• Use hibiscus blossoms in your decor for a true island feel.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Decorations for Vacation Bible School can amaze and engage children with vibrant colors, creative attractions and interactive displays. Outrigger Islands, a tropical island theme, lets VBS leaders create an oasis for their students full of birds of paradise, bright flowers and lush trees. Use inexpensive materials, coupled with imagination and volunteer power, to create an elaborate island adventure.
  
  

Volcanoes and Palm Trees

• Build a volcano from paper-mache and wire framing to use as a standalone element or as part of a wall-to-wall mural. Use craft paper and paint to add texture, and finish with dry ice for an "eruption" that's safe and exciting. Use the volcano to talk with students about erupting with their faith.
  
  Use craft paper, palm leaves, tree bark and other natural elements to create larger-than-life palm trees for ambiance. String with twinkle lights for nighttime sessions, and add birds of paradise for splashes of color. Write Scripture verses along leaves or have children add leaves and coconuts with messages relating to the day's Scripture.
  
  

Boardwalks and Torches

• Paint or decorate the floors and walkways to look like a beach and boardwalk, complete with sand and planks of wood. To create the wooden walkway, use craft paper laminated to the floor or tempera paints, which can be washed off easily. Accent outside areas with sand and include the "Footprints" story while including the day's lesson in the wooden path from class to class or station to station.
  
  Create silhouettes of tiki torches from paper, and tape them to the walls for a two-dimensional look. Alternatively, use wick-less torches for depth and flair. Keep the fuel and lighting elements out of the torches for safety purposes. Use red, orange and yellow tissue paper to create "flames" in the silhouetted torches or battery-operated candles inside real tikis. Write Scripture verses on the flames and discuss the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus' disciples, or explain the joy of being "on fire" for Christ.
  
  

Buggies and Huts

• Decorate the doorways to classrooms, the kitchen and other areas like tiki huts, complete with thatched roofs and brightly colored decorations. Use these especially for large gathering areas, such as the central assembly hall, where the hut theme can be carried through the entire decor. Hang crosses prominently and write Scripture verses on surfboards, hibiscus blossoms and other shapes to use as decorations within and around the huts.
  
  Create beach buggies out of wagons or stationary chairs, and use them as props, decorations or seating while you take souvenir portraits of the students. Use Styrofoam to create surfboards as props, and add inflatables like swim rings and floaties to the "trunk" of the buggy.