Published on February 11, 2022 | Last Updated on February 11, 2022

Birthday parties are a special time for most families. Teenagers are nearly adults and as they get older and move away, you may have less chances to share the day with them. So, make each a memory they will treasure. Here are 15 refreshing ideas for teen birthday parties.

Fun Ways to Celebrate Teen Birthday Parties

Outdoor Movie Night

If your teens love movies then an Outdoor Movie Night might be the right choice for you. Set up a projector and screen or hang up a white sheet in your backyard. Use bean bag chairs, picnic rugs and cushions for the seating area. String up lanterns for lighting and wrap string lights around the trees. Space heaters are great for chilly nights.

Set up a popcorn bar with plenty of mix-ins such as melted butter, sprinkles and chocolate. Serve candy, chips, and chocolate as well as soda in glow-in-the-dark cups. 

Pizza Party

Red, white, and green is a great color scheme for a Pizza Party. Use red and white checked tablecloths and red napkins. Put up some fairy lights, Italian flags and inflatable pizza balloons. A chalk board with all the pizza choices looks great and is practical as well. 

Choose different pizza types; thin crust and thick crust, New York-style, and Chicago-style and a variety of toppings. Offer pasta and salad as well as side dishes of garlic bread and dough balls. Ice-cream is an Italian passion, so an ice-cream birthday cake is the perfect choice. 

Hotel Celebration

This Hotel Celebration party idea is great for older teens celebrating their Sweet Sixteen or 18th birthdays. Hotel rooms are usually small, so keep decorations to a minimum. Banners, balloons, pennants and streamers will work well. Check with the hotel that they allow rooms to be decorated. Some hotels will provide decorations.

Food choices will depend on the hotel restaurant. Choose a hotel with food that your teens prefer. Pre-order the food beforehand and order a cake to surprise them. Make the teens feel grown-up by arranging for non-alcoholic champagne and mocktails to be served at the table.

Gaming Party

A Gaming Party is great for a teen who is permanently glued to their video console. Decorate the rooms or party venue with posters, banners and balloons of their favorite video games. If your teen has a favorite game then make that the focus for the party. Online stores such as Amazon sell great themed video gaming party supplies 

Finger food such as fries, buffalo wings, onion rings, potato chips and hotdogs  is the easiest food choice especially if they are playing video games during the party. 

Beach Party at Home

A Beach Party at Home is a fantastic idea and great for a summer birthday. Choose bright warm colors and decorate with objects that you usually find at the beach, such as umbrellas, deck chairs, surfboards, beach balls, and shells. 

Serve mocktails, smoothies, and lassis. Salads, seafood, grilled chicken, fish dishes, and of course lots of tropical fruit, will work well with the theme. Serve snacks such as pretzels and potato chips in pails with shovels as servers. For dessert give your teens a choice of ice lollies, ice cream, frozen yoghurt, and if in season, watermelon. 

Movie Theme Party

Teens love watching movies so a Movie Theme Party is going to be a popular choice. It is also easy and inexpensive to arrange. Decorate with movie theater themed balloons, clapperboards, and banners. Hang up posters of your teens favorite films or their favorite actor or actress. For a movie set feel, hire some director chairs and put your guests names on the back. 

For food choices aside from hotdogs, french fries and burgers, why not create your own concession stand with ice-cream cones; candies, potato chips, and popcorn served in red and white striped containers and; drinks in large soda cups. 

Bus Party

For the coolest party idea why not try a Bus Party? Great for older teens celebrating a special birthday. Due to the size of the bus and space, the amount of decorations will be limited. Stick to balloons or streamers but check with the party bus company as to what they suggest or can do. 

As for food, the party bus will usually serve ice cold water and possible sodas but you will need to book a great restaurant in town for the actual meal. Choose your birthday teen’s favorite restaurant and order a cake to surprise them.

Backyard birthday party

What is fantastic about a Backyard birthday party is that it can be whatever you want it to be, 

Make sure that your decorations continue your chosen theme and color scheme of your theme. Balloons, banners, streamers, pennants, and bunting will liven up your backyard. If your party is at night, decorate the trees with party lights and hang lanterns to create a lovely ambience. 

The type of food and the birthday cake served at a backyard birthday party will again tie in with your chosen theme. Provide vegetarian and gluten free options for guests with specific food requirements. 

Trip to Amusement Park

A popular birthday party option, a Trip to an Amusement Park will suit teenagers of all ages. 

Decorations will depend on the type of party that you are planning. Some amusement parks will rent out spaces for you to hold your party and provide decorations. Take easy to carry decorations with you such as balloons and banners. 

The park will have plenty of choice of concession stands such as hotdog and burger stands or bring a picnic. Picnic food such as chicken, salads, and sandwiches are a healthier alternative to the food at the park. 

Comfy Bonfire Party

Sitting out around a fire is a fun and intimate idea for a birthday party. If your bonfire is in your backyard, then keep it simple, deck out the area with party lights and lanterns and decorate the outside of the house with balloons and banners. Provide comfortable chairs or cushions for your guests to sit on. 

Again as with the decorations, food for your Comfy Bonfire Party should be kept simple. Finger food, such as pizza, potato skins and french fries is the best option. Don’t forget to toast your marshmallows and make your s’mores.

Fiesta Party

Choose the colors of the Mexican flag as the color scheme for your Fiesta Party. Put up banners, streamers and balloons to create that festive look. Create a festive arch for your guests to walk through. Other decoration ideas include the Mexican flag, sombreros and maracas.

Set up a buffet taco bar for the teens to create their own tacos with options of salsas, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, beef and chicken. Serve salads, quesados, nachos and non-alcoholic tequila and margaritas drinks. Present your potato chips, candies, and pretzels in sombreros to add a fun element of the meal. 

Girls’ Night Glamping

How many decorations you need for a Girls’ Night Glamping will depend on the glamping tent that you hire. Some companies will also provide LED lanterns, interior and exterior string lights, and bunting. If not, then it is easy enough to provide your own decorations or add more.

The food for the party will depend on your teen. Finger food, take-out or a fancier menu are all possible options. Combine with a bonfire party and toast marshmallows for a great birthday evening.

Sport Theme Party

For a Sport Theme Party focus on your teen’s favorite sport. Buy sport party packages online which include balloons, banners, and tableware or create your own. Hang pictures of their favorite sportsperson and teams and decorate with sports equipment. If your teen supports a particular team, then use their colors for the party’s color scheme. 

If your teens and their friends are passionate about health and fitness, then create a menu with salads, grilled chicken, fruit and nuts, otherwise incorporate the chosen sport into the food such as cake pops decorated to represent footballs. 

Paintball Party

For your Paintball Party choose camouflage colors to represent the paintballing suits and bright orange, green, blue and yellow for the paint. Decorate the walls with colorful splats and targets. Choose decorations with round shapes such as balloons and balls to symbolize the paintballs.

Continue the theme into the food and where possible add elements such as splodges and paintballs to the food. Choose round shaped candies and create brightly colored paintball cake pops. The birthday cake can also be in the shape of a large splat or decorated with paintballs and splodges.

Slime Party

For a Slime Party decorate your walls with images of slime splats and splodges. Make the colors bold and bright. You can buy a ready made slime party package or create your own decorations. Make some banners and paint on splodges of color. Hang brightly colored balloons and decorate tables and surfaces with the slime itself. 

There is no specific food to suggest for a slime party, any usual party food is perfect for this party. Slimy foods apart from jello are usually unappealing, instead bake tasty cakes and cupcakes and use icing to create a slimy topping. 

Funny Games to Play with Friends

Knees and Elbows

Knees and elbows is a variation on the classic Pass the Balloon party game where players have to pass the balloon to the next player without using their hands. In this version, players stand in a circle and the balloon/ball is put between the knees of the first player who then has to pass it to the next person only using their knees and elbows. 

Pass the Peanut

For this game, avoid using peanuts in case anyone has a peanut allergy. You can substitute the peanut for any light object, such as cotton balls or skittles. Two teams of players with plastic spoons in their mouth, stand or sit in a line. The first player will try to pass the peanut to the next player only using the spoon. 

Singing Bingo

Singing Bingo is a fun game for teens. Write flashcards with overused song lyrics, such as love, heart and friend. Players pick a card and have to sing a song with the word in it. An alternative which is great for shyer guests is to create bingo cards using frequently used lyric words. Use the radio to find songs. When players hear a word on their bingo card they cross it off. 

Sleeping Beauty

Have one player lie down on the floor and pretend to be asleep. Everyone else must try to make Sleeping Beauty laugh or smile. Tickling is not allowed. Make it more competitive either they have to sleep for a minute or time everyone and the player who stays asleep the longest wins the game. 

Wacky Duck

With Wacky Duck everyone sits down in a circle with one player blindfolded in the middle. The player is spun and at the same time, everyone else changes seats. The blindfolded player selects another player and sits on their lap. The objective is to identify the seated player through them quacking like a duck or speaking in a wacky voice.  If the blindfolded player guesses correctly then they can take their place, if not they choose someone else.

Sock Wrestling

Many people might never have played Sock Wrestling and that is a shame. It is a ludicrous game but a lot of fun and teenagers love it. Two players lie on the floor in their socks. The first person to remove their socks without using their hands wins the game. Make it harder and get them to put the socks on. You may have to provide socks for sockless guests. Take lots of photos as otherwise people might not believe it.

A birthday party is not just for your teen but also for you. It gives you a chance to show them how much you care. This list has a party idea that will work for everyone and most of these ideas can be adapted for any budget and venue.