Got Any Inexpensive Party Ideas for Teens?

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Got Any Inexpensive Party Ideas for Teens?

Submitted by: Rebecca 03/14/2009 9:54 AM

Editor's Note: Tip Hero reader Rebecca recently left a comment asking the following question:

"Does anybody have ideas for inexpensive parties for teens. I am having a party for my 14 year old daughter. Would love to have some great ideas. Help!"

We thought it was a great question, so we pulled it out and posted it on its own. Please share your answers with the community by posting comments below. And thanks for being a Tip Hero!

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Comments:

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Rebecca,

Try to find a small business that is just starting out, like a teen center or a teen club. They are often very eager to work with people to rent out the facility at a lower cost. Some money is better than none, just do a little research in your town. Good Luck!

Posted by anonymous on March 14, 2009 7:39 PM

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Put them to work.
I have had some good parties with just getting kids together to do things like painting, garden work, clearing out a garage, going out with a public volunteer cleanup crew, that sort of thing. Then after they get tired you bring out the food, drinks, music and let them entertain themselves. Kids want to be useful and if they can have some fun while contributing it can be a good time and not very pricy either.

Posted by bobbquackenbush on March 14, 2009 10:27 PM

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We have rented a room at an inexpensive hotel that has a pool and the kids pretty much entertain themselves. Just set out a few snacks and drinks and they will go for hours. We even found a place that has a free happy hour for adults at the hotel. So even the parents can have fun! :)

Posted by anonymous on March 15, 2009 12:31 PM

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A friend just had a great party for her 14 year old daughter. All the girls came to their house and did hair and makeup together. They then went to a near by park where the mom did a photo shoot for the girls with a borrowed camera. The girls came back to the house for pizza and movies. The mom downloaded the pics and made a slide show for the girls. The party favor was copy of the slide show.

Posted by tsufish on March 16, 2009 9:39 AM

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I took my 14 year old and her friends shopping at the local mall. They tried on all sorts of outfits and had a blast. Then it was home for tacos and a sleepover.

Posted by anonymous on March 17, 2009 12:05 AM

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My niece just went to an all girls' party where they went to the mall for a scavenger hunt. They had a list of things they must find. They split into groups and took pictures of the girls with the items they found. It looks like they had a blast from the pictures. They all started together with drinks at Starbucks at the mall and went on from there.

Posted by Linda on March 17, 2009 11:16 PM

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I, too, was going to mention the scavenger hunt idea. When my son turned 16, it wasn't exactly "cool" to have a Sweet 16 - so I felt that I needed to be creative. I considered a scavenger hunt in our neighborhood but decided that not all neighbors might appreciate that - and I also thought that a scavenger hunt "around town" might encouraging speeding, so I decided to make a party that had safe boundaries. I "somewhat" used the Amazing Race idea.....I went to the mall several days ahead of time and asked to speak to the manager of that store. I asked if I had a limited number of kids entering the store and asking for a specific person (i.e. the manager) would they be willing to help. I accumulated the stores that were willing to help. I then made a list of clues to each store.....Example....A Famouns Line from a Broadway Show - also the name of a great city ________ _______. The answer was "New York"...Hence New York and Company. I had taken a picturue of my son during childhood - blew it up - had copies made and cut into exact puzzle pieces. I took envelopes to each store with a certain piece of the puzzle for the manager to give to the kids once found. I broke the kids up into pairs and set them out to figure out the clues - find the stores - collect the pieces - and then meet in the middle (sitting area) and put the puzzle together (which they had no idea of what it was)....The team who won got a prize (i.e. 2 movie tickets)....2nd place got 2 McDonalds gift certificates, etc......

The kids had a great time - It wasn't "uncool" for boys and it actually helped for guys and girls to be mixed into pairs. It was a great time - and worth all of the effort...

Posted by Sandra on March 20, 2009 2:33 AM

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When my kids were growning up they just loved to have friends over. I was always happy to have their friends at our house because then I knew the kids well and what they were into. Especially young teens want to be near the opposite sex and just be silly . In order to keep from going broke feeding kids all the time - I kept a large Rubbermaid container in my pantry with things just for get- togethers. I told the kids they could come anytime but they had to bring something, a 2 liter drink, a bag of chips, microwave popcorn, paper plates or cups - etc. This saved me a ton and they always brought their favorites which helped. I always organized some games - like this one. I set up chairs in a circle and asked 20 yes or no questions. If you answered yes you moved over 1 chair to the right, if no you stayed still. As this progresses the kids end up stacked on one another and lots of fun. I made the questions specific to some of their inside jokes. They loved this game and begged to play it over and over. Gave them the excuse to get a girl in their lap LOL.
Another game was to bunch them all up and wind a piece of yarn kinda criss crossed through the group with them holding on to it and they had to work as a team to get untangled without letting go. Another fave.
Another time I taped their thumbs to their pointing finger and gave them a 5 piece pack of gum to open using that one hand only. Lots of laughs again.
My neighbors had expensive game rooms and all sorts of things but the kids liked to be at my house because they could just be kids. Hope this helps!

Posted by Cheryl R on March 21, 2009 6:42 PM

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At this age most kids are no longer into theme parties with activities structured for them. It just seemed to work best to leave teens to make their own fun... just provide fun food.

The one activity that was always a winner: hide and seek in the dark. This can be with or without flashlights. It was always wonderful to hear them romping and whooping outdoors on a warm summer evening.

A variation of this is hide and seek in the dark... IN THE HOUSE. In this case each kid gets a flashlight, and then every single light in the house gets turned off. This idea works well if you have a fairly large house. A darkened house, lit only with flashlights, is spooky.

I also like to do make-your-own (fill in the blank). Could be make your own pizzas. Each kids gets dough in a pie tin. He spreads on some sauce and cheese, and his choice of toppings. Most successful was make your own parfaits. I have a collection of about a dozen parfait glasses, mismatched, all bought for a dime or quarter a piece... I just pick up odd ones at yard sales. We set out every possible parfait ingredient... fruits, nuts, candies, puddings, jellos, yogurt, sauces, granola, crushed cookie, canned whipped cream and so on. Kids layered their own combinations. I manned the sink, and when kids wanted seconds (or thirds), I would swap their dirty glasses for clean ones.

Posted by anonymous on May 02, 2009 8:52 PM

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Girls that like fashion and beauty. Have a "Pamper me Party". The girls can start by doing each other's hair, then painting their nails and finally preparing for the runway where they get to strut their outfits and finally ending with food and drink. Also you can have someone take pictures of each activity and provide the girls with copies.

Posted by anonymous on May 10, 2009 3:02 AM

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My daughter is turning 14 soon- we are thinking of swimming in our neighborhood pool, then back to our house for a winnie roast and smores-- then a sleep over for a few of the girls!!

Posted by anonymous on July 26, 2009 1:54 PM

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Ipods and speakers for music. Black lights and strobe lights on the patio-the darkness encourages even the boys to dance. Build you own taco bar. A parent can be in charge of the blender and have a smoothie bar. Swim it is warm enough! Guitar hero and darts. My house is the party house and the kids are in their late teens and still love it!

Posted by Boo's Mom on March 18, 2010 6:07 PM

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