Teenage Parties – Dance Party & Mocktails

Planning teenage parties may be difficult because you want the perfect balance of a fun age appropriate party with a few special touches to make it feel more grownup. A dance party is usually a huge hit with teens. Depending on your party budget, you may want to rent a small community hall and a DJ. If your budget doesn’t allow for that, try setting up a dance club in your house with plenty of music for the teens to enjoy. Setting up a mocktail bar along with recipes and ingredients is a fun added touch to the party. Here are some fun ideas for invitations, decorations, activities, food & swag bags.

Teenage Parties – Invitations:

On the invitations, you’ll want to include that it’s a dance party so the guests know what to expect. If your child and his/her friends are the type to want to dress up to a specific theme (like musicians, disco, etc.) then include this information in the invitation as well. Another fun idea for teenage parties of this theme is to ask guests to all wear plain white or black t-shirts so that at the party each guest can use glow in the dark fabric paint to create their glowing outfit. 1. Birthday party invitation, Hip Headphones
2. Studio basics: birthday party invitations, Disco Glitter
3. Birthday party invitation, DJ Booth: Fuchsia

Teenage Parties – Decorations:

Setting the scene for a dance party is super easy since there are so many options. If you are having the dance party at home, you’ll have more flexibility on what decorations you’ll be able to use. Black lights and items that glow in the dark are a lot of fun and are sure to be a hit with the party guests at any teenage parties. 1. Eliminator Lighting Mirror Balls 8 inch mirror ball Mirror Ball
2. Mr. Light 13 Watt Compact Fluorescent Screw-In Anywhere True UV Blacklight
3. Glow LED Balloonz (Flashing 5 Pack)
4. Lumisource Color Rotating Ball Disco Lamp
5. 25 Glow Print Star 11″Latex Balloon
6. Party To Go Light Set :: Complete Portable Dance Party Lighting

Teenage Parties – Activities:

A unique idea is to set aside a dressing area with glow in the dark makeup, clothing & accessories that the teens can use for the party.

Set up an area where the guests can look through selections of music and decide what they’d like to play. Ask an adult to act as the DJ for the night by playing music requests from the guests. 1. Glow in the Dark Hair Highlights
2. Glow in the Dark & Black Light Reactive Hair & Body Gel
3. Glow Stick Party Pack
4. Mini Glow in the Dark Lipgloss Party Accessory
5. Beads – Festive Glow In The Dark (Pink) Party Accessory
6. Flashing Led Bumpy Ring (Pack of 12)
7. Mini Glow in the Dark Nail Polish Party Accessory
8. Set of three Glowbys Fiber-Optic Hair Barrettes, Light Strands
9. Next Generation SUPER Glow in the Dark Paint (For Cloths and Other Uses) (Blue)

You can set up a mocktail bar area with a few printed recipes along with some mixes like soda, grenadine, juice, fruit, ice, and candy lemons for the sides of the glasses. Plastic martini or margarita glasses will be much easy to take care of at the party since no one wants to be picking up broken glass in the glow in the dark dance party! You can also add in other fun drink accessories like drink umbrellas, mirror ball coasters, disco napkins and glow in the dark straws. You may want to include a blender for some fun crushed ice drinks. This is a fun way to add in a little grownup element to teenage parties while still keeping within a teenage appropriate theme. 1. Disposable Plastic Martini Party Drink Glasses
2. Margarita Glasses 12oz 2 Piece Design 12 Per Pack
3. Nostalgia Electrics MSB-64 64-Ounce Margarita and Slush Maker
4. Cocktail Parasols
5. Glow Stick Straws
6. Mocktails: The Complete Bartender’s Guide
7. Yellow Lemon Fruit Jell Slices 1LB Bag
8. Silver Disco Ball Coasters
9. Glow Stick Party Cups

Click here for some fun mocktail recipes. Print these on index sized cards and laminate them so they don’t get wet while sitting up at the mocktail bar.

Teenage Parties – Food:

Bite-sized appetizers (such as nachos, chicken fingers, jalapeno poppers, onion rings, etc.) are a good choice for a dance party since they are easy to make (just buy and pop into a toaster oven) and quick to eat. Set up a lounge area away from the dance party that is a little quieter where guests can visit and enjoy some food. This could be outside with lounge chairs & lanterns or in a separate living area with oversized pillows to sit on.

Dessert could be as easy as cupcakes topped with icing and edible glitter. A fun addition to the dessert table are glow in the dark wands with cotton candy. 1. 8 Function LED Lighted Cotton Candy Cone
2. Colorflame Birthday Candles with Colored Flames (12 per box)
3. Wilton Silver Cake Sparkles

Teenage Parties – Swag Bags:

Teen parties don’t usually still include treat bags to take home but I think it’s always nice to send a few fun things home with the guests. In sticking with the glowing theme, try some glow sticks or glow paint. Here are some fun ideas. 1. DecoArt DS50-3 Glow-in-the-Dark Paint, 2-Ounce
2. Body Paint – Glow In The Dark Body Paint (Set of 4) #6560
3. Darice White/Blue Organza Bag, 3-Inch by 4-Inch, 24-Piece

What were your favorite types of parties as a teen?

For more fun birthday party ideas including themes, decorating ideas, food ideas, activities, free printables, favor ideas and more, check out our special Birthday Party page.

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