Valentine Party Ideas for Teens
Most teens have outgrown the tradition of passing out Valentine's Day cards to classmates, but still have to deal with parents when it comes to romantic dating. As a compromise, turn Valentine's Day into a celebration of friendship, with a party that reflects Valentine themes in an entertaining way.
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Decorations
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Advertise your party as "anti-Valentine's Day" for a fresh spin. Consider the decor carefully -- it helps define an overall theme and set the mood for your Valentine's party. Most teens won't really enjoy cheesy, overly sweet decorations, so eschew cupids and doilies. Try poking fun at Valentine's Day traditions, with hearts torn in two, or black hearts instead of customary pink. Consider mixing Valentine decorations with Halloween decorations for a humorous and spooky twist -- for instance, red heart-shaped lights against black tablecloths and streamers.
Refreshments
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Chocolate is a Valentine's favorite, and always welcomed by teens. Serve a variety of different chocolate candies, including white, milk and dark. As an extra touch, feature a chocolate fondue pot with fresh fruit, pretzels, marshmallows and other foods for dipping -- chocolate fondue is a treat teens don't encounter at every party. To continue with an anti-Valentine theme, try black-frosted cupcakes. Or use a standard heart-shaped cookie cutter and then snap the cookies in half.
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Icebreakers
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Once teens have figured out their partners, they can be partners for later games. If guests don't know each other very well just yet, a Valentine's Day party can get off to an awkward start. To avoid this, try some themed icebreakers. Think up famous pairs -- either people, such as Antony and Cleopatra, or items, such as peanut butter and jelly. Use pairings from pop culture that teens will recognize. As each guest enters the party, he gets a name tag with a single name affixed to the back of his shirt. It's his job to find out who he is, using yes or no questions, and then find his partner.
Entertainment
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Humorous games embrace the spirit of Valentine's Day by being corny on purpose. Create a Mad Libs style game -- have teens work in pairs or groups to come up with new nouns, verbs and adjectives for a passage from an especially cheesy romance novel. Or ask teens to compose sappy love poems (as exaggerated as possible) and perform them for each other in open mike style. Once teens get tired of games, go for tried-and-true activities such as dancing and socializing.
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References
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