emzhengjiu Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 My daughter really wants an 18th birthday party. Our apartment is too small, but I think we can arrange to use a room at our church. But I'm an introvert! Just the thought of planning a party makes me want to run and hide. Our budget is tight, so there's not a lot of extra money for activities and such. Since I love my daughter, I really want to do this, but I have no ideas for teens. If she were going to be 8 instead of 18, I would have no problem planning a great party. Please help with ideas, suggestions, moral support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 At that age, I'd tell your daughter the possibilities you mention here—you could arrange to use a room at your church and what budget you can offer—and then let her take the lead. What does she want to do? What would make it a great birthday for her? Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Food, music, and set up a "photo booth" with costume props from the dollar store? They can take turn taking photos of each other, or you can take the photos. Then email them to everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 I hear you. Can they design and create "runway fashion" with bathroom tissue and streamers and have a "photo shoot"? Poker tournament with M&Ms? A scavenger hunt around the church/neighborhood? (When I was in college a group of us did a fun scavenger hunt and we had to collect or take pictures of things like a calendar from 1985, a 6-person pyramid, an acorn, license plate from Nebraska, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakelly Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 When my ds turned 18 we offered him a party, a skydiving trip, a weekend road trip or money. I was so glad he didn't pick a party, LOL! Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 For one of my son's 18th birthdays we did Minute to Win It games. You can Google it. There are many, many games to choose from. Many required items we already had laying around the house. They were a lot of fun and there was lots of laughter. My daughter went to a murder mystery party that she thought was a lot of fun. I would think you could do that on the cheap, but I wasn't the one hosting, so I can't say for sure. Maybe Pinterest would have some good ideas. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magic Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 My son turned 18 last month and, as I was talking to him, I found that he really missed the things that he did when he was little at his birthday parties. We had 30 teens over and they had a blast and could not stop telling me how much fun they had. We bought table clothes with designs for coloring and had crayons on the tables. As soon as the kids came in the door, they ran to the tables and started coloring. Everyone received a large ziploc bag with their name on it when they came in the door. Each bag had a silly straw in it for them to use. We did two pinatas with the pull strings on them and filled the pinatas with tattoos, stickers, hard candy, bubbles, licorice, suckers, bouncy balls, balloons, jumping frogs, and other little toys. The kids filled their bags and sat around playing with all of their "treasures". We set up a jumbo Jenga game for the kids to play and thry really enjoyed that (my daughter made the game out of old 2x4's). I made various bar ccokies and some mini cupcakes and had those set out for the kids to eat. I also had a veggie tray and some chips. I set up a drink station with 2-liters of pop and juice. We all had a great time and the kids really enjoyed being little kids again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Teen parties are so easy. All you need is space and food. They really do entertain themselves. You can show a movie, or have music for dancing if you'd like. I've been hired to do teen parties where I come in, teach a 30 min bellydance class, then leave and their 'goodie bag' is a coin scarf, but that's been for parties that were largely female and the one gay friend. At 18, give your daughter the budget and freedom to plan what she wants. She might enjoy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Our teen parties have been easy, too, though we've only had teen boys thus far. Food, drinks, space. For a 17th party one year, we put out buckets of sidewalk chalk (the party was outside on our deck and patio with lights and music) and the chalk art was absolutely amazing to see afterward. I can see the crayons and tablecloths being a huge hit. A fire pit is good if the party is outside at all, and there always seem to be a few kids who wander inside to play video games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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