Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I am having my 16th birthday party at my local park. I looked at rooms to rent and it was way too expensive. It will be under a gazebo with some tables. I have picked out decorations and put together a candy buffet, but I am afraid that my friends will get bored. I would have it in my backyard, but I just moved and my yard isn't big enough. If anyone has any ideas to keep my friends busy that would be so helpful.
You could have a scavenger hunt - items you can find in the park or items YOU hide. Kinda like an Easter egg hunt but more sophisticated. Play croquet; any child yard games would be fun for teens! Have a Happy and Blessed birthday!
What sorts of things do your friends like? I'm thinking of sports such as softball, soccer, badminton. Could you do those sorts of games? I am also a big fan of scavenger hunts; I think they can be a hoot. Divide the group into teams. You could also make up a treasure hunt, which involves set up - so it is more trouble. Groups follow clues from one place to another, solving the clue riddles, till they get to the treasure - some sort of fun treat/prize.
How do I plan for a boy's sweet 16th birthday?
By Zolani N. from Cape Town, WC
Here in the states, sweet 16 is only for girls. Boys are just birthday parties. What does he like? You could center it around a hobby of his. First, you need to determine your budget, then decide how many guest.
Does anyone have any ideas? My birthday is in November and I have yet to pick out every little detail! Do you have any ideas for me? I am a girl and hate the color pink.
Just did this very thiing for my God daughter. We went with a Mexican Fiesta theme - bright colors, even reverted to chiildhood a bit and had pinata and played pin the tail on the donkey. We served both beef and chicken fajitas, tacos, mexican rice, chili, chips and salsa, guacamole and a cupcake tower.
Hi I think that you could do a ball like party but with a touch of danger to it to get people excited. I think can help here's my facebook name Makaykay Jackson. Look me up and tell me more about how you want your party and I'll tell you some well great ideas. My blog email is MissRubyRed7 @ gmail.com and I'm not some creepy. I'm a freshman in high school and love to plan parties.
I have never had a birthday party in my life and am now turning 16. My mom told me I am going to have a party, but I have to plan it and it needs to be very cheap. I have no idea of what I want to do. My birthday is in the beginning of September, but my older sister is leaving for college at the end of August and I don't want her to waste gas driving 6 hours for me. Anyone got any ideas of what I should do?
By Taylor
Hi Taylor!
I saw your question and have a few more for you. First, what kind of things do you enjoy? I mean do you like dancing, make-up, music, karaoke(maybe) or something else altogether? Will this be a mixed party(girls and boys) or just girls? Do you live in town or in the country? Also have you thought about having your party before your sister leaves for college or maybe shortly after your birthday when she would be coming home for the weekend? I know it would be earlier or later than your actual birthday but you talked about not wanting her to have to drive 6 hours and I believe it would be important to you for her to be at your party.
I have 4 grown kids, 2 girls who had Sweet 16 parties so I have planned some experience with 16th birthday parties before. You have done a great job already just by starting this early looking for ideas! The earlier you start, the better the party will be. :) You have a wonderful head start on an amazing Sweet 16 Birthday party! :-D
Hugs, Paula
There are TONS of ideas on the internet (Pinterest is a GREAT resource), and most are very do-able and inexpensive. You just need to narrow down the list of themes you like and pick one (western, spa day, dance party, karaoke, makin' crafts, backwards party, etc.) and then decide who you will be inviting (guys and gals or just gals).
I'm not sure what to do for my Sweet 16, in April. I'm really not a party type, but I feel like this is the only chance I'll get. (I'm more of a shy toned down type.) Around my birthday I'm going to see my cousins who are little princesses. I thought about doing a tea party and dressing up as Disney princess characters. Please help!
By Emma W.
It would be sweet to focus on a Princess theme with your cousins; you could be the Kind Queen of all Princesses! If you look online, you can find pictures of princess-like decorations; you can make a banner (one shape for each letter in your name), make some matching hanging shapes with each of the girls' names, etc. The possibilities are endless!
When the girls arrive, announce you'll be making decorated cupcakes together; you can have the cupcakes already made, and have frosting, sprinkles, etc. ready to go. You can have some picks to go into each cupcake with a tiara picture and the girls' names - very special! You can make mini gifts for each other: decorated Altoid tins (ask friends/family to save them for you).
Paint the tins silver or red and then cover them with rhinestones, hearts, and whatever else you want (use a sturdy glue that will dry quickly). Fill the tins with small slips of paper on which each girl writes her wishes/dreams, or have each girl write something she likes about the others and give those slips to each girl; everyone will then have a container filled with wonderful things said about her to treasure for months to come!
Hope these ideas are helping you come up with many more of your own. Happy 16TH Birthday - Hope God blesses you in more ways than you ever imagined!
I gave my daughter a brunch, she invited 4-5 close friends and went to local restaurant known for its brunch buffet. She used small pewter photo frames as place cards and they were favors for her guests. If your cousins or others are young or you are dealing with more than a few people, and if you want a princess theme, why don't you have a tea? Have everyone dress up, use nice teapot and dishes and serve finger sandwiches or other special tidbits. Enjoy.
I am praying for help planning my Christian daughter's sweet 16 party. We are 2,000 miles away from our home visiting family for the next 4 months, so none of my daughter's friends will be attending. It will only be family. There will be 60 guests. Please help!
By Gail from Cheyenne, WY
I'm not sure what you're looking for because you don't give a lot of info. There are a lot of party planning websites, and of course Martha Stewart's website is good for general party ideas.
You can find some good ideas at How To Do Things.com - check out their Sweet 16 article at howtodothings.com/food-and-drink/a2825-how-to-throw-a-sweet-16-birthday-party-.html. Their biggest tip - check with your daughter to see what she wants to do. :) Good luck!
I saw a great Sweet 16 party on "The Cake Boss" program on TLC channel on cable. The daughter was a Catholic girl and they were proud Italian family. Nothing Risque was important. They made a Hollywood kind of theme with spotlights, movie markers, and stuff. Old movies were being played that the daughter liked (like old beach bingo movies, Sandra Day movies, and stuff like that) and the cake, of course, was absolutely beautiful.
My friend did more than that for her daughter on the same theme. There was dancing and musical games and other party games for the teens and for the grown ups there was a great time catching up with one another. Go to a recycled Auto Parts store and get a bunch of big van bench seats and make wooden things to hold them upright and space them out for the kids to sit on and watch the movies on a big screen TV or projector screen. There was a caterer on the TV show party, but my friend had just a home done buffet and had bought movie style popcorn boxes from Oriental Trading website and rented a big old popcorn popper and let the kids help themselves.
The TV show party had all kinds of great sweets, but I loved the cookies the best. They made star cookies with the girl's name on them and bundled them 6 to a mesh bag and they were not only a sweet treat, but a party favor as well. Both the TV program party and the party by my friend were excellent times and it all stemmed from the daughter's love of glitz and glam of Hollywood style. Hope this helps! Have a great time and enjoy yourself, too. This is, after all, a landmark for you as well as for your daughter.
I am turning sixteen in the beginning of September. My mom is completely against having a large party, so I am thinking to save up and then approach her about it when I have the money to pay.
However, I have no idea what to do for my party. Plus, I have closer friends where I live now, but most live hundreds of miles away :( as I moved here recently. Help!It's hard to have a party with absentee friends. Maybe you want to save for a video conference with all of them?
You can also concentrate on making a friend or two locally, and inviting them to a movie or pizza.
So my birthday is in late October and for my party I'm taking around 8 friends to lunch or dinner and then 3 of my closest friends are sleeping over after, but I need ideas on what to do in between with all 8 of my friends attending. The only problem is I can't take them to my house because I just recently moved 40 minutes away.
So I need ideas on things to do after lunch or dinner in New Jersey, not too expensive. BTW the lunch/dinner may be in NYC so if you have any ideas for things to do in the city please share. Thank you!this is probably too late for you and I hope you had a good birthday. The obvious thing to do under those circumstances is to find a nice park to go to, or one of those shopping areas off the turnpike that you see that have all the food courts and do something there.
I'm turning 16 in July. I have a group of friends I can invite and a few close close friends. I'm not one to have a bunch of attention and I also am not this huge social light extravagant person. I originally thought a fancy dinner and some games while out to dinner, but it was kind of expensive.
I don't know if I want casual party, but I don't want super crazy so I'm open to a bunch of ideas whatever can be thought of! I also thought maybe a spa day? But I don't know. I'm looking for some creative ideas! Any idea will help. I am undecided if it will be girls only or if it'll be girls and guys I don't have many guy friends, it would probably be my family that was the guys. So either idea will be great! Thanks everyone.
Why don't you have a scavenger hunt party? People will have fun and it's different.
Well my birthday is coming up in February 2016, but I don't know what to do. Help me please!
I'm turnning 16 on December 27. I really wanted a glow in the dark party for my sweet 16 party, but I wanted it somewhere that has some type of games in it. I wanted to decorate it myself with lights, fog, and stuff and have some music or something. I can't find anywhere around my area or hardly anywhere else that has at least some of the things I'm looking for.
I want something with some type of activities in it. If I have to I will do something else, but I want it to be somewhere I could have fun and turn up with lights. Please, does anyone have any suggestions?So you know you would like to have a glow in the dark party, that you would like to decorate. Somewhere that you are able to play music, dance, and that has actual games or fun things to do. One thing to consider is what is your budget for decorations, entertainment, party favors, refreshments etc. Things can get expensive fast, but it's also possible to have a great party and a good time without spending a fortune. If you don't want to rent a place is your house or maybe a friends house available to host the party? To me it seems that would be the way to go so that you can decorate how you want. You could then spend money hiring a D.J. or some type of entertainment professional to make it unique and special. You could make it a costume party or insist everyone come dressed to match your glow in the dark theme. That would certainly help you create more glow without having to buy as many decorations. If a house is not an option maybe you can check with a bowling alley they usually have a glow in the dark bowling night. Perhaps you could schedule your party the same night but ask to reserve their birthday room and ask if you can bring your own decorations. Bowling alleys have bowling of course but sometimes there are pool tables and arcade games also. In my city there is a trampoline park, and on certain nights it is only 16+ so strictly teenagers. They turn it all glow in the dark, play loud music, and even have couches if you just want to hang out and take a break from jumping. You might look into seeing if there is one on your town that does anything like that. It will winter what about ice skating or sledding if you have snow and a bon fire? If you have a larger budget you might consider talking with a party consultant who can give you some ideas on venues in your area and activities that are age appropriate that are available at which places. Whatever you decide I hope you have fun, and tell us what you decided to do!
My birthday is in less than 4 months. I am inviting no more than 7 people (4 at least). I'm a girly girl, but my tom-boy side peaks out every now and then. I really want to do a fancy dinner in Highland Park, Texas, and everybody has to dress up, like dress and heels. At the same time, I want it to be really funny, messy, and memorable party.
I'm having a cousin fly in from Miami, so it has to be special! If you can think of an idea between those please tell me. I thought of just renting a lake house for a weekend with 3 people and staying out of hotel, but I don't see the fun. So, the most fun I can see is at my house. I want a glow in the dark theme, but you can't get really good pictures. No 80's or Hawaiian theme. I'm intrigued with the winter wonderland, dress to impress, Fire and Ice, and Glamour. I don't want something over the top like renting out a club, just nice and classy and casual (eeeaaakkkk). Those don't go together really well.
Thanks.
If I had a winter birthday I'd definitely make the best of the season! You could pull off winter wonderland themed decor with fire and ice. A few ideas:
1. Use clear/crystal glass beads in a garland with white Christmas lights
2. You can also fill vases with the lights
3. www.candle-night.org/
Combine fire and ice for a glow-in-the-dark walkway. I imagine you could make mini-versions of these ice candles with coffee cans and your freezer. They should last for a few hours outside if you use tealights or votives, depending on how big you make them.
4. In addition to asking for semi-formal dress, make your invitations look formal and tied in with whatever theme you choose so your guests remember to dress up.
5. My mom and I once frosted our windows with fake snow spray and paper cutouts. Easy cleanup too! You should be able to find spray cans at the craft stores come November. If not, it's available online from Joanne's and Amazon.
I will be doing my sweet 16 on a yacht. There will be around 15 to 16 girls and boys, but we won't be doing any swimming. It's just that I'm worried they will get bored or something, so I want a few interesting and fun things to do.
Any suggestions?Bored on a yacht?
I am having my 16th birthday in about a month, and I have absolutely no idea on what to do. About 100 people are invited, it is a co-ed party. Most of the people I invited are not close friends. The theme is Southern/country.
I was thinking maybe karaoke, or partner up and blind fold a person and have them put makeup on their partner. If it's not too cold there will be a bonfire, but I need some more ideas! Any advice?I am turning 16 this year in October. My party is on the 24th on a Saturday. I will be having about 15-17 people be there. Mostly girls and idk if any of the guys I'm inviting can come.
The girls will sleepover and obviously no guys can, cuz of my mom. I live in a pretty good sized house with a big backyard. My backyard has 2 sitting areas that take up a good amount of space. I want to do something outside game wise! I already have a few ideas, but not enough if people get bored. The only problem is that I wanted to go swimming, but I can't with my party now.
I don't know what else that's kinda the main event to do anymore. It can't be expensive almost at all and transportation might be tight only having 1 or maybe 2 cars. I really need game and activities ideas asap. We will be in and out of the house a good amount of the time! Please help me!
Why dont you have a scavenger hunt?
I'm having a sweet 16, but I dont know what I want the theme to be or how to start the planning. It'll be in June 2016, 4-5 months after my actual birthday. Help?
theme?
what are your favorite things to do and what are you into? you can have a simple basic theme or a theme where people can know what your into. just make a list of what you are into and what you like and choose one from your list and im sure it will be amazing.
So I turn 16 in October; that's in two months. I kinda don't want a Halloween party, I'm thinking about a Hollywood theme, or pink zebra print.
I don't know, I'm really confused. BTW it's on a boat.Wow...on a boat huh? Nice!
I know you said no Halloween theme BUT if you wanted a Hollywood theme...how about a Costume party where the guests have to dress up as a Hollywood actors or as character from a movie? Might be fun!!
Or you can theme it Birthday Love Boat...and take photo's of everyone as couples, play love songs, use hearts all around, maybe having a kissing booth, hahaha...
Enjoy your birthday!
I want to have a cheap and fun sweet sixteen, but I have clue what to do. There are not going to be a lot of people there, maybe 8 at most. It is ging to be at the end of July. My friends are very picky and 2 of them get annoyed easily.
My other friend's bday is 7 days after mine and she is doing a camping thing so I can't copy her. I was thinking lazer tag, but idk if these girls would like it. any ideas?I turn 16 in May and 3 of my girl friends and I are going to stay at my aunt's house overnight by the pool, but I'm not sure of activities we could do. Also, there isn't anwhere we could go close by and on my family's very small budget being my little brothers birthday is a month after. I know I don't wanna do a scavenger hunt, but we need something to do when we aren't swimming, talking, playing with my baby cousin, and watching TV. Please help, it's very appreciated. Thanks!
By Destiny
Here are a few ideas off the top of my head - borrow some movies from the library for a movie night (no charge from a library, usually), board games - something new or classics from when you were kids, like Monoploy or Clue, card games. You can sometimes borrow board games from a library as well. Have a spa time. Give each other mani/pedis &/or facials.
You can find recipes for different spa treatments and masks online for recipes that can be made out of household ingredients such as oatmeal or mashed cucumber, which would be lower cost than things you might purchase at the drug store. You might also do some cooking together -- home made pizza with assorted toppings, for instance.
My 16th birthday is in March and I have no idea what to do. It is probably still going to be cold here, so I can't do anything outside. I'd only have 9 of my friends (girls and boys) there. We don't have a lot of money, so it couldn't be really expensive.
