Hey party peeps!
Today’s post is all about how to host a fabulous Teen Party and tips on how to successfully throw one that your teen will actually think is COOL! I have a 16 year old son and know first-hand how hard it can be to host a party for a teen and their friends without being tempted to go overboard or GASP…make it too kiddy!!!
So, I’ve teamed up with PBteen to show you how you can take cool room decor items and use them in your party design following my 5 Easy Tips to set up a really COOL MUSIC-THEMED PARTY your teen will LOVE! As a monthly guest contributor on Hostess with the Mostess, I first debuted these tips there…however, if you missed it…this is an ENCORE!
One of questions I get the asked THE MOST is: “My teenager wants a party! What do I do? HELP!!!” As a mom of a 16 year old teen boy, I know that planning a teen event is hard. Let’s just say…you MUST AMP UP THE COOL FACTOR!!! My formula for success: “KEEP IT SIMPLE & KEEP IT COOL!”
When I begin to design a teen party for my clients, I always ask to see the teen’s room. You can get an idea of what style they like, what colors they love and what things they’re into to get you started on the party’s look and feel.
Here I designed a music theme that is one of my most popular teen party themes. Let’s face it… Music is just cool and can be used for both boy or girl teen parties.
Follow these FIVE SIMPLE STEPS and you will look like a rock star!
(seriously…don’t we all want to look like rock stars to our teen kids?)
TIP #1: MUSIC IS KEY!
Here I designed the entire party around music by pulling in several instruments and using them in unexpected ways. Make sure your teen creates a playlist of all of their favorite songs ahead of time and have them playing during the party. (You can also have the playlist burned on cds to give away as party favors.)
TIP #2: SETUP A PHOTO BOOTH
The easiest activity and teens love it! One more excuse to pull out their cell phones and begin to flick away! Provide a cool backdrop (this one which happens to be a PBteen shower curtain) and funky props and let them do the rest! As a cool momento, place a cork board close by the photo booth and have the teens take photos on this cool retro Polaroid instant camera where they can write a message and post it up on the cork board. This PBteen guitar is the perfect prop to really get cool photos of the teens “rockin’ out!”
TIP #3: SWEETS BARS!
The wow factor and must-have at any teen event is the infamous Sweets Bar. Fill the bar with all of your teen’s favorite sweets and decorate it with the theme in mind. Jet-Puffed marshmallows are always a hit and s’mores even more so! Here I used the drum set from PBteen and used it as a S’mores Bar!
TIP #4: SETUP STATIONS FOR FOOD, SNACKS & DRINKS
Here I created a self-serve nacho bar & drink station. For the drink station, offer sodas in glass bottles for a retro vibe. How fabulous is this bulldog lamp from PBteen! This piece was the inspiration for the whole party design. I added rhinestones and created a one-of-a-kind piece! To continue with the music theme, I pulled in the seat from the drum set and the wire guitar wall art on the nacho bar. Put some cooked taco meat in one crock pot, nacho cheese in the other to stay warm, put some chips in a bowl and you’re done! Budget friendly and super easy! Others options are hot dog stations, pizza bars and snack bars.
TIP #5: CREATE HANGOUT AREAS
Teens just want to hang out. Give them one or two areas to chill; set out a few video or board games, bean bags and you’re done! Also popular are beauty bars and outdoor lounge tents. PBteen has tons of lounge furniture including teen-friendly bean bags that would be perfect when creating a “hangout area”. Incorporate some music room decor items like this headphone wall art and amplifier to pull in the theme.
As a rule of thumb…LESS IS MORE! Teens don’t want to feel like their party is a “kiddy” party with an overdone theme. The key is to setup EVERYTHING ahead of the guests arriving and then leave them to have fun!
What kind of teen party themes have you done? I’d LOVE to hear! Comment below and tell me 🙂
LOOKING FOR MORE BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS? CHECK OUT THESE KIDS PARTIES:
(Click on any of these to see the full posts)
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– How to Set Up a Candy Buffet & How Much Does it Cost?
Cheers!
Tonya
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Where did buy
the bulldog from?
Looks so so cool. I really like these monochromatic colors together, they work out really well. And the dog is amazing
Looks like a really good party. I love the s’mores table, delicious!
Looks amazing!
Wow, these are really awesome tips you have listed! I will save this for my son when he grew up.
Sounds like a fun party! This is a helpful tips for throwing a party.
This looks amazing! My seventeen year old daughter would love this 🙂
These are awesome ideas I’ll have to keep in mind! Photo booths are so hot now!
You totally nailed it. There’s not a teen out there that wouldn’t love this party! The photo booth rocks!
This look fantastic! I love the bulldog with the headphones and the marshmellow skewers…looks like they are sitting in diamonds. Teens would be all over this.
Music, instant pictures, pop and good snackin’. Yep, you nailed it. 🙂
I think this is the coolest teen party EVER! I know parties were never this cool when I was 16!
This just hits the spot! I think it’s the perfect theme for teens especially if he or she loves music. The bar is just delightful!
It’s not just teens?? I need all such things too!! ha.
It seems like ages ago that I was a teen, but yes, some things never change.
Music. Food. Photos. Yay!
This is such a wonderful idea! I have a sister who is going to celebrate her birthday and I will recommend this to our mom!
This is such a totally cool and gorgeous party theme! I love the photo booth idea too! My teens would love this!!
I know for my teen all that is needed for a party is lots of food. Music is important too.
Wow! that photo booth is very hip! I love it! I’ll definitely try it for my next party.
wow this room is beyond awesome. I love that you did a teen room. I was thinking about this but had no idea what to put in there.
I want a music themed party for myself! Love the backdrop by the drums, super cool!
This would be a party any teen would love. I need to show my son and daughter, both have fall bdays.
Omg what a cute setup!!’ You’re right about the music.
I love what you did with the drum set! I’ve done a glow party for a teen birthday bash before. We used glow sticks for straws and in the pitcher’s to make the Mountain Dew Glow
Oh my gosh, how creative and fun! Any teen would love these ideas!
What a fun party set up!! My kids are more tweens but I know they would love these party ideas and set ups!
Love your ideas! Since I have two teens I will be using some of these in the future.
My son is turning 12 this year so I am going to have to kick it up a notch and make sure it’s not kiddy. I love what you have pulled together, where did you get the headphone picture?
This looks like the coolest party ever! My niece would love to have a party as fun and trendy as this!
This party looks amazing! PBTeen is one of those places that I have never heard of but love what I see.
I remember looking through PB Teen catalogs when I was younger. I think I picked out some bedding from there once. I could be wrong!
What? You mean kids don’t want to hear my Def Leppard collection? Just kidding. I know if you are going to throw a good teen party, your music better be up to date.
I love everything about this! You can’t go wrong with a music theme, and the color scheme is perfect!
These are some great tips. I totally love the decor, especially the dog with the headphones 🙂
Wow, that’s one cool arrangement for a cool party! I love the shades of black and glitters everywhere, and you’ve even included an awesome videogame to spice things up!
That party is indeed fabulous. Love the concept and the decors. Love the colors and the glitters. Love Everything. And surely any teen would love it as well.
At last! Someone with real extripese gives us the answer. Thanks!
You made a really good point about setting up a photo booth as an activity that teens love. I always see people with their cell phones out these days taking pictures of everything, so I’m sure that would be a hit at any get-together. It could also be fun to rent a professional photo booth with those little picture strips.