Sweet 16 Party Ideas That ROCK!

Hey party peeps! Do you have a teenager that will be turning 16 soon? Do you need some creative Sweet 16 Party Ideas? As a professional party planner, one of questions I get the asked THE MOST is: “My teenager wants a party! What do I do? HELP!!!” As a mom of 5, 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!”

SWEET 16 PARTY IDEAS THAT ROCK!

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 6 Easy Girlfriend Tips to set up a cool #16ROCKS PARTY your teen will LOVE!

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. Most teens are into music. Let’s face it…music is just cool and can be used for both boy or girl teen parties. You can’t go wrong with this theme!

GIRLFRIEND TIP #1: START WITH AN AMAZING VIP INVITE!

Sweet 16 parties are all the rage! They don’t have to be over the top. Most teens just want to hang out and the birthday boy or girl wants to feel like a rock star! Start out with a VIP invite that your teen can hand deliver to his guests. This #16ROCKS! invite and t-shirt were made with my Cricut. See how to make it HERE. If you have a larger guest count, I would suggest making a smaller amount of these only for VIP guests since the cards are handmade.

GIRLFRIEND TIP #2: 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.)

GIRLFRIEND TIP #3: SET UP 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!”

GIRLFRIEND TIP #4: SET UP A COOL DESSERT BAR!

The wow factor and must-have at any teen event is the trendy Dessert 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!

GIRLFRIEND TIP #5: SET UP SELF-SERVE 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.

GIRLFRIEND TIP #6: 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 🙂

PIN FOR LATER!

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Cheers!
Tonya

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