6 Ultimate Tips on How to Throw a Teenage House Party

Deciding on the Party

Ok, so remember when we said sit back and relax? Well, that’s not quite how things will go once you start with all the preparations for the party, especially not at the very beginning, when you have to discuss party details with your child. There will be a lot of disagreements, but try to stay cool and positive. We don’t say you should accept everything your teen wants. It’s just important to have a straightforward approach so you can agree on things easier and avoid pointless discussions.

Talk to your Teen

Here are some of the things you should ask your child:

What is the occasion?
If it’s not a birthday, ask your teen what makes her or him want to throw a party at your house. Is it because she or he never had one before? Does your teen want a big-time celebration or a small gathering? All those are important questions as they’ll tell you how your child feels about the party.

How many guests will be there?
Once you agree that there will be a party at your house, move on to the practicalities. First and foremost, take your time with the guest list. Don’t hesitate to set up strict rules. If she or he exaggerates with the guest number, lower it down. Throwing a party for your child is completely normal, but you shouldn’t let things go out of control. You wouldn’t want your house to turn into the night club all of a sudden, right?

What would be the date of the party?
Now, the second most important thing – the date. Whatever your teenager tells you, don’t agree on the date when you won’t be at home. You should most certainly be nearby to keep an eye on everything. Also, in most cases, teens don’t know how much time is needed to organize a party, so they always tend to rush things up. You should think about how much time you need to organize everything and then pick a date.

When will it start and when will it end?
Ah, this would probably be the most troublesome topic in the conversation. Make sure your child knows why it’s not okay for a party to run all night through. Try to push an early party beginning, so that it can last longer and still end up in a decent hour.

What activities will there be?
Lastly, talk about the activities you can organize for the party. Does your child want some board or computer games to play with friends? Try a subtle approach and recommend some safe alternatives if you’re not okay with teenage parties with alcohol. A lot of fun activities will keep children away from drinking and keep them entertained.

Decide on the Place

Will a party set place in your house? If so, you’ll probably have to set up some ground rules. Don’t hesitate to limit the party area on one to two rooms. We also recommend locking some doors and storing away valuable stuff. Accidents happen all the time, and you should do whatever you can to prevent them.

Consult Other Parents

Make sure to talk with other parents before you throw a party. Preferably, do so with the ones whose children are coming to the party. Ask them are they okay with the party, do they have some suggestions, etc. You don’t have to do everything on your own! Besides, it’s polite to ask other parents for opinions about the things they children are involved in.

Take a look at this article if you need some extra help and informations regarding teenage party ideas at home: Celebrate the 18th Birthday for a Daughter.

Invitations

When it comes to invitations, we recommend letting your teenager handle them. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t give some suggestions and provide guidance. There are quite a few things that every party invitation should include. Here are some examples:

Timing

Encourage your child to send the invitations as soon as possible. The guests should know about the party in advance, so they can plan, buy gifts, and prepare. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a teen or an adult party. The invitations should be sent in a proper way, which is to say at the right time.

Guests

Another important thing is to make sure there aren’t any awkward moments between guests. Of course, nobody says there should be any unwanted guests at the party. It’s just recommended to avoid talking about the party in front of people who are not going to end up with the invitations.

Gifts

If this is a birthday party, it’s recommended to give a hint on the invitations about the present you want to get. It might make things easier not only for a host but for the guests as well. Most of the people struggle with birthday gifts, and you can make it less troublesome. Here’s an article you can follow for that matter: How to Give Hints About a Gift.

P.S. In case you prefer getting monetary gifts, you can also take a look at this one: How to Ask for Gift Cards on a Birthday Invitation.

Preparations

So, once you agree on the type of party, date, time, guest list, and all that stuff, it’s time to actually start with the preparations. We’ll run through some of the most important things:

Music

There’s no good party without quality music. Well, there’s no party at all without quality music! That’s why it’s crucial to have quality speakers set up for the event and playlists prepared. Nobody wants to pause in the middle of the party because a list came to the end or nobody can think of the song to play. Prepare multiple playlists and also make sure to stick with similar genres. Carefully chosen music is what will make the most of every party.

Food

The second most important thing is food, of course. While snacks are okay for a large party, you should stick with something more substantial for a smaller gathering. We are not thinking about piles of food, don’t worry! But some sandwiches, pastry, or similar stuff will be welcomed, that’s for sure.

Drinks

So, you’re probably wondering how to throw a teenage party without alcohol? That could be though, we admit it. As we mentioned above, you should try to keep teenagers occupied with other activities. If they have a lot of fun, they won’t need any alcohol. Organize different games, play some music, and bring out the best food. That should do the trick!

Pro Tip: If you do allow alcohol at the party, you might want to bookmark this one: 4 Homemade Hangover Kit Ideas.

Decorations

What is a party without decorations? You can either buy everything or start a DIY project. No matter what option you choose, you should decorate a house for the party. It will light up the entertainment area, and guests will be thrilled. Also, you can gather up as a family and do all the decorations together. That should be fun!

Here’s one super cute video we found, with some DIY decoration ideas for the party:

Other Stuff

In case you are wondering what to do at a house party, we have a few suggestions for you.

1. Play board or any other games
We recommend a competition for gamers as well, just let your guests know about it so they can bring computers. A scavenger hunt is an excellent alternative if you’re not into having a tech-themed party.

2. Set up a carnival in a backyard
Don’t hesitate to transform your backyard into something super fun. It might take a lot of planning, but it’s going to be worth it!
Organize a competition in all kinds of indoor games (bowling, mini-golf, etc.)

3. Sing karaoke

4. Organize a themed dance-off

Pick a decade, make a playlist with the best hits from the era, let your guests know, and the party can begin! Everyone should come in the appropriate clothes and dance off the most popular moves from the given decade. It sounds fun to us!

5. A themed party

You can also pick anything you want for the themed party, from Marvel Universe to Harry Potter.

We listed only a few ideas that could be super fun for the upcoming party. Hope this gives you a lot more ideas to make the day unforgettable!

Supervision

Now, a note for the parents who are worried about the entire teen-party thing. It’ll be okay, you have control, and there’s nothing to worry about. However, that doesn’t mean you should leave the house and leave children without any supervision. No matter how teens behave, accidents do happen, and they won’t know how to react at the moment. An adult should always be nearby to keep an eye on the party.

Party

Before

Naturally, you would like to help your teenager organize everything, but you should also assign different tasks to your child. It’s her or his party after all, and the teenager should start taking responsibility. You can do this by repeating how he or she is the host and how he or she should take most of the work and decisions.

P.S. Be ready in case you have to drive some of the kids home and make sure you have all (or at least several) phone numbers of the children’s parents.

During

Try to limit the visits to the house during the party. Kids should know you’re there to keep an eye and check things out, but they shouldn’t feel uncomfortable. If you keep hovering around, they might have a difficult time to relax and enjoy the party.

We recommend going to the neighbors for a drink or two while the kids are having fun. Why shouldn’t you relax as well? It will prevent you from worrying about the party while you’ll also be close enough to the house.

After

This one is tricky. Your child will probably want to sleep over the entire day tomorrow morning. That means you’ll have to face all that mess on your own. We know you’ll have the urge to wipe clean the entire place and make it shine again. Still, if you can fight it, we say to do so. You should let your child sleep a little longer, then wake her or him up, and clean up together. Your child should have a sense of responsibility for these things, and he or she will get it only if you don’t do all the work instead.

Final Thoughts

We hope our suggestions turn out to be useful for both parents and teenagers. We want to help parents worry less and get over with this whole party-thing faster. But we also want teenagers to have an enjoyable night and throw the best party in the neighborhood! Even parents have to agree that teen years are the best age for attending parties. So, why not try to make the best of it?

To sum things up, our main goal was to answer the question of how to throw a teenage house party the best way we could. We tried to include all the possible tips that could help with the organization and make your life easier. Hopefully, all of this will work for you!