Most likely, your preteen or teen is so far beyond playing with dolls or action figures and watching cartoons that he or she would rather not have a traditional birthday party. If your adolescent is looking for something unique to do on his or her birthday, suggest these Preteen & Teen Party Ideas, or just pick one and surprise your child. Either way, your son or daughter will think you’re amazing for coming up with such an awesome idea—at least for one day!
Unisex Preteen & Teen Party Ideas
Come as You Are Party:
This party requires the birthday child to keep a secret… Her guests are about to be kidnapped!
Call your guests' parents a few weeks before the party to let them in on the plans. Find out where each guest will be located at the appropriate time. (Times will have to be staggered to allow pickup of each guest.) If you're having a sleepover, ask each of your guests’ parents to pack a bag and let you know where you can pick it up.
On the day of the party, pack a few drinks, snacks, and party hats, and drive to each location, picking up your guests one at a time. The fun will build as the group gets larger, but the real fun will begin once you get everyone to the final party destination.
For an inexpensive home party, girls might like having a brunch, dancing, playing in a pool, making cool crafts, or watching a favorite movie. Boys may like playing a game of Flashlight Tag after dark—with bases illuminated by glow-in-the-dark light sticks—or Squirt Gun "Paintball."
Squirt Gun "Paintball" - Have your guests put on white T-shirts (to easily determine hits), and divide them into two teams. Give each player a water gun containing colored water (red for one team and blue for the other). The idea is similar to Capture the Flag, but a warrior must go to the opposing team's POW camp if he gets hit. For a special birthday, such as 13 or Sweet 16, try one of these cool end-destination ideas:- Take your guests to an amusement park for a day of rides.
- Go to a nail salon for a makeover, and top it with a special lunch.
- Spend the night at a hotel, playing in the pool and watching videos. Be sure to let the hotel know you'd like a room away from other "sleeping" guests! (Read the “Girls’ Nite Out” section below for additional ideas.)
- For a really big surprise, rent a limo to pick up your guests and take them on an outing.
Find the Party Road Rally:
As with the Come as You Are Party, you'll need to coordinate with your guests’ parents before this party. To get started, set a secret location to have the party, and then map out several courses to the chosen location. On the day of the party, leave a set of clues in appropriate places along each course.
Divide your guests into groups, provide each with a treasure map, and designate drivers to take them on a road rally. The treasure maps will lead each group to their first clue, which will have information about where to find the next clue, and so on until they figure out the secret location of the party. Be sure to tell the drivers the destination just in case any of the clues get botched!
Glow in the Dark Party:
Make invitations out of black construction paper and glow-in-the-dark paint, and then mail them to your guests. On the day of the party, decorate with green and purple plates, tablecloths, and cups covered with glow-in-the-dark stickers. Outfit your guests with glow necklaces or glow sticks as they arrive, and then serve them neon-green drinks with glow straws. Play Flashlight Tag and Hot Potato with a glow-in-the-dark ball, make glow bracelets with glow-in-the-dark beads, paint nails with glow paint, draw designs on black paper with milky pens, and/or paint black T-shirts with glow-in-the-dark paint. For older children, consider renting or buying a few black lights, turning on some good music, and having a glow dance party.
Game Night:
Rather than give your guests “childish” goody bags, let them win age-appropriate prizes (like nail kits for girls or CDs for guys) in a series of fun games. You can either get everyone together to play one game, such as one of the Scene It? DVD games, and award a larger prize to the winner, or set up several game stations and award a smaller prize to the winner of each game. Here are a few specific game ideas that everyone will enjoy:
Slap Jack – Divide the group into pairs, and give each pair a deck of cards. Have each pair shuffle their cards, divide them in half, and take turns rapidly flipping over their cards onto a central pile. Every time a player sets down a Jack, both opponents should attempt to be first to slap their hand down on the pile. The first player to touch the pile adds it to the cards in his or her hand. The first person to take possession of the entire deck wins the game. Award a small prize to the winning member of each pair.
Hoppin’ & Poppin’ – This game can be played either with 2-player teams or individually (i.e. “every man for himself”). To begin, inflate small balloons and attach them to the backs of your partygoers’ shoes (one balloon per shoe) using string or tape. The goal of the game is to try and pop your opponent’s balloons without popping your own. Your guests will laugh up a storm as they hop all over the room trying to pop each other’s balloons! The game ends when only one person or one team is left with their balloons intact.
Blackjack – Pit each guest against a blackjack expert (i.e. an adult). Have the kids take turns playing one-on-one against the expert, and award a prize to each child who beats the expert in a set number of rounds, such as 2 out of 5.
Egg Pass – Divide the group into two teams, split the teams into two groups, and have the groups line up, single-file, 8’ – 12’ apart and facing each other, and preferably outside. Hand one member of each team a spoon and an uncooked egg.
When you say, “Go!” the players holding the spoons must use their spoons to carry their eggs over to their opposing teammates and hand over their spoons—without dropping their eggs. If they complete this successfully, they may sit down until the game is over and watch their teammates finish the relay race. If anyone drops an egg, he or she must go back to the beginning of the line, collect another egg, and try again. The first team to finish the relay and have all players sitting wins.
Additional Games – For additional ideas, check out the Traditional Games listed in our Party Planning section. Preteens and teens alike will love the more active games in this section, such as Capture the flag, Flashlight Tag, and Ghost in the Graveyard.
African Drum Circle Party:
Many local music shops offer African or Arabic drum rentals. Sometimes the shops will have contact information for local artists who would be happy to pay a visit to your child’s birthday party and lead your guests in a traditional African drum circle. While it may take up to an hour to get a preteen or teen with no musical experience going, the drum circle can last for hours and is a really fun experience. The only downside is that it can be quite noisy, so make sure to warn your neighbors in advance… or invite them to join in the fun!
Backyard Bash:
The week before school lets out for summer break, invite your child's classmates over for a celebratory backyard bash! Here are a few entertainment ideas you might consider:- Divide the kids into two teams, and pit them against each other in a game of Dodge Ball or Kick Ball.
- Pair off your partygoers, and see which pair can toss a water balloon the farthest without bursting it.
- Have a scavenger hunt. (See below for additional details.)
- Grill hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone to enjoy, and serve them with ice-cold lemonade!
- Set out several flavors of ice cream, an assortment of toppings, dishes, and spoons, and then let your guests make their ultimate ice cream sundaes!
Scavenger Hunt:
Make a list of items for your guests to find, print several copies of the list, and then gather up one of every listed item for each participating team (e.g. 5 whistles for 5 teams). Contact nearby neighbors, and ask them if they're willing to participate. Give one group of items and a task to each participating neighbor, and then explain the rules for awarding a listed item to each team. The requirements to receive a listed item include the following:- All teammates must be present to earn an item on their list.
- The entire team must perform a silly act (provided by you before the party) as dictated by the neighbor. For instance, they may have to sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," do 15 jumping jacks, eat a cracker and then whistle, etc.
When your guests arrive, divide them into equal teamsof 4 - 6 guests each. Assign an adult to each team to make sure that the kids act appropriately. Provide each team with a copy of the list, tell them which neighbors are participating, and then send them out to scavenger! The first team to return home with every item on the list wins.
Party Ideas for Preteen and Teen Girls
Mall & Movie Madness:
Every preteen and teen girl loves going to the mall and the movies with her friends! Combine a trip to these routine hang-out spots with lunch to create an extra special outing for your daughter and 2 or 3 of her best girlfriends. First, take them to the mall, give them each $20 or an amount of your choosing, and turn them loose to shop or just bop the mall together for a few hours. Have everyone regroup later on for lunch at your daughter’s favorite restaurant, followed by a movie of the girls’ choosing.
Girls' Nite Out:
Rent two hotel rooms next door to each other—one for the parents and the other for your guests. Before the party, decorate the girls’ hotel room with a banner, twists of streamers, balloons, and other party decorations. Once the room is prepped, you can go back out, pick up your guests one-by-one, and let their anticipation build as you head toward the “secret” destination, or you can have the girls’ parents drop them off at the hotel at a set time. Either way, the girls will love having a sleepover party in their own private room!
Depending on the amenities of the hotel you’ve chosen, early-evening entertainment might include swimming in the hotel’s pool, playing games in a recreation room, or enjoying other activities the hotel offers, such as karaoke. Later, once the girls are back in their room, they can stay up late playing games, listening to music and dancing, watching movies, snacking, giving each other makeovers, gossiping, putting safe, non-permanent henna tattoos on each other, or even having a bubble gum competition to see who can blow the biggest bubble without popping it. The girls will have a blast no matter what entertainment they choose… and the best part is that mom and dad don’t have to clean up the mess in the morning!
For additional sleepover food, decorating and activity ideas, check out our Slumber Party Planning Ideas article.
Party Ideas for Preteen and Teen Boys
Baseball Party:
Take your guests to a minor league baseball game. The tickets should cost about as much as movie tickets, making this a very affordable outing. Add to the fun before the game by making your own “team jerseys” using plain white T-shirts and fabric paint. You can also talk to the team’s booster club ahead of time to see if your group can meet some of the players after the game. If you can arrange this, bring along a baseball for each guest so that they can get some of the players’ signatures after the game.
Splash Attack:
Nothing beats an outdoor water balloon party! The boys can have a traditional water balloon fight or they can try their hand at a few special water games, such as the following:
Water Balloon Toss - For this game, you’ll need to pair off the boys. Have the members of each pair stand across from each other, forming 2 lines with 2’ – 3’ in between them. Give a water balloon to each player in one of the two rows.
When you say, “Go!” the players on each team must begin tossing their water balloon back and forth to each other. Each time a player successfully catches a balloon, he must take a step backwards. The space between the two rows will grow with each toss, making it harder for the players to catch the balloons. When a player misses a toss and a team’s balloon breaks, that team is eliminated from the competition. The last team with an unbroken water balloon is declared the winner.
500 - A single player (usually the birthday boy) throws a water balloon into the air and calls out a point value (for example, “300!”). The other players must try to catch the balloon without breaking it. If one of the players successfully catches the balloon, award the number of called points to that player. If the balloon breaks, deduct the number of called points from the score of any player who touched the balloon. The first person to earn 500 points gets to switch places with the thrower. Play as many rounds as desired.
Egg Thief - Divide your guests into teams, preferably so that you end up with an odd number of teams. Prepare 10 water balloons for each team, and then set each team’s balloons in their designated “egg crate” (e.g. a cardboard box, within the bounds of a hula hoop, etc.). Give the teams 2 – 5 minutes to snatch as many balloon “eggs” as possible from the other teams. Each team member can only take one egg at a time, and any player who pops an egg is out of the game.
Count each team’s eggs at the end of the time limit; the team with the most eggs wins the game. If two teams are tied, determine the winner based on which team ended the game with the most players.
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