Tips for Planning a Teenager Birthday Party

My eldest is turning 14 later this month and organising a teen birthday party is definitely different to that of a young child and in some ways it's a little more pressure to get it right. Teens have ever-changing needs and sometimes it can feel hard to keep up, but like many things less can be more, asking them to focus on their core group of friends and putting together something special for a smaller number of young people can take some of the pressure away. In this short article, we offer a few tips for parents who are planning a birthday get-together for their teenager. 

Embrace the event – Involve your teen in the planning stages and aim to be inclusive without being too authoritative, if that makes sense, try to see things from your teen's perspective even when you don't agree work to find a middle ground. 

Discuss do’s and don’ts - Make sure you sit down together and come up with a few do’s and don’ts, which will help to avoid any issues as clear communication is key. When teens have a say in the planning stages they are more likely to be responsible. Of course, a lot depends on their age, an 18th birthday bash would be very different to a 13th birthday party.

Control the numbers – it can be easy for things to get out of control, especially with social media, the last thing you want is a few hundred teenagers descending on your home, I've seen this happen before when I was a teen attending parties. Ask your teen to create a guest list, then sit down together and come to an agreement, it is worth noting that the more people you invite, the harder it will be to keep things in order as well as being more expensive, as I mentioned earlier, less is more. 

Let them choose a new outfit – They are the host after all, so where birthday dresses are concerned, give a budget and leave it to them to choose their own outfit. It is important for your teen's self-esteem that they feel good in what they are wearing on the day and helps them feel relaxed and confident.

Set limits – Whether you are having the party at your home or a special venue, there needs to be limits, so sit down with your teen and set out which rooms or spaces are off-limits and encourage them to relay this message to their party guests.  

Be reasonable – Give your teen some responsibility and watch them rise to the occasion in a supportive way. We all know how volatile teenagers can be, with all those hormones; some feel that the entire world is against them! If there are disagreements, try not to get emotional and keep things calm.

We hope that the above tips go some way to making the event a roaring success and you can all celebrate the passing of another year.