How to Plan a 16th Birthday Party for a Boy
There are some extroverted teen boys that may demand a birthday extravaganza rivaling the parties on MTV's "My Super Sweet Sixteen." However, most young men would rather not be at the center of a fuss, especially at a party with elements they deem childish, such as cake, balloons and ornately wrapped presents. Save the gushy hoopla for a private family gathering and turn the planning for a larger party with their peers into a parent and son bonding experience. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Broach the subject of the upcoming birthday celebration with your teenager. Open with the proposal to have a separate, traditional birthday celebration with just the family, reserving a larger celebration for just him and his friends. Introduce conditions for this arrangement which establish that you will assist in the planning stages, then step aside for the event.
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Engage your teenager in a discussion of a potential party well in advance of the celebration to allow time for any reservations or rentals that need to be arranged. Use the opportunity for an in-depth discussion of his personal interests, such as sports, music or computer gaming.
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Go over the practical aspects of the party plan, such as event location and number of guests. Establish a party budget and discuss how to call businesses to obtain estimates for the food and activities under consideration for the party.
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Suggest various party scenarios that include activities such as skiing or laser tag, gaming system rentals or staging an at-home dance party. Propose potential party foods, such as pizza and make-your-own-milkshakes.
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Arrange to try out possible party food and activities with your teenager prior to the party to help in the selection of a party scenario. For example, spend an hour playing paintball with your teenager to determine if blowing the full budget on an afternoon of paintball with three friends would be better than spending the money on food and music for a co-ed dance party of 30 kids.
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Set ground rules for the party prior to the event, including curfew, acceptable party behavior and house rules for at-home parties. Explain the rules to the party guests, then entrust your teenage son to follow and enforce the rules by leaving the party in his hands.
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Tips & Warnings
Teenage sons are more likely to put up with the fussing of their friend's mother more so than their own, so consider arranging a party swap with the parents of your son's best friend in which you throw their son's 16th birthday bash and they throw yours. Opt for make-your-own-milkshakes over standard birthday cake as it gives the teens the freedom to concoct outrageous beverages they'll be daring each other to drink.
Teenage parties can quickly get out of hand with the wrong influences. Remove tempting items such as alcohol and cigarettes from plain sight. Also make sure you are available and nearby to take over in the case of an emergency.
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- Photo Credit teen with ear-phones image by Alexey Klementiev from Fotolia.com
