Throw a Birthday Party for Ages 12 to 14

Birthdays symbolize another year older and another year of life. It is a celebration of when you were born and how you’ve grown since then. Early adolescence marks the beginning of the early teen years and is an important milestone for most kids. Celebrate the occasion in style by having a birthday party!

Steps

Planning the Party

  1. Decide on a theme for your birthday party. Party themes are much more elevated for tween/teen parties, and no longer exclusively princess or superhero themed. In fact, there are a lot of party ideas that you can use as themes for your birthday party[1].
    • A slumber party is usually done with a small group of no more than 5 people. It's the old faithful among party themes where a group of boys or a group of girls get together with sleeping bags and party.
    • A pool party is a great option for warmer months and can be done outdoors in conjunction with a barbecue.
    • A spa themed party is a great alternative to the childhood princess themed party. Girls get together and have a day of pampering at home with manicures, pedicures, and facials.
    • A video game themed party is a great way to incorporate your favorite video game or your love of video games into a party. Have guests cosplay characters and allow compete at playing video games as a cool party activity.
    • A bowling party is a great party idea away from home. Kids gather at a rented lane and take turns bowling over pizza and wings.
  2. Talk about your birthday party with your parents. Get their permission to host a party for friends/classmates. Have an idea of where you'd like to throw the party, when, and a rough estimate of how many invitations you'd like to give. Establish rules and limitations with your parents[2].
    • Think of a budget based off of your party needs. If you're having a party at your home, more costs might be involved to give it more of a party feel, through balloons, banners, confetti, etc. While parties hosted at places where the theme is also the focal point for entertainment value (think bowling, an arcade, a movie theater, or amusement parks), the cost goes into the entertainment, but very little is needed in the decoration or food category. So think about which areas you would rather invest your money and base your budget on that.
    • Discuss the setting for the party and an end time for the party. Based on your budget and decision on a theme, decide on the place where you would like to host your party. If it is away from home, make a list of potential locations and contact each one. Make your final decision on price and convenience of the location. A proper end time for a tween/teen party is 9:30-10:00. Make sure you adhere to curfews.
    • Agree on a number of guests for your party that won't be exceeded. You might want to invite only friends or you might decide to invite your entire class. Make room for that potential decision when you discuss your number with your parents. Agree that there will be no more than 20 kids to chaperon and accommodate on the night of your party.
    • Learn of any expectations your parents may have for you, your friends, or your party. Do your parents want you to ask some of your guests' parents if they can help chaperon? Do your parents expect you to decorate on your own and clean up after? What kind of behaviors will they absolutely not tolerate? Provocative dancing, fighting, etc. It would be great to fill your parents with confidence about you and your friends ability to be trusted and responsible at your party.
  3. Create an invitation list for your party. When making invitations base the list on people you enjoy spending time with while adhering to the number of people your parents approved of to attend the party. If it is a birthday party, try to limit the number of invites to around 20-25 people, keeping in mind that not everyone you invite will come. If the party's theme is more intimate, like a sleepover, limit the party to 5 or 6 people.
    • Decide on what kind of invitation you'd like to do: Eventbrite, Facebook, written, over the phone, or via email.
    • Request that all attendees RSVP with emergency phone numbers and food allergies if they have any (this will make party prep run more smoothly).
    • Decide whether plus-one's or a friend of a friend invitees are allowed to attend your party and include those details on your invites.
  4. Invite your guests. Include all of the important details that should by now be concrete: time, date, location, the type of party it is[3], and the dress code. Start to formally invite guests at least two weeks in advance of the day of your party to ensure they can accommodate the date.
    • Ensure that there is a cut off of when RSVP's will be received for headcount purposes - this should be 3-5 days before the party's actual date.
    • Tally up all of the RSVP's you've received to keep track of who's attending your party and materials you'll need.
  5. Map out the remaining details of your party. Use your budget and theme to guide you as you make decisions for the groundwork of the party experience by creating a checklist[4].
    • Consider what kind of food and beverages will be offered, the kind of music that will be played, the decoration that will set the scene, and any party favors you'd like to provide.

Preparing for the Party

  1. Purchase decorations for the party that match your theme. For parties, whether themed or no theme, run of mill decorations like balloons, confetti, streamers, and banners are not uncommon.
    • Go to stores like Dollar Tree and find these common decorations at a low cost.
    • Go to higher end stores, like Michael's, to find decorations that match with your theme.
    • Make your decorations unique and inject a little personality by going the decor road less traveled or visiting a local thrift store for decor.
      • Use pink paper lanterns as a unique, luxe alternative to the average balloon, for example.
      • Use mason jars as center pieces and thrift plates and table cloths to make for an elegant setup for your party and/or personalize them to match your party's overall theme[5].
  2. Decide whether or not you want to give guests party favors for their attendance. Party favors do not have to be complex in nature. They can be straightforward favors in their simplicity. They can also be sentimental and come with a lot of thought and effort. While you don't have to have party favors, they are a nice way to leave a lasting impression after a great night.[6]
    • Fill up a small gift bag with different lollipops and candies.
    • Use a small box to box an individual cupcake. Extra points if the cupcake is the same icing and flavor as the main birthday cake!
    • Gift guests with a notebook and a pen that you can personalize by writing their names on the front of.
    • Make friendship bracelets out of multicolored strings to give as party favors.
    • Create a "mixtape" out of blank CDs and your favorite songs from the previous year. This will be a great reminder of you and a memento of what you guys were probably listening to when you were a year younger.
  3. Decide on a menu for guests. Cater to the needs of any food allergies that might have been mentioned in your invite's RSVP. Kids aren't hard to please when it comes to food so try to keep it as simple as possible, bearing in mind that in terms of importance, food is the icing while the birthday party is the actual cake.
    • Order party food staples like pizza, potato chips or pretzels, and sodas.
    • Make sure to order a cake, as well as ice cream options.
    • Provide healthy alternatives like vegetable or hummus trays.
    • Simple is good, but options are also good. Consider adding gluten-free foods to the menu as well.
  4. Think of entertainment. Keeping your guests entertained should be the host/hostess's main objective. While choosing to host a birthday party outside of your home may make that task a lot easier, hosting a birthday party from home will mean coming up with ideas of how to keep your guests from getting bored:
    • Consider group games everyone can play like Heads Up, Play Twister, Would You Rather, karaoke, and board games [7].
    • A great way to have fun and to provide keepsakes for guests is creating a makeshift photobooth using an empty wall as a backdrop. Incorporate handmade signs and silly props to personalize the photosets.

Hosting the Party

  1. Ask a close friend or two to come early to help assist with setting up. These two friends can help you decorate and allow you to have people to talk to as you create the look and feel of your party.
    • Place decorations where you want them. Arrange balloons buy tying them onto individual chairs. Hang your banner towards the center of the room where the dancefloor and guests will be most of the night.
    • Set up stations of tables for easy access to appetizers and drinks if guests happen to need anything. Add centerpieces along the tops of the tables to add an extra wow factor in your party's details.
  2. Create the ambiance of the party. If playlists are the way you are planning to create a soundtrack for the evening, set it up, and attach it to your sound system.
    • Make sure it is somewhere that guests have the option of acting as the DJ throughout the party if they would like to.
    • Make sure music choices are respectful to everyone: no profanity, no suggestive imagery, or explicit language.
    • Add special lighting to coordinate with the mood of the music. This not only adds to the ambiance, but also adds another layer to decor details. Consider purchasing colorful bulbs to make the room a different hue, dim the lights to radiate intimacy, or purchase special strobe lighting to emulate a nightclub feel.
  3. Greet your guests. When it's finally time for the party to start, greet everyone with a smile and/or hug and talk to their parents for a few minutes. Remind the parents of the time the kids need to be picked up, etc.
    • If your guests have gifts for you, thank them and guide them to where the party is.
    • Make sure that upon entering, guests know where food, drinks, and the restroom is for their convenience.
  4. Entertain your guests. When everyone is there, dance, talk, and play games. Choose games that everyone wants to participate in and can feel included in.
    • Be the center of conversation and attention by going to people one by one and starting conversations. Make sure that they are having a good time and if you see someone looking bored, pull them in through conversation or inviting them to dance.
    • Start the party by choosing the first song to play. Get everyone jumping up and down and enjoying the music by asking them to follow your lead. Make your venue into a rock concert venue and mosh pit.
    • Encourage everyone to be in a social spirit by bringing games to the party. Have everyone gather around and start a group game like Never Have I Ever (a tamed version though), where people will listen and drink sodas for every "never" that's offered that they have done. It's a great way to get everyone involved while helping people connect over experiences they have had and experiences they haven't.
    • Divide the group of partygoers into halves and play a game of Charades or Pictionary. It is competitive, but also hilarious as you try to figure out what people are either acting out or drawing. Create a special prize like an extra party favor for the person or people with the most points.
    • Within a couple of hours of the party starting when guests are entertained and fed, roll out the cake and begin singing “Happy Birthday”.
    • Open presents and cards while being appreciative of everyone who gave you gifts. Make a show of the action by dramatically reading your cards. Be an actor and be entertainment while being gracious.
  5. End your party with guests by playing one last song. The moment works best with songs that are based around dance routines, like "The Electric Slide" or "The Cha Cha Slide". More recent songs like "Hit the Quan" or "The Wobble" will work too. The intent is to get everyone up and moving for one last "Hoorah" before the night is through.
    • As parents start to arrive, give your guests hugs, and thank them for coming.
    • Hand out party favors to people leaving if you decided to create them.
    • Ask that one friend stays behind to help you as you start the cleaning up process.
    • Follow up with guests via text or email and thank them again for coming.
    • Create a Facebook album for photos taken from the party and tag guests in them. This cements the memories of a great evening forever.


Tips

  • Enjoy yourself but also focus on the pleasure and fun of your guests.
  • Don't invite too many people, especially people you don’t know. If you don’t have a good vibe about inviting someone to your party, pay attention to it. It’s your day and you shouldn’t have to be worried about guests you don’t really care for.
  • Make sure your party appeals to you and your guests, but also parents too.
  • Make sure the friends you have invited are respectful and abide by all your rules: no alcohol, no lewd behavior, etc.

Things You'll Need

  • 2-5+ friends to come.
  • One friend that will come early and stay late to help you prep and clean.
  • Music
  • Drinks/snacks
  • Cake/ice-cream
  • Pizza or other dinner food
  • Party favors
  • Decorations
  • Games to play

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.birthdayinabox.com/party-ideas/teen-preteen.html
  2. ↑ http://www.familycircle.com/teen/activities/teen-party/
  3. ↑ http://2good2lose.com/teenpartytips.shtml
  4. ↑ http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/entertaining/party-planning-checklist
  5. ↑ http://www.iheartnaptime.net/15-ways-to-use-mason-jars/
  6. ↑ http://www.birthdayinabox.com/party-ideas/teen-preteen.html
  7. ↑ http://www.toppartyideas.com/teen-party-games-activities/

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