Photo || Kara’s Party Ideas
It seems like just yesterday that you held her in your arms, rocking her to sleep. Now, she’s a loving, spunky, fun, respectful teenager soon to be sixteen years old. Where did the time go? You want to throw her a fantastic party with all her friends—but what to choose for a theme? If your daughter loves the glamour and sparkle of celebrities and doesn’t miss watching even one award show, then perhaps she’d love a Hollywood Red Carpet birthday party!
Fashionable Attire
Before you send out invitations, you should decide what type of dress it’s going to be. Of course, you want kids to dress up in their best dresses and—if boys are invited—suits and ties; or it could be a formal affair. Either way, let the teens express their style. But should you just let them wear whatever color they want or have specific colors? Red and black would be amazing. Yet black and gold or red and gold would look equally stunning—or why not all three colors? Don’t forget you, the host, need to look beautiful too!
Classy Invitations
Let your imagination soar when it comes to making invitations. Maybe you’d like the invitation to be elegant using gold, black and red colors of the occasion. All the pertinent information—birthday girl’s (or boy’s) name, time, date, place and RSVP date—could be in white cursive letters and you can even add a statement like “Dress to impress.” But you don’t have to have a lot of glitz; just a simple invitation—a few red and black stars on a white background with the party details—will work well too.
Another terrific idea is a fun backstage pass invitation. This really gives the birthday bash a Hollywood feel! Don’t forget to order lanyard holders and lanyards so the guests can wear their “pass” to the gala. If you’re stuck for creative ideas, use Pintrest to get inspired.
Glamorous Decorations
There’s so much you can do with this theme! However, before you go crazy picking out sparkling decorations you need to know about the two “must-haves”.
If you’re planning a big birthday party for your teen, seating cards are a fun, fancy touch. We’re not talking about just regular seating cards; you want something that will really make a statement! The seating cards should have the guest’s name and their table number written on them—in red, black or even gold if you’d like—and you could, for example, place each card in a small gold frame. That’ll get everyone’s attention!
Every Hollywood event has a sign in book. This is your second “must-have” and a fabulous way for her to always remember her party. The book could be a stylish red cover with four stars per page that are big enough to hold several names for a large soirée or one name with a thoughtful note in each star if you’re hosting a small party; this beautiful book can also double as a photo album so she can really cherish the memories. Don’t forget to purchase—or create—a bold “Please sign the guest book” sign. Be sure to keep to the red carpet theme and/or colors and attach several gold and silver balloons to the table to make the sign-in area stand out.
Speaking of stars, how about making your own “Walk of Fame”? Each guest’s name could be written in silver on a gold star and placed on the floor throughout the room. Every teen will be thrilled to see their name on a glittery, gold star in addition to a few stars with actual celebrity names on them.
For a spectacular party like this you need good lighting. A professional lighting company will help you out by putting up an outside spotlight and indoor moving light fixtures; or you can rent colorful spotlights to dance on the walls. No matter what type of lighting you choose, it’s sure to liven things up!
Of course, what’s a red carpet affair without the red carpet? Place the red carpet at the entrance and let the guests walk into the party on the carpet—remember to buy the red rope stand to give everyone a real experience! Your daughter should arrive in a limo, greeted by a customized banner, her friends and paparazzi. Not genuine paparazzi, obviously, but paparazzi cutouts are a marvelous idea! Family members could mingle in with the cutouts and snap pictures when guests and the birthday girl arrive to give it an authentic feel. You could even employ a photographer to make a video of the celebration or take other pictures throughout the evening.
Be mindful that your tables should be just as attractive as the room! Black linen with a red or gold overlay will look striking and gold linen with a red overlay would look dazzling. Once you select your linen colors, think about centerpieces to really make the tables pop.
Delicious Food and Drinks
So what do they eat at red carpet parties? Food is usually light, easy to hold and items are served throughout the night. You want to try to make the food as authentic as possible without breaking the bank. Here are some great ideas to get you started: bacon & potato bites, smoke salmon crisps, spicy shrimp skewers, Asian lettuce wraps, crispy polenta bites, avocado deviled eggs and, of course, the standard platter of fruit, veggies and fancy cheeses. Maybe you’d like to have a fondue pot. For drinks, since they’re minors, a sparkling apple cider or sparkling grape juice poured into champagne flute glasses will make the festivity feel even more like a Hollywood party. Of course, the dessert will be the birthday cake!
Fun Games
Let’s face it, most of the fun will be on the floor dancing to today’s high-energy music. But you should have some other activities such as video green screens, picture booths and no teen would pass up the opportunity to pose with their favorite celebrity cutout! Always take the pictures before serving the food—that’s when they’ll look their best.
The birthday girl and her guests will love these magnificent games too. You could hire a DJ and have a karaoke contest; hand out awards for the funniest (or most off-key), best “singer”, etc. Your red carpet gala would be incomplete without a runway contest for the girls and, yes, there should be awards for best look, most stylish design, etc. It seems to be popular now to have a Candle Lighting Ceremony at any sweet 16 party and it’s definitely elegant enough to have one at her red carpet birthday bash! Don’t forget a lively dance-off to round out the night.
Perfect Party Favors
Every red carpet bash ends with celebs taking home goodie bags. So make sure you have a goodie bag for each party-goer. Obviously, your gift bags won’t be as extravagant, but the teens will still enjoy them. But what do you put in a red carpet themed goodie bag? Well, for starters, you could put in each bag a black fedora for the guy or a boa for the girl, a card stating the website where the photos will be after the festivities, customized Hollywood-themed lollipops, a 3×5 red carpet-themed picture frame with a picture of her friend from the party and personalized red carpet candy bars.
Your teen is growing up and soon she’ll be out on her own. Make her sixteenth birthday a special one with these red carpet ideas—or create some of your own. With a soirée like this, she and her friends will have an awesome time and remember this day for years to come
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