought about assigning everyone a phrase and they have to keep trying to use it until they use it the right way, haha, awesome ideas!
Also you guys are a bunch of absolute CHAMPIONS! Let me know if you have any other FRICKIN AMAZING ideas! 😄
@ohheylisa May I present to you, a hills hoist. Ah so many childhood memories in one picture. I'm hoping that you have come across the term 'goon' before and can pretty much work out what goon-of-fortune is by the picture alone.
As for pass the pascel, there are many variations, but if you want to combine aussie slang and random cheap souveniers into the one game, then this is it!
There is one major prize. This is wrapped up and then you just add more layers. Inbetween each layer can be a souvenier, a dare, some lingo or anything you like. The more weirder the better, especially if it is an adult only party. The best thing about this game is that you can adapt it for any age group. 🙂
Okay, now the game is set up, basically you sit around in a circle and play music. You pass the parcel around the the group and randomly stop the music. The person who has the parcel when the music stops, takes off the top layer. Whatever is between the layers, they keep / do. 🙂
@stonepixie the hills hoist!! good one!! and goon of fortune hahaha classic!
There are some good slang quizzes out there
http://justcreative.com/2008/01/26/australia-day-test-your-aussie-slang/
http://www.factmonster.com/quizzes/aussie/1.html
- up shit creek
- out whoop whoop!
- pear shaped
- not my cup of tea
- big smoke
- cactus (not the plant); it's
- clucky
- doovalacky
- FIGJAM
- Larrikin
- she'll be right
- hard yakka
I say 'fave' but what I really mean is that they are the ones I am aware of that I use all the time.
Tim Tams!!!!!!!!! (and other Australian lollies bc a party without lollies is not a party I am interested in)
My German friend loved it when I sent her Freddo Frogs and Caramello Koalas, so there's that 🙂 Fruit Tingles, Bertie Beetles, Clinkers and Wizz Fizzes would probably prove a hit too.
Also you can't exactly take real-life animals overseas but given the theme I just had to share - I went to the zoo over the weekend and look! Kangaroos and emus! You can walk right up to them (provided they don't run away 
)
