You don’t need to go far to throw an unforgettable 16th birthday party. With just a little forethought and planning, you can easily throw a memorable party in your own home. Throwing the perfect 16th birthday party can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. All you need are some great party planning skills and a dash of creativity, and you’ll be sure to throw the best bash your guests have ever been to.
Here are six tips on how to throw an amazing 16th birthday party at home that will leave your guests in awe and wishing they could celebrate with you every year.
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Use your own space
Hosting a birthday party at home means you’ll get to relax and enjoy yourself in your own space. No one will bother you about food, decorations, or where everyone should sit. It’s also a great way to show off your decorating skills as well as how quickly you can clean up after an evening of fun. If you don’t have hosting experience, don’t fret: there are plenty of resources available online that teach you how to give a proper-looking dinner party without having a lot of people over. If you’re hosting a big event at your place, you can buy table covers wholesale and decorate the tables with them. That will already create a significant impact in making your place look so much better.
Ask Friends and Family to Bring Food
Ask your friends and relatives if they’d be willing to bring some food and drinks for your party and be sure to tell them how many people you’re expecting! This is a great way to cut costs since it allows you not only to save money on food but also to plan out exactly what you need for all of your guests. Another nice thing about letting others help is that they can feel involved in planning even if they aren’t on board with or able to contribute financially. It will also be more fun to have different sets of food there. Of course, you’d still have to prepare food for them and don’t rely solely on contributions
Get Started Early
Hosting a birthday party involves plenty of preparation. From planning your menu to decorating, hosting a big event can take weeks, if not months. The longer you have before your party date, the more time you have to plan and prepare for it. That said, there’s no shame in getting started as soon as possible! Gather photos from other parties and use them as inspiration for themes or activities that may work well at your shindig. Also, consider doing any shopping early (or gathering items for crafting) so everything is ready to go once you begin finalizing details with your guest list.
Set a Flexible Schedule
Planning well in advance is a key factor to having a great party. You don’t want anything to fall through last minute, because then it ruins everyone else’s fun too. Setting up a schedule will help keep track of who needs RSVP, what events need setting up, and when everything should be taken down again by everyone involved with helping out before/after parties.
Take Great Pictures
After all, no one wants to be seen on social media and have their image compared unfavorably to someone else’s professionally-shot birthday party. To make sure your guests leave happy — and look great on Instagram — you’ll want to hire a photographer for your soiree. If you don’t think hiring a professional is within your budget, never fear; there are plenty of ways to take excellent photographs without any formal training.
You can buy disposable cameras and have them developed after to get that vintage 90s look. Also, buy lenses for your phone camera lenses like a fisheye lens or colored ones to make your photos more fun to take.
Prepare Party Favors
Planning party favors is one of those tasks that always gets put off until it’s too late—the day of your child’s birthday party. By preparing your favors ahead of time, you can relax on the big day and focus on entertaining guests. You can prepare some by hand and make some purchases in advance like small pillows, personalized bracelets, and other items. Keep them in small clear boxes to make them look more presentable when you give them to your friends.
If you have enough time, you could even consider making more intricate favors such as customized coloring books or notebooks with friends’ initials inside. You could also make some yourself by putting together small goodie bags of fun items that go along with your party theme, like jelly beans for a Candyland party or miniature flashlights for a flashlight-themed sleepover.
If you want your party to be as stress-free as possible, try hosting it at home. Not only will you save money on venue fees and catering expenses, but you’ll also be in charge of designing and setting up your party space which can significantly cut down on costs. Have fun preparing it.
