5 Tips For Throwing a Cool Teen Party
Winner update: 8/16/12: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks so much to everyone that entered! And the lucky random winner is… Commenters #25 – CAROLYN HORTEN Congrats!
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{HWTM contributor Tonya Coleman here from Soireé Event Design.} One question I get the asked all the time is: “My teen wants a party… What do I do? Help me please!” As a mom of a 16 year old, I know that planning a teen event is hard. Let’s just say – you must AMP UP the cool factor!
I teamed up with PBteen to show you how to take items from your teen’s room and use them in your party design to throw a fabulous teen party. {Be sure to go to the end of the post for details on a cool PBteen GIVEAWAY!} When I begin to design a teen party for my clients, I always ask to see the teen’s room. You can get an idea of what style they like, what colors they love and what things they’re into to get you started on the party’s look and feel. I’ll walk you through a music theme that is one of my most popular themes & give you 5 tips for creating the look….
TIP #1: MUSIC IS KEY!
Here I designed the entire party around music by pulling in several instruments and using them in unexpected ways. Make sure your teen creates a playlist of all of their favorite songs ahead of time and have them playing during the party. (You can also have the playlist burned on cds to give away as party favors.)
TIP #2: SETUP A PHOTO BOOTH
The easiest activity and teens love it! One more excuse to pull out their cell phones and begin to flick away! Provide a cool backdrop (this one which happens to be a PBteen shower curtain) and funky props and let them do the rest! As a cool momento, place a cork board close by the photo booth and have the teens take photos on this cool retro Polaroid instant camera where they can write a message and post it up on the cork board. This PBteen guitar is the perfect prop to really get cool photos of the teens “rockin’ out!”
TIP #3: SWEETS BARS!
The wow factor and must-have at any teen event is the infamous Sweets Bar. Fill the bar with all of your teen’s favorite sweets and decorate it with the theme in mind. Here I used the drum set from PBteen and used it as a S’mores Bar!
TIP #4: SETUP STATIONS FOR FOOD, SNACKS & DRINKS
Here I created a self-serve nacho bar & drink station. For the drink station, offer sodas in glass bottles for a retro vibe. How fabulous is this bulldog lamp from PBteen! This piece was the inspiration for the whole party design. I added rhinestones and created a one-of-a-kind piece! To continue with the music theme, I pulled in the seat from the drum set and the wire guitar wall art on the nacho bar. Put some cooked taco meat in one crock pot and nacho cheese in the other to stay warm and put some chips in a bowl. Budget friendly and super easy! Others options are hot dog stations, pizza bars and snack bars.
TIP #5: CREATE HANGOUT AREAS
Teens just want to hang out. Give them one or two areas to chill; set out a few video or board games, bean bags and you’re done! Also popular are beauty bars and outdoor lounge tents. PBteen has tons of lounge furniture including teen-friendly bean bags that would be perfect when creating a “hangout area”. Incorporate some music room decor items like this headphone wall art and amplifier to pull in the theme.
As a rule of thumb: less is more! Teens don’t want to feel like their party is “kiddy” with an overdone theme. The key is to setup everything ahead of the guests arriving and then leave them to have fun!
For more design tips, click here to check out my blog “The Girlfriend’s Guide to Party Planning”.
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PBteen GUITAR & AMP GIVEAWAY
Here’s your chance to win an electric guitar and portable amp from PBteen as shown in the top pic in this post. The giveaway retails for $288! Good luck!
To Enter:
– Post a comment below, mentioning what was your favorite creative use of a room item in the post.
– Giveaway ends Monday, August 13th at midnight PST. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced here after they’ve been notified and accepted the prize. Good luck!
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VENDOR CREDITS:
– Event Styling & Design, Photography: Soiree Event Design
– Drum set, wire guitar, bulldog lamp, headphone wall art, polaroid camera, electric guitar & amp: PBteen
171 Comments
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I love the use of the drumset as a serving area.
I absolutely love the use of the drums for serving platters! Super creative!!!
I love the Polaroid photo booth idea! The bulldog with the blinged out headphones is also pretty cute.
I agree, the drums as a serving area was a great idea. My son may not agree, as they would be his drums, but very creative!
I love the use of the PS shower curtain as a photo back drop! So creative and such a fun way to get guests to interact!
Im ganna have to say drum set serving platters, very clever !
All very well done, the photo booth background is my favorite!
I LOVE actually using the drum set as a serving piece! Brilliant!
I’m not a teen but I would love that party set-up! I have to say, the shower curtain backdrop completely sets the scene.
I really love the use of the drum stool as a food stand! Very cool that the crock pots were black and silver too – went perfectly without standing out! Might have to consider for my hubs 50th b-day – I’ve been looking for a good theme!
Love, love the use of all the musical instruments throughout! My 16 year old guitar-playing son might even like this! :)
I love all of the guitars as decorations and the drumset as a serving station. Very cool!
I love the use of the super cute dog lamp with rhinestone headphones… like he is the king of the party :)
Loved the use of drums to display food and my daughter loves the dog with the headphones.
Love how many ways the drum set was used as serving stands/platters.
I’m not gonna lie, my favorite is the bulldog lamp wearing the headphones!
Love, love, LOVE the drumset snackbar! Too cute!
love the food on the musician’s stool. so smart!
I adore how the drum set was used as a dessert stand for the cake pops! Good idea!
I love the stool for nachos!! So cute! But the shower curtain as a backdrop was close 2nd!!
The drum throne on the nacho bar is genius!
Who doesn’t LOVE the drum set dessert bar! I also appreciate the little touches like the rhinestones on the silver chargers. Those details make all the difference.
love the creative decors! very refreshing and unique.
Love the drum set as a sweets bar. Looking for something other than a table that’s “cool” is such a great idea!!! Will definitely use that tip.
I love the dog with headphones.
I love the idea of a photo booth and props! My daughter would love this kind of party!
I just love the bulldog with the headphones! Not something I would have every thought to do.
Loved the drums to display the food! I so need to win this :)! My son would be so stoked!
Good luck!
I am loving the drum-kit-turned-dessert-bar!
The dog with the headphones steals the show!
I love photo booth & how the drum set was used for the food display!!! The dog lamp is awesome!!!
Super cute! Love the idea to use the drum set to display desserts or food! ;)
Ebony
I love a few ideas! I love the photo booth idea! Also the different hangout ideas. I think that is the biggest challenge is keeping the teens busy. Especially with all the different personalities. There is a little something for every guest. And of course having the drums to display the food was great. Made me think of getting some old records and using them as plates. Thanks for all the good ideas. Even though my oldest is just turning 10 this would be a terrific idea for her.
Hey Michelle! using records as plates would be AWESOME! and YES! Aliyah would LOVE this theme!
I love the Polaroid camera setup with the markers!
OMG, I wish I could've had a party like this when I was a teenager!
Thanks for sharing! Don't forget to enter
I love the use of the drums as serving pieces! Teens will just love this party! Very creative!
I love the use of the PB Shower Curtain as the backdrop for the photo booth.
I love the drums being used for the sweets bar!
How can I pick just one favorite thing? This is probably my favorite of all the party themes you’ve done. My favorite piece of decor is that lamp! My favorite idea is the Polaroids and having them write on them and post on a board. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!
Everything about this party is PERFECT! From the color scheme to the headphones wall art. The drum set to serve the food is awesome and the chair with the crock pots beside it & plates underneath…genius! My son is having Rock Star theme birthday at the end of this month and would go crazy for this set up. Please pick us to win! We’d be so thrilled. Amazing work!
I like the hangout area idea.
I love the use of the drums to display the food! Great teen party idea, my daughter would totally love this!! I have to win this for my daughter!!
Loved having the drums as serving platters- ingenious!
I love the photo booth idea and I especially like the addition do the polaroid and cork board display!
My favorite part was using the drums to display food. That is a great idea to tie everything in. I also love the photo booth idea because we always try to memorialize all of the birthday parties and this is a great idea.
Definitely love everything and I must agree, the drums for displaying the food is an awesome idea, great job Tonya, as always ; )
Thanks Jessica!
I love the nacho bar idea, and the drum set used as a smores bar idea.
I love the drums used as servers & the shower curtain & beads as the photo booth bacdrop! Thanks for the opportunity.
A photo booth is a great way to get everyone excited. This one looks awesome!
It was the French bulldog with sparkle headphones that really caught my eye. Also the crock pots that look like a drum set also was a great idea.
OMG, My favorite was the drum set, what a great way to display items and keep with the theme. The Dog with the headphones was just too cute!!!
OMG, Love how the drum set was used to display food and the dog with the headphones wad too cute!
I love the doggie in the headphones!!
I love that you used the drum setup to hold the food items on
Love the drum set as serving platters. What a super cute idea. My daughter would love that idea.
I love this! Especially since I am in the midst of planning a Rock Star party for my son. I love the idea of using the drum set as the dessert bar. I might just have to borrow some of these ideas for my party ;). My son would lose it if we won that guitar!!!!!
I LOVE the photo booth idea!! It’s great! Love the pug also!
My favorite was totally the use of the drums for the s’mores bar! That is an awesome idea! I also L-O-V-E the dog lamp with rhinestone headphones.
I love the bulldog lamp as the overall inspiration. Especially since that’s my kids’ school mascot!
Love the stool as a holder in the food station…awesome idea!!! Thank you for the chance to win!
LoVe the Bulldog Lamp!
Loved the drums and how you displayed the food on them!
I Love how the drum kit is used to arrange the fondue table with the marshmellows and chocolate! Awesome arrangement!
Very hard to chose one but I have to say photo booth! Thank You for so many great ideas!
I really dig the use of the drum set to turn into a sweet bar, especially the marshmallow stick that look like over ice!
I love how you incorporated 3 Crock Pots! One little dipper kind, and the two shiny big ones. Very intuitive and creative thinking!
OMG!!! There are so many ideas that I love…how innovative the use of the shower curtain is, the color scheme, the rocking dog, polaroid picture idea…the list goes on. I’m giving my daughter a rockstar party next month and there’s so many ideas I got from you to incorporate into her party. I would love to display the food on drums but with my husband being the drum player that he is it probably wouldn’t happen lol.
Job well done!
I loved the dessert bar with the drum display. Very creative.
I completely love the drum set S’mores Bar! But the whole party is so creative!
I love the photo-booth set up with Polaroid! So cute! And the food stations so they have several places to gather is a great idea too. My daughter would be so thrilled if we won the guitar!
I like the use of the drum set. Good idea
I love the dog with the headphones…too cute!!!
Using the drums for the food & drink station was a brilliantly done! What a unique and creative idea!
Using the drums for the food & drink station was brilliantly done! What a unique and creative idea!
Loved the drums as food displays! too cute!
I love the photo booth. That would be my daughter’s favorite thing … she is such a photo dive.
All very well done from the photo booth & props, super cute dog lamp with rhinestone headphones, to the drum set as sweet bat. But what really catches my eye is the sweet bat drum set.
I like the drum kit s’mores bar! Very creative use of drums to incorporate into the party!
I LOVE the bulldog lamp!! So adorable!
My fave is definitely the photobooth set up!
the poloroid photo booth is cool but I loved the smore bar. The way the marshmellows were displayed was awesome. GREAT ideas!
I love the photo booth!
I love the dorm chair as a nacho stand! Everything was very creative.
Using that drum set as a serving stand was brilliant!! I love it ;)
Love the table set up for the photo op!
I love the table set up for the photo op!
I love the photo booth idea and using instruments like the electric guitar for props. This was what my friend did for her housewarming party too! It creates memories.
The drink setup was most favorite part of the entire setup– the glass bottles really tied the set together, along with the combination of the black and white spiral straws. The lamp also adds its own creative feel towards the spread– this layout would be the perfect party for any teen- whether it be boy or girl.
Fort Meade, Florida
c/o 2016 (:
I loved the sweets bar! Given that there are soooo many desserts out there this would be a good time to include some sample sizes of your favorite types.
I think the most creative use was the drums as tables. It's a useful station that is gorgeous. I think teens would find it to be genius as it combines practical with useful. My daughter would love this party.
I so love the drums for displaying food I am going to have too use this idea for one of teens birthday and the photo booth my lil diva would have a blast with this.
I love the photo booth but with 4 kids I'll try them all. These are all great ideas!!
I looooove the beauty bar idea
I LOVED the way you used the drum kit as a Smores Station. Soooo cool and who doesn’t like smores??!! I also love how you could just switch it up and make it to where you could serve different dishes on it.
I love TIP #1: MUSIC IS KEY!
I just have to say that I love the lamp of the dog with headphones! I also like how the guitar amp was used as a laid back decoration! :)
Love all the ideas, but this one is my fav. TIP #4: SETUP STATIONS FOR FOOD, SNACKS & DRINKS.
I loved the drums used as a smore bar!
The photobooth is my must have. I’m a photographer and just love capturing moments just like this . I just love the way you designed this room. It fits my step daughter to a tee. Gorgeous !!!!!!
I love the photo booth idea! With the polaroid camera and markers near by to keep track of and write on photos! It's a awesome and fun way to keep us teens busy!
This is such a GREAT party idea! lOVE IT! I have a 13 yr old who is actively into music and would absolutely love this party! Then again, my 11 yr old and 6 yr old would too! The photo booth idea is really nice as I take alot of pictures and have my kids take one with each child who attends. Love it! Thanks!
I love, love, love Pottery Barn Teen! Especially love the photo booth setup! Pictures are always in style! :)
Absolutely love the s’mores station. Will definitely use this!
I love the sweets bar! Im def. doing a smors bar at my next party
Love the photo booth idea – especiallly the backdrop!
I loved everything! But, my favorite has got to be using the drumset to display/ serve the food! It was a great idea and I would love to go to that party!:)
The photo booth is my favorite! I love the background and the sunglasses and stuff that people can use to take pictures!
Love the s’mores st up w/ marshmallows on the drums! Camera idea I cool too!
I like the drumset idea. I’d like to win the guitar and amp.
Love the photo booth! What a "rockin" party this would be for my son who is really into guitars right now!
The drum set being used as a snack stand for goodies is the most interesting way to incorporate large items into a party’s theme.
I loved the use of the shower curtain backdrop for the photo booth and of course the cool drum stand for the snacks and headphones on all the other decorations!!!!
Its hard to pick a favorite. Love the photobooth idea…the dog with the bling headphones is my fav! Thanks for the great ideas.
I love all of it so cool but really love the photo booth. A great way to have fun & great photos with cool background!! Love it!
The drum display had to be my favorite.
I love the goofy props for the photobooth. It’s more memorable and fun than the traditional smile in front of a backdrop.
I thought the use of drums as serving trays was so clever! We are currently re-doing my daughters bedroom in a rock and roll theme. What a great blessing it would be to win the guitar and amp.
Thanks for the ideas!
I like how the drum set was used as serving tables!
That snack station looks a-mazing!
I loved how you used the drums for displaying food! That was a very unique idea to create! I love it! (:
I love the photo booth, great stuff!!!
love the selection almost as much as PBTeen! would love the guitar and amp!
tip #4 snacks area, love it!
I wish I had found this page for my daughters 13th birthday party. I love all the ideas, but I think the S'mores table is rather snazzy. We are huge fans of them and that would be a neat idea to incorporate into her next party! Shoot, I will find a reason to have that. Once the food is gone, the kids can play music on the drums. Brilliant(2 ideas in one)!
Using the drum set as a serving area was brilliant! Also, the bulldog with the sparkly earphones is adorable!
I love the pug with headphones lamp!!!
I liked the hangout areas with the backgammon and music best.
i like how everything in there is black and white
I LOVE the dog with the BLING!
I love the s'mores bar served on the drum set! What a creative use for a festive looking drum set!
I love the use of musical instruments all of my friends and I are in band and play we would all have so much fun at a party based on our favorite thing!
Music is the key.Love the Drums for the sweet bar as well.
Gotta love he bulldog and his headphones!!!
I love the drum set serving area and have to try this for my birthday in November!
Love the use of the drum throne!
My daughter loves the music dog and the way you used the drum set to arrange the s’mores station.
The drum set with the serving trays is absolutely awesome, and I love the guard dog lamp watching over the drinks!
I loved the photo booth idea, incorporating the shower curtain and the guitar. Awesome!
The poloroid idea was really fun, and the drumset displaying food would be great for a party!
My favorite was the first one with the pug and the AWESOME head phones:)
My favorite was the first one with the pug and the AWESOME head phones:)
I think the drum set used as a serving station was genious, it pulls in the theme well without having to drag in tables creating more space for the party!
I love the idea of using a Polaroid camera. That makes it so you can take photos and instantly look at them and then people can take them home as fun souvenirs.
The best use was using the drum kit for food display.
I like how you used the drum. very clever to use it as a table.
The music part xD The bulldog lamp is so adorable <3.
The guitar and the drums display was sweet. My friend and I are trying to start a band because it is not our dream, but out goal to share our talent. We really need the equipment in order to start. Like, we need this really bad. My ma can't afford to buy me an electric guitar, plus an amp. This would mean so much to us if I won the prize. I want to be a guitar goddess like Joan Jett. I want to learn from the great ones like Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, & my all time favorite, Jack White. I want to be noticed for my talent once in my life.
These are such great ideas for a teen birthday! Thank you! My favorite had to be using the drum set for the food display! Pure genius!
I love the bulldog lamp, especially with the addition of the bling! Great ideas!
If I had known you were awake I would have been texting you all this time…ha ha
If I had known you were awake I would have been texting you all this time…ha ha
I love the bulldog lamp, especially with the addition of the bling! Great ideas!
I like the drum kit smores it makes both a really cool conversation piece and a yummy but easy to carry snack.
I also like the photobooth at home because at the dance at my highschool the photobooth was always really awesome and fun. As an extra you could ask guests to bring in props as well.
I loved how you used the drum set to serve food. Very clever! I also loved the bulldog with earphones…. I know how he feels as my son just started learning the guitar! Thanks for the ideas! :)
Loved the food displayed on the drums! So cute and creative! :)
I love everything! But, my favorite would have to be the s'more making area! It is too cute and fun to do! Would love to do it myself at my party! :)
Love it all…especially the s’mores bar!
I just love this! My favorite is the use of the drum kit as a buffet – brilliant!
Love the treats on the drum kit!
x Hilary
hilary . l . adams @ gmail . com
I love music, It's basically my entire LIFE! This is an amazingly cool idea, as I am a teen myself and ILOVE IT! The idea that you had with the photo booth was really cool and is one that I can actually achieve without spending too much money or hassle:) I will definitely be doing this, and looking at much more on your site! This contest is an absolutely amazing opportunity I couldn't POSSIBLY pass up! I would be honored to win this, not that it's very likely, but a girl can dream, right? XD well thanks for everything!
-Ellie M.
That drum kit s'mores bar sure is "sweet."
I liked how they displayed the chips on the drum set stool!
I like the drums as a food holder, it looks fantastic!
I love the drumset serving area! Its very creative and would go great for a boy/girl themed party! I LOVE IT!
I love the use of the pb shower curtain as the backdrop for the photo booth.
I really like the photo booth idea and the snack bar ideas. Definitely going to use for my upcoming party!!