Sweet 16 Party Planning Tips

In recent years some sweet 16 parties have become more like lavish weddings that a child’s party. While turning 16 is certainly a milestone worth celebrating, not everyone has the means or desire to throw a party worthy of a hip-hop music mogul. The good news is that you don’t have to take a second mortgage to throw a fabulous sweet 16 party. Over the next couple of weeks we will be posting some sweet 16 planning tips that will help you keep it reasonable and still please your teen.  The first tip is about “Budget”.

Set a Budget

This is the same advice given to brides, and it is just as important when planning a sweet 16 party. One of the most important sweet 16 planning tips that you will hear is to set a budget and then stick to it. This involves more than setting a total dollar amount for the entire event. You must also break down the budget into categories so that as you plan the party you will have a clear understanding regarding how much you can spend on each detail. Some of the categories you should include in your budget are:

• Food
• Attire
• Gifts
• Transportation
• Music

Once you have decided on a budget, sit down and go over it with your teen. As you go about the planning, you can allow them to make decisions with the understanding that going outside of the budget  is not an option.

Our next post will discuss the single most important decision you can make for the sweet 16 party – The Venue!