Moving to Australia is one of the biggest adventures you’ll ever take. It’s exciting, overwhelming, emotional and life-changing, often all at once. If you’re like me, in the months leading up to your move, you’ll probably spend countless hours sorting visas, comparing shipping quotes, selling furniture, organising paperwork and trying to squeeze your whole life into a handful of suitcases.
Somewhere amongst all that stress, it’s easy to forget to actually celebrate.
Looking back, I really wish I’d had a moving to Australia party before we left. It never even crossed my mind at the time because I was so focused on everything that needed to be done. But now? I think it would’ve been one of my favourite memories before we emigrated. Rather than spending those last few weeks dwelling on the individual goodbyes, it would’ve been lovely to gather everyone together for one big celebration of the exciting adventure ahead.
After all, moving to Australia isn’t just about leaving somewhere behind. It’s about everything you’re moving towards.
A moving to Australia party gives you one last chance to laugh with family, catch up with friends, take photos together and create memories you’ll treasure when you’re feeling homesick later down the line.
One piece of advice though – don’t organise it for the weekend before you fly. Trust me, you’ll have enough going on already. Between last minute packing, cleaning, final appointments and saying your individual goodbyes, hosting a party can quickly become another stressful job on your list.
Instead, hold it a few weeks before you leave if you can. Even better, if you’ve got an amazing friend or family member who’s happy to host it for you or help with the organising and clean-up afterwards, let them. Sometimes the greatest gift people can give you before you emigrate is taking one thing off your plate.
My Tips On How To Throw The Best Moving To Australia Party
Pick An Aussie Theme
The theme is what brings the whole party together, and honestly, the more everyone commits to it, the more memorable it becomes. It also makes decorating, choosing food and planning activities so much easier because everything naturally fits together.
If you’re inviting grandparents and younger children, an Aussie Backyard Barbie is a relaxed option that everyone can enjoy. If your friendship group loves a laugh, go completely over the top with an Aussie Bogan or Mullets & Flannel theme. Don’t be afraid to embrace the stereotypes – Australians certainly do!
Some fun ideas include:
- Aussie Backyard Barbie
- Bunnings Bash
- Aussie Bogan
- Mullets & Flannel
- Crocodile Dundee
- Sun, Sea & Surf
- Footy Finals
- Backyard Cricket
- Aussie Icons
- Aussie Animals
Whatever theme you choose, encourage everyone to dress up and offer a prize for Best Dressed. You’ll be amazed how competitive adults become over a silly certificate or a packet of Tim Tams.
Australian Party Décor
You could easily go overboard with décor but with a very expensive move coming up, remember that you don’t need to spend an absolute fortune transforming your house into Sydney Harbour. Most people will remember the atmosphere and the laughs far more than whether every decoration matched perfectly.
If you want to go all out, start with plenty of green and gold decorations, Australian flags and bunting, then add themed decorations throughout your home or garden.
Scatter inflatable kangaroos, koalas, beach balls or cricket stumps around the party area. Lean a cricket bat in the corner, place a rugby or AFL football on the drinks table and add a few boomerangs to the walls. Even small touches instantly make everything feel more Australian.
One thing I would definitely do is create a photo backdrop. Years later, those photos will become some of your favourite keepsakes from before you emigrated.
Decorate a large open wall with things like:
- Australian flags and bunting
- Surfboards
- Inflatable palm trees
- Road signs pointing to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
- Maps of Australia
- Pictures of iconic landmarks
- Australian wildlife cut-outs
- Fairy lights
Next to your backdrop, leave a basket of fun props including cork hats, mullet wigs, fake moustaches, inflatable guitars, sunglasses and toy snakes. Trust me, once the party gets going, everyone will be lining up for photos.
Cater The Most Iconic Australian Party Food
Australian food is comfort food at its finest, and your menu doesn’t need to be fancy. In fact, the more casual, the better.
I’d skip a formal sit-down meal altogether and instead create a buffet that everyone can graze from throughout the afternoon or evening. It keeps people mingling rather than sitting at tables and makes hosting much easier.
Some absolute Aussie classics include:
- Fairy bread
- Sausage sizzle
- Lamingtons
- Pavlova
- Mini meat pies
- Sausage rolls (these are SOOOO much better in the UK though!)
- Chocolate spiders
- Vegemite sandwiches
- Tim Tams
And yes, you absolutely have to put up a sign advertising “Shrimp on the Barbie.” Then spend the rest of the party explaining that Australians actually call them prawns and rarely ‘throw’ them on the BBQ.
You could also include plenty of other classic Australian snacks if you can find some of these brands locally, like:
- Chicken salt chips
- Party pies
- Chiko Rolls
- Mini dim sims
- Anzac biscuits
- Vanilla Slice
- Honey Joys
- Chocolate Crackles
- Caramel Slice
- Iced VoVos
- Shapes
- BBQ chicken skewers
- Potato bake
- Pasta salad
- Coleslaw
- Corn on the cob
One idea I absolutely love is creating a Taste of Australia snack table filled with treats your guests may never have tried before.
Think Burger Rings, Twisties, Cheezels, Allen’s lollies, Minties, Cherry Ripes, Violet Crumbles, Freddo Frogs and Caramello Koalas.
If you really want to impress everyone, bake one of the legendary cakes from the famous Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book. Australians become incredibly nostalgic over those cakes, and it’ll make an incredible centrepiece. Although this might be a step too far if you’re in the middle of packing!
Have An Australian Drinks List
The drinks deserve their own dedicated station because they’re guaranteed to become one of the biggest talking points of the day.
The first thing everyone expects to see at an Australian-themed party is Fosters. Buy one six-pack purely as decoration, then spend the evening explaining that hardly anyone in Australia actually drinks it!
Instead, stock your drinks station with some genuine Australian favourites.
Beer
- Victoria Bitter (VB)
- Carlton Draught
- Great Northern
- XXXX Gold
- Coopers Pale Ale
- Stone & Wood Pacific Ale
- Tooheys New
- James Boag
Wine
Australia produces some of the world’s best wine, so this is a great opportunity to introduce everyone to a few different regions.
Choose bottles from well-known wine regions across Australia like:
- Margaret River
- Barossa Valley
- Clare Valley
- Coonawarra
- Yarra Valley
- McLaren Vale
Spirits
If your guests enjoy spirits, you could also include:
- Bundaberg Rum
- Four Pillars Gin
- Archie Rose Gin
- Mr Black Coffee Liqueur
Soft Drinks
Not everyone drinks alcohol, so don’t forget plenty of Australian soft drinks too.
Some favourites include:
- Bundaberg Ginger Beer
- Bundaberg Lemon, Lime & Bitters
- Solo
- Pasito
- Kirk’s Creaming Soda
- Kirk’s Sarsaparilla
- Lemon, Lime & Bitters
And because no Aussie gathering is complete without one, grab a goon bag (box wine, or a papsak if you’re South African) just for a laugh.
Keep everything chilled in a proper Esky full of ice and hand everyone a stubby holder for their drink. It’s one of those little Australian traditions that instantly adds to the atmosphere.
Fun Activities For A Moving To Australia Party
The best parties aren’t the ones where everyone stands around chatting all evening. They’re the ones where everyone gets involved.
If you’ve got a garden, and good weather, make the most of it.
Set up backyard cricket, organise a thong throwing competition (the footwear… definitely not the underwear!), or let the kids loose on a slip ‘n slide or paddling pool if it’s warm.
You could even create your own Australian Olympics with teams competing throughout the day.
Some fun ideas include:
- Tim Tam Slam race
- Pie eating competition
- Vegemite tasting challenge
- Pin the Tail on the Kangaroo
- Aussie slang guessing game
- Blind taste test of Australian sweets
- Thong throwing competition
- Backyard cricket
- Slip ‘n Slide
- Blow-up paddling pool
- Shoey challenge (only for the brave!)
One activity I’d definitely include is an Australian trivia quiz – I love a good quiz though!
Ask questions about Australian slang, wildlife, famous beaches, TV shows, sport and geography. Better still, include a few questions about the city you’re moving to so your friends and family can learn a little more about your new home.
Offer prizes like Tim Tams, Caramello Koalas or little Australian souvenirs to the winners.
If you’re planning an adults-only party, you could also include the very Aussie game of Two-Up (where it’s legal to do so).
Create An Aussie Music Playlist
Never underestimate the power of a good playlist. Music quietly sets the mood from the moment your first guests arrive until the last person heads home.
Start with some relaxed classics while everyone is eating, then gradually move into songs everyone can dance and sing along to later in the evening. This Spotify playlist of 100 greatest Australian songs is a great place to start.
Some must-have Aussie artists for any moving to Australia party playlist should include:
- AC/DC
- INXS
- Men At Work
- Jimmy Barnes
- Cold Chisel
- John Farnham
- Powderfinger
- Kylie Minogue
- Savage Garden
- Hoodoo Gurus
- The Veronicas
- Vance Joy
- Empire of the Sun
And then, of course, there has to be Tina Turner’s Nutbush City Limits.
If you’ve never been to an Australian wedding or school disco before, you’re about to discover Australians have somehow adopted the Nutbush as an unofficial national dance. Don’t question it – just join in.
To finish the night, throw on the Triple J Hottest 100 playlist and let everyone sing and dance their hearts out.
Outfit Ideas For A Moving To Australia Party
Half the entertainment comes from seeing everyone’s interpretation of Australian fashion.
Some guests will arrive looking like Bondi surfers, while others will fully embrace their inner bogan.
Encourage everyone to get involved because it makes the party so much more fun and the photos even better.
Some outfit ideas include:
- Singlets
- Thongs (again, I mean the shoes!)
- Budgie smugglers if anyone is brave enough
- Surfer gear
- Cork hats
- Green and gold clothing
- Cricket players
- AFL or rugby players
- Ugg boots
- Hi-vis work shirts
- Hawaiian shirts
- Board shorts
- Flannel shirts
- Mullet wigs
Have a prize ready for Best Dressed because there’s always one person who goes all out.
Iconic Australians You Could Dress Up As
If you’d rather take the fancy dress route instead of simply wearing Australian clothing, there are plenty of iconic Australians to choose from.
Guests could come dressed as:
- Steve Irwin
- Crocodile Dundee
- The Wiggles
- Kath & Kim
- Kylie Minogue
- Sam Kerr
- Dame Edna Everage
- Tim Minchin
- Raygun
- Shane Warne
- Muriel from Muriel’s Wedding
- Merv Hughes (if you can carry off that legendary moustache!)
- Olivia Newton-John
- Bluey
I can almost guarantee you’ll end up with multiple Steve Irwins and Crocodile Dundee’s, but that’s all part of the fun.
Send Everyone Home With A Little Piece Of Australia
Party favours aren’t just for children’s birthday parties.
Sending your guests home with a small Australian-themed gift is a lovely way to thank them for celebrating with you and gives everyone something to remember the day by.
It doesn’t need to be expensive.
You could put together little gift bags containing:
- A packet of Tim Tams
- A Caramello Koala
- Mini Vegemite portions
- A koala keyring
- Australian flag stickers
- An Aussie themed stubby holder
- A handwritten thank you note
You could even print little tags saying “See You Down Under!” to finish everything off.
Don’t Forget To Capture The Memories
With all your favourite people together in one place, make sure somebody is responsible for taking plenty of photos and videos.
Set up a guest book where everyone can write messages you’ll read after you’ve arrived in Australia. Ask friends to record short video messages wishing you luck. Take group photos with everyone who attends. I love this cute Australian themed guest book – it’s designed for accommodation providers but would work really well as a memory book for your moving to Australia celebration.
These might seem like little things at the time, but I promise they’ll become priceless memories once you’re living on the other side of the world.
Moving to Australia is one of life’s biggest adventures, and it’s absolutely worth celebrating.
Yes, there’ll probably be more than a few tears. There’ll definitely be lots of hugs. But there’ll also be laughter, ridiculous costumes, questionable Vegemite taste tests and memories you’ll treasure long after you’ve settled into your new Australian life.
Looking back, I genuinely wish I’d thrown a moving to Australia party before we emigrated. It would’ve been such a lovely way to celebrate everything we were moving towards instead of focusing solely on what we were leaving behind. If you’re planning your own move, I hope this has given you plenty of inspiration to create a send-off that’s full of joy, laughter and unforgettable memories.
And while you’re planning the fun side of your move, don’t forget the practical side too. If you’d like a little extra help getting organised, have a look at my digital products, including my Cost of Living in Australia Calculator and Ultimate Emigration Checklist. They’ve already helped thousands of families plan their move with more confidence, and I’d love for them to help make your journey to Australia that little bit easier too.
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