Sweet 16

[catheren]

Hi all DIS people~

I would love your help w/ planning a "sweet 16" b-day party for my DD's. Unforunately, we can't be at WDW -- we will be home in NH.

Any ideas?? We are talking about a either a small party w/ her close GF's or a large boy/girl party.

Its a winter b-day, so cookouts at the house is not an option.

Winter b-day parties are hard to plan -- in New Hampshire!!

 

[RUDisney]

For my sister's Sweet 16, we through her a surprise birthday dinner. We told all of her friends to dress up because they were coming to a dinner party. We told my sister that in honor of her birthday, we were making her a nice dinner that we'd eat in the dining room, on the good china, so she hadn't a clue. When we have these special occasion dinners, we get dressed up, so that also didn't give her a clue.

When her friends arrived, she was still upstairs. Her birthday is in August, so we had everyone go out to the back patio for "mocktails." Again, we served them in nice stemware before we brought them in to the dining room. My parents and I were her servers. We did everything up as if she was in a fancy mansion with butlers and maids.

The girls had so much fun being all grown up and sophisticated.

At least the majority of her party was inside, so this could work for you, too.

 

[DoeWDW]

I always thought a photo scavenger hunt at the mall would be fun! Take a small group of girls to the mall with a list of things they need to take pictures of - like a silly or ugly hat, etc. Then give them each a disposable camera and tell them they MUST stay together. I'd tail them at a discrete distance and give them a time limit.

Tell them they can also take pictures of each other, etc. Drop the cameras at a 1 hour photo place and take the girls for pizza. Pick up the pictures and let them have fun laughing!

 

[Feralpeg]

My DD will turn 16 in March. We are renting a hall and she is inviting about 30 friends for her party. I've cut a few CDs with the music she likes best. I will furnish soft drinks, a cake and snacks. My biggest fear is that other kids will hear of the party and just show up. This has happened at other parties that DD has attended. It wouldn't be that big a deal, except that at these other parties kids showed up that person having the party didn't even know. Many of them were older. When I picked DD up from one of the parties, there were older kids outside the door, smoking and making out. Call me old fashioned, but I wasn't thrilled to have DD attending. I think I will station someone at the door and require an invitation to get in.

 

[Manda1219]

For my sweet sixteen, my parents rented out my church basement and we decorated with lavander and blue tableclothes and covered the stage in balloons. My dad was the DJ and my mom cooked the food. My aunts a photographer, so we were pretty much set!
I invited about 40 of my friends. Since it was all family-run, I got things done exactly how I wanted, the food I wanted, the music I wanted, everything!
Saving all the money, I was able to splurge a little on a dress!
We did the "Traditional" candle lighting ceremony it was a lot of fun, and i'll go OT a little bit because I have a really cute story to go with it:
My boyfriend (still with him now for 5 years!) was my 16th candle, so I did my little speech for him and he came up and lit it. When I turned around and started to read my next speech, I felt him tapping on my shoulder, when I turned around, he had an open ring box with a gold double-heart ring inside with our initials on it (which he later informed me was a promise ring) I just started crying, it was so sweet! Ok sorry for rambling!

 

[monarchsfan16]

i have a fall birthday and am a monarchs fan (all from nh should know what the monarchs are) so for my sweet 16 my mom and stepdad let me choose my closest friends and we went to a game and then they slept over after...now obviously if she's not a sports fan that won't work, but sometimes for a sweet 16 it's fun to be in on planning the party, instead of having it as a surprise...i don't think i would have been as happy with a surprise party, because it's less out of my control...but that's me