Ideas for 13 Yr Old Daughter Birthday Party

Hi my name is J. a have a few ideas: first depending on what she like you come make itinto a theme party that invovles things that she like you could have one area of the gym decorated like a disc: make cds with song she like and have it as a dances area; have another area where food is set up where there can make it anyway they like food like nacho, hotdogs, food that her and her friends like...,just create it as it relates to the things she likes and a party her friends wont stop talking about, and it doesn't have to be expenses just be created i hope i help out

Is she to old for Hannah Montana?

Buy some camisoles/t-shirts three to a package and have the girls paint them. For my daughter I dyed them all the same color first. Have them all dress in hip hop dance outfits. Have a teenage girl come and teach some dances.

C.

When my son was 13, he is 17 now, we rented a room and had a retro black light dance. I made tons of black light posters with black light paint, we hung beads and black lights with a disco ball, my husband DJ'd the dance using cds my son made on the computer, the kids still say it was the best party they have ever been to.

It sounds like you're a busy mom! Try keeping it simple.

I'm a big believer in low-cost fun, so try this.
Music (boombox & CDs): have each guest bring a CD, remember to put their name on it, and everyone gets to be a DJ or do karaoke. Do Party Idol (like American Idol). Freeze Dance (like freeze tag). Musical Chairs!!!

Games: pin-the-whatever ..I saw this done as Pin the Rose on the Bush for an Alice-in-Wonderland theme, ring toss w/ 2L soda bottles & bangle bracelets, bowling using soda bottles or cans and any ball, etc. Don't forget board games or "thinking" games like who can make the most words out of C.'S THIRTEETH BIRTHDAY.

I had to share this idea too, because my mom did it for me... instead of normal "goodie bags" purchase a plain t-shirt (daughter picks color) for each guest and a few bottles of poster paint. Have her guests make their own shirts by putting their handprints on them and then signing their names on each other's shirts with Sharpie pens (can also be colored). Each girl has a momento of the party and your daughter's special birthday!

Although the handprint thing may be passe nowadays, my friends thought it was the coolest thing at the time. I'm sure you could modify the idea to suit your theme or daughter's tastes (they sell tote bags, mini-purses, etc and you can use glitter, gems, etc)

Above all... don't over do it... and stay sane. Good luck!

If you have the budget for it, hire a DJ. But if not, have her make a mix CD that you can play (with a good sound system). You can download music from Yahoo! Music or someplace like that.

I would have games, too, though. Maybe check out this site for some ideas: www.partygamecentral.com. "Pass the Hula Hoop" sounds fun. lol

Decorations could just be simple and colorful (or "emo" if she likes that. lol) Food could be like finger foods, cake, ice cream...of course! yummy! She could even make it a costume party! I would definitely enlist some help with serving food, music, photo taking, gift tracking, etc. Sounds like it's going to be pretty big, so don't overwhelm yourself. :)

Have a red carpet to go in, with Paparazzi going in...(moms and friends with flashes on cameras, taking pictures of each girl as they walk in, of course have them "pose"....then, after everyone arrives, take it to walgreens or somewhere for one hr photo processing and put them in "photo folders" and give them with the goodie bag or that could be the goodie that they get.
To keep it going....It's the music....Hannah Montana, Ashley Tisdale, Hilary Duff and Jonas Brothers as well as Ali & AJ
GOOD LUCK and don't stress.....

Trust me, those kids will know how to keep the party going. I would only suggest that the party time is from 8-11:30 because of the curfew. Also, make sure that it is her age group only and not older kids. Have a dress code (no t-shirts, saggy pants or ball caps for boys) Have someone at the door to greet her guests and/or accept invitations. Unless you are having 100-200 kids i think the gym is too big. Rethink how many guests are coming and also what type of decorations that you will be using.

Celest when I gave my son his 18th birthday party and I know the age is different,what ive learned is to keep plenty of water and sodas so they wont dehydrate and play all the music that the kids like to hear and I gaurantee it will be a success.Kids will dance all nite long if the music is right.Sometimes they forget about the food when their having a good time.B. F.

Hi C.!
My 12-yr has been having sleepovers for a group of 10-12 girls for the last 4 years, and what's ALWAYS been a huge hit into the wee hours of the morning is 2 dance mats to compete against one another is DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION (playing on a large screen TV) with the volume turned up and KARAOKE, because everyone loves to pretend they're on American Idol. They can have their own American Idol singing & dancing contest.

For my daughter's 13th, we had a luau. We cooked burgers and hot dogs and had a condiment bar. We played Jimmy Buffet and island music, had leis and grass skirts. We had a limbo competition set up, along with a craft area, where the girls could make their own leis and beaded necklaces. It was a true hit!

I just did a High School Musical party for my daughter. Maybe you can get a copy of the movie and have your daughter and some friends learn one of the dances before the party, that way they can teach the dance to their friends. Some of them are really easy. The Disney channel aired the movie and during the commercial breaks the kids broke down the dances. It is a cute movie too. Make sure you have some games too...kids aren't going to dance for hours.

Twister is always fun.

The black light thing is a great idea too...if you color with highlighters on shirts they glow...give each kid a plain white t-shirt when they come in the door...instant party favor! Also liquid detergent glows so you can "paint" a banner.

You can play spin the bottle only have it be "I like" and have the kids tell things they like to do, watch, eat, or appreciate about each other.

Maybe you could get a projector and show the movie on the wall of the gym. Or you could turn it into a skating party and have everyone bring a pair of skates or wheelie shoes. Good luck!

Have a dance contest, and model their outfit at the party, also you do a theme like the red carpet and interview the guest.

My Daughter turned 10 last December and we had a "rock star"/kareokee/dance party. I did girls only. We got tons of dancyng music, even 80's and 70's , they really loved it. Loud music, tons of finger food , cake and etc.

I got all the hats, shinning accessories, boas, you get the picture, and let them accessorize like a star.

I took a picture of each girl posing as a star, and made a poster (printed later) like the ones of Hanna Montana, etc. We did group pictures and the rest of the party of course. But their star pictures in the posters was the hit. Everyone wanted their own to put in their walls.

My daughter turned 13 also on Feb 13
is your party going to be girls and boys or just girls?
If it is going to be just girls here are some of my ideas.
Well I rented out a suite at a hotel and let her invite special # 13 girls, it was a sleep over and we had food of course (the norm- pizza, chips, cake, cookie cake,icecream, punch and soda)we played games such as twister, scatagories, and playstation2 dance revolution w/ 2 mats) also I took a kareoke machine. I took a bunch of make up and did make overs. I also took a bunch of nail polish and extras to do their nails (they loved these 2 alot) The suite had a hot tub in it and the hotel had a in door pool. So we eat, danced, sang, played games, did make overs, nails, swam Oh and blew bubbles poolside:)lots of fun none stop up until about 2:00 am
It was such a hit the girls are still talking about it and want to do it again. so I do not know if I helped you or not but good luck with whatever you do.

Well first I would have her pick a theme. Like Hollywood nights, Fashion Divas, something that she really likes. Then I would plan around that. Example depending on the theme you can have a real inexpensive drop built they even sale some at the birthday supply stores that you tape up to a wall and take different pictures of the kids behind. Then you can play several games that would keep the kids busy but remember not to childesh they are at a weird age and give out cool little things that you could buy at the dollar store or something. Cools pens, notebooks, things like that.

C., I have an idea that you may want to consider. I would get the youngsters , dancing by playing some of the music they usually like to listen too. Then I would announce that you are going to start a contest and the winners of each contest will win some tickets for the movies . You will have all kinds of dance contest , first one any one who can dance the twist , a country line dance ,the cotton eye joe. , the how low can you go dance , a spanish dance , salsa meringe dance . and so fourth , just to keep them dancing . you can have couples , girls compete against boys. and every one has to dance or they will be in charge of cleaning or changing the trash bags and disposing the trash or something like that . Just an idea. or have a kareoke contest . I think that would be fun or play some sack races or other games ,I have a lot of ideas on games if you want to know let me know and I will give you a list with instructions on how to play the games.......

I currently run a business in Rhythmic gymnastics and just gave a birthday party. We use music with hoops, ribbons, balls and clubs. I also have done obstacle courses and games (especially for boys) . Try contests with balloon stomping or even karaoke. If you hadn't rented a gym I would suggest N Chic where the girls create their own studded blue jeans/shirts etc................Much luck A. ____@____.com

I have a friend that does kids parties....check out her web-site: www.kxpressions.com

Hi,

Just reading your post and thought I could offer a few ideas...

Start out with some munchies, let the kids mingle around a while first before starting the music.

13 is a tough age, so make it fun play lots of group songs " Electric slide", " Macarena", etc. this involves everyone!

Invest in a good digital Camera and set up a picture taking area... teens love taking pictures ( with everyone having a myspace now a days) you can probably call it the MYSPACE Corner!

Birthday Cake..remember to leave time at the end for a BIG Happy Birthday ending.

Well that's just a few ideas, Hope they help! Sounds like lots of fun! Enjoy

J. ( mother of two teens :)

My daughter had a disco party at that age. We got a projector and showed visualizations to the music on a giant screen (or usa a big blank wall). You need a computer and projector working together to do this. We also had a disco ball, beads hanging in the doorways, and cool funky neclaces for all the girls. I got the trinkets from Oriental Trading Company. They're so cheap for party supplies! The disco music is easy to find on CD. Some of the girls wore dance clothing, such as poodle skirts. It was a lot of fun. Good luck!

Hello C., Seeing that she is 13 and starting the pre-teen I would incorporate her favorite things and make like different stations such as candy station where the kids can bag their own candy or cupcake stations. And just play age appropiate music based on your daughters taste.

K.

I would say the easiest way to keep the paryt going is to hire a DJ or get someone you know to DJ the party. DJ's know how to keep everyone going.
Hope your party is great.

I do not have children that age, but I can tell you that we always use www.birthdaypartyideas.com It is a wonderful site where people describe the parties they have in detail. Some go overboard, but it is a great place to get great ideas!

When I was 13 my parents gave me a similar party....There was food and cake and my step dad had his best friend (who was a d.j.) come a do his gig. All in all it was a great time. There was one point that no one was dancing and the party started to die....so my parents being outgoing and goofy like they where had the d.j. play old school rock and they started dancing soon all the parents that stayed started dancing! Well of corse this embarrassed all of us who thought we would die because our parents took over our party! After that there was no problem keeping all the kids on the dance floor up to the weee hours of 10 p.m. Ending up being the talk of the school!

You could do a fashion show and then have a dance. We took the back porch and make a fashion show for the parents. We put a sheet over the door. So no one could see inside. We had music playing and one person introducing the girls and telling everyone what outfit they had on each time they came out. They girls had about four outfitts to change into. We had a lot of fun this that.

First of all, you would need to come up with a theme. From there is where the ideas would come. What does your daughter like to do, collect etc... Does she like Hannah Montana..hope I spelled it right.

What about a fashion show? Each guest can bring items to show off their own unique style. You could also do a make-up session. If you know of an educated skincare professional that could be good. Do you have a

Maybe you and your daughter can make a list of different songs that she would like to have at her party... Having a lot of different music is good so no one gets tired or bored... and that gives plenty of dancing opportunities.

Hi! We had a 80's dress up party for our 13 year old daughters birthday party last year and it was great!!The kids that came still talk about how much fun they had. We played 80's music and the kids dressed like the 80's and danced and the adults dressed up and had just as much fun as the kids did. My daughter had 65 people show up for her birthday and some were not invited but wanted to come because they heard it was a 80's dress up party. You can't go wrong with this one,trust me! Good luck and Happy 13th birthday!!!!
D. R

Depends on how many hours you want this party to run. I would get maybe some board games and place them on a table. Have you Googled the net for ideas? What about a photo booth where the party goers could get their photo taken with whomever. Good luck.

Hi. I do parties for kids. I can do a makeover for the girls or they can stuff animals and dress them in a specific theme or we can even have the girls decorate t-shirts for the animals.

Check out my website www.myhuggableparty.com

Good luck and happy planning!

M.

Hi C.,

If the party is for girls only; you can have a spa day. Have different stations:
manicure, pedicure, hairstyles, let them experiment moderately with a little makeup and this will keep them moving.
you can have light snacks @ each station such as fruit, nuts, veggies for them to nibble on.
hope this helps!
C.

I can tell you that whatever you do, you must be organized and do not just "wing it" It will be a disaster. You have to have a plan.
I can tell you what my 13 and 14 year old would love. If you can get hold of or borrow a few DDRs (Dance Dance Revolution) My girls play on these forever! When they have their friends over, its all they do.

How long is the party? Will this be a mixed party? boys and girls? I thought of the roller rink....they have boys only, then girls only, then boy asks girl, then girl asks boy. Just make sure the music fits the genders. Then take small breaks in between the music for the fun songs.. The chicken dance, the hokey pokey (yes, they are corney but even adults still play along) You can even host a "So you think you can dance" contest.

I'm not favorable to couple dancing, so if it were me, I would turn the gym into a giant gameroom. Call all your friends, family and rental facilities and get a few ping pong tables, a volleyball net, have basketballs out if there are hoops in the gym. I would let the first hour be free time, then do the singing, cake and presents, then another hour of free time. If you have more time, do relays. Our favorite was fill two brown paper sacks with different foods, each in a little baggie. (4 marshmallows, 4 caramel candies, a jar of baby food desert, 6 crackers, gummy worms,etc) Set up two chairs with one bag in front of each chair. Have two teams stand across from the chairs. When you say go, the first person on each team runs to the chair, reaches in the bag and grabs a baggie. THey have to eat it all and swallow it before running back to the next person in line. The first team to finish wins. You can decide whether or not you want to give prizes.

Hi C.:

Since you rented a gym, I think a Sock Hop would be cute! This way, they all get to dress up, learn a little about the 50s and dance the night away to oldies! The boys can get involved too! Plus, they can learn about the 1950s dating etiquette. You might even hang a glittery ball above the dance floor to make things interesting. You could have the girls make it and and also help make decorations to take part in the planning. Punch, snacks or finger foods are also inexpensive. Log in to Kraftfoods.com and you'll find some neat ideas for parties. I hope this helps! C. (age 44)

You know if you just let the kids play music they want to hear and dance, everything well work out I always have food to fuel the body so the kids have a great time. Still have the ballons, soda your girl will have a great time.

There is this great website www.birthdaypartyideas.com. They have ever theme you could think of. I hope this helps you.

Love
K.

Renting a gym would be fun! You should ask her to make a cd of her favorite music and you can play that and give it as party favors (if she's not to old to be giving out party favors). Hope this helps!

Hi C.:
What about a mother/daughter makeover. I have had several parents do the makeovers for their daughters at this age, so that they can learn how to apply their makeup correctly, and how to take care of their skin since they have reached the acne stage of their lives.
The girls usually love it. I try to do before and after photos of the mother/daughter team...this is usually for the moms.
And if you don't have a consultant, I would be more than happy to do it...if I don't already have something scheduled for that day. If you do have a consultant...check with her about what she can do.
Also...twister is always fun for that age group. They may tell you they think it would be boring...but once they start, they always love it.
Good luck,
G.