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.

I don’t often share knitting patterns for pets, mostly because I don’t think of it. I don’t have a dog, and I’ve never knit for my cats except a knit couch and a little cat bed I made on a knitting machine, both of which were pretty much ignored.

I have shared some pet bed knitting patterns, and both hats and sweaters for dogs.

But I don’t think I’ve shared a pattern for a cat sweater, until now.

This one is the Bunny sweater by Sarah Zhou, so named because her cat is named Bunny, of course.

It’s a made to measure pattern because cats come in all shapes and sizes, and you can also use any yarn you like and whatever gauge you are getting with that yarn.

The design is knit from the bottom up, that is, from the tail side up toward the head. Pairs of decreases shape the body as you work toward the armholes, which are made by binding off a few stitches. Then the belly and the back are worked flat, then joined and worked in the round for the chest part.

There are some design options in the pattern, from the look of the photos they include using a contrasting color for the edging, working a scalloped edging, maybe a foldover collar? But of course you can add your own embellishments, stripes, make it in team colors or for a Halloween costume. I’m sure they’re quick to knit so you can make a bunch if you have a cat who is willing to submit to such torture.

Bunny looks like a very good and mostly tolerant girl; I don’t think either of my cats would be willing to wear a sweater. But if you make one (the pattern is available on Ravelry) and successfully get your cat to wear it I would love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sarah Zhou]

Have you read?