How To Choose A Party Idea For Teens

Parties for teens may be held for many occasions, including birthdays, holidays, sports victories, and life milestones. Some occasions create their own theme (such as a theatre cast party), but for others, a theme can add to the event. A theme helps with making decisions on party invitations, party supplies and decorations, activities, party games, and party favors.

The party theme ideas here are meant to be starting points for brainstorming a theme for an event that fits a particular group of teens. A nice theme for one group might feel sappy to another. The trick is to consider the group to be invited, the host or hostesses likes and dislikes, the ages of the teens or tweens, and whatever limits might exist. Limits might be budget, number of guests, place the party is held, and any special needs.

How to Begin Party Planning

Perhaps the best place to start is with the things that are already set. These will probably affect the theme. Will the party be held at a home, outdoors, at a special place with activities built in, a restaurant or school?

Limits need to be discussed with whoever is funding the party. Is there a budget? How many people will be invited? Will the party be co-ed, all girls, or all guys? Will parents be needed to help or chaperone? Are families invited?

Making lists is helpful, especially for a more complicated event.

Some Good Theme Ideas for Teen Parties

Keeping in mind the above, it is time to start looking for that perfect theme. The following ideas can be made to be suit different ages, sexes, guest numbers, and venues.

If the party is centered on a certain person (a birthday or graduation for instance), brainstorming that person’s likes is a great place to start. This could lead to a theme based on a favorite:

Song, singer, band, or musical instrument
Color, pattern (checks, polka dots?)
Food, food style, or restaurant (pizza, Asian, chocolate)
TV show or movie
Social media source (Facebook, twitter)
Animal (horses, dogs, cats)
Game (poker, Twister, a video game)
Sport (soccer, swimming, the Olympics)

Themes for Larger Teenage Events

A group event (like a teen dance, grad party, or a spring picnic) can have a wider theme, like:

A vintage or popular song (Rock Around the Clock, We are the World, Today Was a Fairytale, Fireflies)
A book or book series (Twilight, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter)
A period in time (medieval times, the roaring twenties, 1960s)

Great sites for teen party ideas and party goods are Teen Birthday Party Ideas and Themes and Birthday Party Themes and Ideas, which are packed full of suggestions.

Party Planning and Party Themes

It’s easy to get obsessed with making every little detail fit the theme of a party. A party theme is only a guideline, so party planners can feel free to add other elements that compliment that idea.

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Learning about Hanukkah is important for people of all faiths as a reminder that December isn’t just about Christmas and that their are many other important holidays that happen during this time. Hanukkah unit studies can give you ideas for incorporating the holiday into your holiday studies that happen in December, or to use at home for learning about people of different faiths.

Homeschool Superfreak has a lot of basic ideas for how to build a Hanukkah unit study, as well as FAQs about what Hanukkah is and why it is celebrated. This list is a good stargint point but doesn’t include all the details you’ll need. For example it says you can play the dreidel game but doesn’t explain how to do that or why it’s important. (If you need that information, this post from Mama Smiles is a good source.)

Teachers Pay Teachers has lots of great lesson plans and activities if you’re willing to pay a little bit to get some good content. Two I really like are this Hanukkah PowerPoint presentation from Shelia Melton, which provides a good overview of traditions, food and the history of Hanukkah; and a virtual field trip to Jerusalem from MagiCore, which includes lots of videos showing the city and activities like playing dreidel, drawing a menorah and making latkes. It’s a Google Drive folder and also includes writing activities and more for kids in second to fifth grade.

Kids Activities Blog has some simple printables with facts about Hanukkah and things kids can color in like a Star of David, sufganiyots (jelly doughnuts) and a menorah. These are great for learning the basics.

Homeschool Giveaways has a printable ebook about Hanukkah complete with questions kids can answer after they read. This would be a good one for older kids with good reading comprehension.

NurtureStore’s Hanukkah unit study includes a printable mini book, tons of crafts, as well as math and writing activities. I love the dominoes game that’s part of the unit.

And check out our previous posts for more Hanukkah crafts and learning activities!

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