20 Party Planning Tips for the Ultimate Sweet 16 Celebration
A sweet sixteen celebration is a magical chance to honor and celebrate the birthday girl. As they move from childhood to adulthood, getting the tone and details spot on can be a little tricky. However, with our tips below, you’ll be able to plan the perfect sweet sixteen which will be fun, distinctive and memorable.
Here are our 20 party planning tips for the ultimate sweet 16!
First up, nail down that date! The sweet 16 celebration doesn’t need to take place on the honoree’s actual birthday. In fact, you may find it works better to leave that date for family celebrations only, especially if it falls on a weekday or in the middle of important tests or fixtures. Choose a date which works best for you.
2. Set the budget
With the date organized, the next step is the budget. It’s not the most fun element, but will ensure that your planning stays on track.
As soon as possible, work on deciding the guest list. Now you’ve got the date in mind, it’s important to move quickly here. Think about the guest list carefully. The best sweet sixteen celebrations are not always the biggest. The aim is to create a close ballpark number of guests which you can work with before you know final numbers.
4. Save the date
For the most critical guests, it’s worth sending out a quick message to tell them of the date at this early stage. It’s going to take a little more planning to pin down the details before you can send out the invitations, so it’s worth letting the most important guests know of the date already. This will ensure they don’t get booked up by others!
Now you’ve got the date, you can think about where the celebration will be held. Do you want to host it at home? Will you hire out a venue? What about hiring a party bus and holding the party on board?
6. Choose a theme
While of course Sweet 16 is a theme in itself, you may want to get a little more creative! The theme will help to tie the whole celebration together, with everything from the invitations to the favors, as well as the decorations and the food! From a Night-out-in-Paris to Masquerade or Red Carpet, get the birthday girl involved in thinking about the theme.
It’s time to let everyone know where to be and when! Make sure your invitations reflect the party theme as this will help to ensure your guests get into the mood. Also remember to include all the details and don’t forget to ask people to reply, and give them a date to do so by!
8. Plan the itinerary or schedule
Often forgotten, and then everything ends up either a little disjointed or crammed, but think about the itinerary for the occasion. If you want more than a single venue dance, then you’ll need to think about how to fit everything in. For example, are you heading to a restaurant first, or finishing the night with fireworks? Think about timings and how it will work out.
With a rough itinerary in hand, you can now book the different elements of the entertainment. Think about whether you want a DJ or a band. Perhaps your itinerary includes seeing a show, or having a fireworks display, so they will need booking. With the entertainment booked, the whole celebration starts to come together.
10. Sort out the food and drink
Think about the best way to feed the guests! Remember that large groups of teenage girls and boys are likely to have different expectations from their parents! They will probably be happier with pizzas than caviar! You may opt for a sit down meal, particularly if you have a smaller number of guests. However buffet snacking works best for most sweet sixteen parties.
Don’t forget to tie your food into the theme too, if it works! For example, pale pink cotton candy works fabulously with a Pretty-in-Pink theme.
11. Fix the transport
Don’t forget that at sweet sixteen celebrations you have a lot of teens, and it’s best to keep their transport to the venue within your control! Party buses are fantastic for ensuring all of the guests are catered for. You can even set out multiple pick up and drop off locations, ensuring everyone is safe and on time. Even better, the party bus can be the venue!
12. Think about the snaps!
It’s so important to have plenty of photos to remember the night! Make it easy by hiring someone to do the job. Their images will be high quality, and being independent, they will focus on the birthday girl and all the guests more evenly!
Wherever the celebration is held, the décor will make it come to life and make your chosen theme pop. Balloons provide impressive coverage, and you can ensure they match the colors. Also use paper pompoms and fans, streamers, and anything else that ties in. Did you know that you can even decorate our limos and party busses to suit your occasion?
14. Plan the outfits!
Chances are that the honoree is looking forward to their sweet sixteen as a chance to be pampered and look incredible. It’s important that you give plenty of time and thought to planning the perfect outfit, especially given the angst-ridden age! Use this as an opportunity to celebrate her coming of age, and to boost her confidence.
Every birthday needs a cake and a sweet sixteen is no different! Again, tie the cake design into the theme and ensure it’s a showstopper. This is one birthday cake that won’t be forgotten! Don’t forget to make sure the cake is big enough for the number of guests.
16. The entrance
It’s really wonderful for the guest of honor to be given the chance to actually make an entrance! Think about how this will play out. Perhaps lay down the red carpet, or have her arrive in a limo to an audience of guests?! Don’t forget to have the photographer primed and ready!
While dancing and hanging out chatting may be the main plans, don’t forget that teens are only really overgrown kids and they may need some activities to act as social lubricant and to keep them engaged! There are lots of things to choose from such as giant games like Jenga, through to photo booths, karaoke and limbo!
18. Memorable sweet 16 moments
We can’t stress it enough – the sweet 16 is one to remember! With a little thought, you can plan things which ensure the honoree will have fond recollections for the rest of her life. Along with a guestbook, you could have guests leave video recordings, or sign a pillow, or do something else creative.
A party isn’t complete without thoughtful favors! With this age group, edible favors always go down well, particularly with the guys! However, go wild and make it unique. From personalized water bottles, to individual bracelets, or eye masks, there’ll be something that suits the theme.
20. Don’t stop there!
All the best parties have an after party! Which of your honoree’s closest friends can perhaps come back for a sleepover? This way the fun doesn’t fizzle out when the bulk of the guests go home.
Image source: Unsplash
