How to Creatively Budget for a Sweet 16

It isn't hard to throw a good party for a small amount of money. You just have to be creative and inspired.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• creativity
• ingenuity
• an open mind

1. PIES AND A DANCE - During the day, you can take your guests to a pick-your-own orchard and pick berries and/or apples. You come back to the house, and bake a pile of pies for the party. While the pies are baking, you can start the dance party.
   
   Decorate your house with reusable decorations. When the pies are done, everyone gets pie and ice cream instead of a store bought cake.

2. NATURE COOKOUT AND DANCE - Local and national parks usually have gazebos and picnic areas that are available to the public for either no fee or a very small fee. Gazebos usually have a source of electric power for a DJ, and as long as you have nice weather, you can have a cookout and a DJ dance out in some beautiful location. Because you are already in a natural setting, decorations can be held to a minimum or even none at all.

3. SCAVENGER HUNT AND DANCE - Your party guests are divided into teams. A couple of hours before the dance, they are sent out into the neighborhood, city or a local mall with $10.00 and a list of items they have to find and bring back to the party. One idea for the scavenger hunt is a list of items that you will use to decorate your house. Another idea is to give everyone a disposable camera to fill up with pictures from the hunt. You can give everyone some pictures as a remembrance of the party.
   
   The team that returns with the most stuff and the most money left over is the winner. They don't have to decorate!
   
   By the time all the teams return, you have the place ready for the party to start. The DJ starts playing, and everyone has a great time. There's plenty to talk about because everyone will want to share their adventures from the scavenger hunt.

4. MYSTERY PARTY - When your guests arrive, each one is handed a script that outlines their character for the evening. The mystery can be the theft of a famous painting. Someone is the criminal, someone is the detective, others are the witnesses or the victims.
   
   For the first couple of hours, everyone has to be "in character" and the scenes are played out until the detective discovers just who stole the necklace.
   
   After the solution of the crime, you can have your party goodies and cake, and the DJ can start playing so everyone can start dancing!

5. AN EVENING OF THEATER AND FUN - There are so many wonderful student productions in every city. Almost every high school still offers a musical, a dramatic play, a night of one-acts, a chorus concert - and the cost is a fraction of a professional company.
   
   You can find a reasonable restaurant, or have dinner at home, and then go to the theater. Dressing up is optional, and whether you think the entertainment is top notch or not, you'll be supporting the arts in the schools and the students who work so hard at the show. You can even choose the school that your sweet 16 attends, and then everyone knows someone in the show.
   
   Be sure to bring flowers for the actors and actresses you might know. They'll appreciate the thought.

6. KARAOKE and DJ DANCE PARTY - Karaoke is so much fun! You can rent a machine for very little, but most DJ's also have one. Everyone likes to sing in the car, the shower and just walking around. Be sure to gt a Karaoke track with songs that are applicable to the likings of your sweet 16 and you'll be a hit!

7. MONOPOLY PARTY - Okay, you have to love Monopoly, but my daughter did! We bought some Monopoly games from thrift stores (at a fraction of the original price), and we had a Monopoly tournament that ran all day on a Saturday. The prizes were the Monopoly games that we used, so we didn't have to keep all those games. We bought different ones (Simpsonopoly, Star Trekopoly, New Yorkopoly - you get the idea).
   
   We grilled out hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers and not dogs, and everyone ate as they were playing. When it got down to the last game, we started playing music so that some of the kids could dance and hang out on the back porch.
   
   This was quite a success and the cost was only the cost of the monopoly games (about $25.00 for 8 games) and the food.

Tips & Warnings

• You can hire a local high school DJ who is just learning the ropes at a great price. This would give them some experience while not breaking your budget.
• You can find some great decorating supplies at local thrift shops, flea markets, yard sales and resale shops.
• Don't have any alcohol at your sweet 16 party - even for adults. It can get messy and you don't need the headache.