To all the other moms out there. My question is for my sister-in-law. Given the ecomony, how can we celebrate a SWEET 16 with a limited income. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. She is a typcial 16 year old. She loves the color purple, enjoys music, going to to movies, etc.
What about a Movie Night? You could rent or borrow DVD's (or even pick out favorites you already own). Then serve popcorn, soda, water, and maybe some inexpensive candies.....If it's all girls invited, they could watch movies into the night and then sleep over.
My best friend had an Italian grandmother who cooked for her and 15 friends (16 of us) a full 5 course meal for her 16th, then we hung out. The special dinner felt more "adult" then childish, perfect for that age. It wouldn't have to be Italian or 5 courses, but a more adult meal that was sit-down. Start with soup or salad, then entree, then special desert like you would find in a restaurant rather than the standard cake (my friend had canolis). Let just the kids sit at a table/tables with a white tablecloth and real plates or the clear plastic kinds you see at weddings (party city has them)
If she is in to movies you could follow up the dinner by renting a digital projector (I think kinkos has them) which is easy to hook up to a laptop or dvd player and you can project movies on a large white sheet (or even rent a screen) in the backyard or a large wall in a big open indoor room (bonus room). Don't forget speakers! You could prepare lots of movie treats (popcorn and buy twizzlers, junior mints, etc..) and have a "concession stand" set up. You could also decorate the backyard by hanging clear/white Christmas lights.
It would show her you see her not just as a kid, yet be fun. The cost should be low, but the evening will feel extra special. Most importantly, while supervising, give the kids space. They'll relax and have more fun.
If you want a bigger party that is economical,I attended a "quinceanera" that had the young lady in her princess dress but the other kids were dressed "Grease" style. The girls wore poodle skirts, white blouses and their hair up with a ribbon. the boys wore jeans, white t-shirts and leather jackets and some slicked their hair. They decorated with juke boxes and served hot dogs, hamburgers with chips and canned drinks. No big fuss but a lot of fun for the kids. They even did a dance routine to "You're the one that I want" song from Grease.
I decorated for my sisters wedding on a limited budget. I looked up ideas from these sites:www.masterbow.com/pages/idea_gallery/search.php
www.partysparkle.co.uk/index.asp?function=WEBPAGE&id=6
I did a double heart in grey balloons, I used meatal coat hangers, twist ties and duct tape to make the shape and then tied the ballons to the form until it was filled. We used a large roll of plastic table cloth from the party store and two sided tape to make the ruffle effect around the tables. I also used plain white christmaslights and plenty of tule. My other sister made the cakes. Find an ideas she likes and get an walmart,heb or who you have to do the basic cake or cakes and add your own decorations. We have made so many celebrations possible for cheep. If you need help with ideas email me at ____@____.com.
When my daughters turned 16 I did a scavenger hunt of sorts. You can take them to someplace like the mall and give them certain items they need to recover...a napkin, a coupon - various things. They can utilize a camera and take photos of themselves outside various stores, etc. It can be as involved and creative as you have desire to make it. Or you can take them to a Dollar Tree and give them X-amount of dollars each and they have to come out with something red and edible, something blue and fun to play with, something with lots of words that's yellow - stuff like that. The trick is they cannot all pick the same thing and the items they find can be their treats/trinkets. $5 each goes a long way in that store. You can pay the tax and take photos of the girls and what they found. Then take the crew back to you house for a movie w/popcorn, etc.
How about renting a karaoke machine? Also, not sure if this would be interesting to the kids or not but what about trying to find DVD's of some memorable movies from the year she was born? Let's see that would be 1994 and I just did a real quick Google search and found these movies: Speed, Dumb and Dumber, Forrest Gump, and Four Weddings and a Funeral (that was a good year for movies :-)).
Good luck,
K.
She could have a limo party. I dont think they're super expensive to rent for a couple hours and she could bring a few of her closest friends to just chill in a limo and feel cool and grown up. :-)
there are a few functioning drive in movie theaters still in operation in texas. you should search for some. we also have little surrounding towns that show a couple of movies in there little bitty theaters. it helps there tiny comunity and its usually fun. ganado tx offers three d movies. or there are sites that show how to make an outdoor movie theater in your own back yard. that way she can pick the movie. readymade.mag had an artical at one time or another...vacant buildings, your church, have nice large walls you might (get permission first no tresspassing) be able to project the movie on those???
I would simply listen to her...i would ask her, "do you know what you want to do for your birthday?"or "do you have any plans in mind about what you want to do for your birthday?" or "you're turning 16 and that's a big deal, what would you like to do that day?" My girls tend to open up in a different way to the grannies and aunties so i would get feedback from them...some suggestions would be a house party with friends, dinner party with family, rent a place for a party with friends(dj,food,etc.),spend the night in a nice hotel with a couple of girlfriends doing what they like til the wee hours for example nails hair and movies, or maybe a road trip-possibly visit a college campus and eat and shop at places you don't see everyday at home...it really depends on what type of girl she is and what she likes.
Well I will tell you what I did for mine, it was pretty inexpensive! But I've never been high maintenance lol. I got permission to use the youth rooms at church (but this could be done at home too), my mom made cupcakes and snacks, my friends came and I had games planned (like hide and go seek in the dark), we had music playing, dancing, and jsut general hanging out. My dad and his friend sat in the other room, gave us our space, I don't think I saw him but once! It was very fun and very simple =)
Another idea is a scavenger hunt, but this requires some parent involvement and more time/effort! Divide into 2 teams (or more if there's a lot of kids) and give them each the same list and either a digital camera, poloroid camera, or video camera. Then set a time limit of a couple hours and whoever can document the most items on the list in that time frame wins a small prize (goodie bags maybe?) A friend of mine did this for his birthday (although we were 18 so we just drove ourselves) and it was a blast! We used video cameras and it was hilarious watching them afterward! Some ideas for the list are sitting in a phone booth (hard to find nowdays!), riding a kiddie ride outside a store, eating a McDonalds hamburger, sliding or swinging at a park, climbing a tree, rolling yourself in toilet paper, etc. Just remember that you can't take a camera in a store or restaurant (we got in trouble for this not knowing lol)
One more idea if she wants it not co ed is a slumber party/makeover party. Buy a few cheap makeup sets, nail polish, lotions, pedicure/manicure stuff, etc and have them make each other over, then have them bring clothes and have a fashion show. Have categories like most creative, funniest, most beautiful, futuristic, etc and give out small prizes for a winner in each category
Hope this helps, good luck!
