How To Throw the Ultimate Teen or Tween Party

6 IDEAS TO INSPIRE

Discover the best tween and teen birthday party ideas that your kids will adore, from spa pamper sessions to movie nights and retro parties!

Organizing a birthday party becomes trickier when your kids approach their tween and teen years as they want to become more involved in planning their own celebrations. In this guide to pre-teen and teenager parties, we’ve gathered 6 ideas that can be tailored to their interests, making party-planning easier to manage. Become parent-of-the-year by throwing a fun yet stylish party for your kids and their guests to enjoy.

1. Spa Day

Introduce your tweens to the importance of self-care with a relaxing spa birthday party! We’ve come up with several ways to throw a glamorous pamper party that will make their birthday feel special and will create lasting memories. Set the table with pastel tableware and yummy nibbles that they can dip in and out of during their luxurious pamper session. Create a “selfie station” using Insta-perfect backdrops, such as our Balloon Garland or Pastel Flower Wall and let them pose to their heart’s content! Ask what music they would love to have during their special day and create a playlist suited to their tastes, whether it’s Katy Perry or Beyoncé.

Similarly, throwing a Pink Party will be a hit for those who love all things pretty! Encourage them to wear pink and provide them with pink-themed food and drink, such as frosted doughnuts and pink apples to really make it a statement celebration. Create a nostalgic, fairytale-inspired party using pink florals and our Honeycomb Mushroom Decorations or host an elegant pink-hued tea party featuring our Ladurée collection and Bow Napkins, that your teen and their guests will adore. It’s all about the details – organizing everything from the napkins to the plates to the hanging decorations will ensure your kids enjoy themselves.

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2. Sports Party

Whether they are a sports fan or budding athlete, a sports birthday party is an easy theme that you can cater towards your child’s interests. Our Sports Party tableware, which includes football, tennis, or basketball designs, is great for snacks, buffet food, or BBQ treats and can even be used as decorations in a pinch. If you have an outdoor space for your party, set up some cones or DIY sports posts and let your sports fans run around playing their game of choice; if you’re inside, set up a game on the TV or blow up some balloons for a round of Keepy-Uppy – see who can keep the balloon off the ground the longest! Incorporate rainbow décor, such as a Rainbow Honeycomb Fan Garland or pieces such as balloon arches and crepe streamers, for a stylish twist to your party.

Alternatively, if your kids love moving around and teamwork, then organize your party around a birthday scavenger hunt! You can create your own clues or find inspiration online and host an indoor or nature-themed hunt. Once they’ve discovered everything on the list, reward them with mini favors such as our Mini Stickers or Piñata Favors.

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3. Taylor Swift Party

Taylor Swift is an eternally beloved music artist for pre-teens and teenagers as her pop hooks, relatable lyrics, and empowering story have captivated people the world over. Her expansive repertoire lends itself wonderfully to parties for tweens as you can choose from a variety of themes, from country to pop to indie. Here at Meri Meri, we especially love her second album, Fearless, with its sparkling gold and horse motifs, and her 2019 album, Lover, featuring pastel colors and retro vibes.

Once you’ve chosen a color palette for your party, choosing the right partyware is the next step – our Beautiful Basics can be mixed with a variety of Taylor-inspired themes, such as Happy Icons and Horse Party. For party activities, start a dance party off with her record-breaking song Shake It Off. Get your attendees crafting friendship bracelets (which is an iconic part of the Eras Tour) or create a playlist devoted to Taylor Swift’s songs and let your Swifties guess the song during quick-fire rounds.

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4. Movie Night

We’re rolling! Hosting a movie night is a classic yet fun party theme for tweens and teenagers as they can choose the snacks and films that they want. We recommend films such as The Princess Bride or Mean Girls that will appeal to a wide age range – keep the movie bill limited to two so your guests can wind down before leaving or sleeping (depending on if you extend it into a slumber party!). Hang Honeycomb Decorations or balloon garlands alongside streamers to make your chosen cinema space look perfectly stylish, and pair with a large tablecloth and colorful plates for a snack station. Choose a mix of healthy snacks and treats that they’ll love or let them create their own yummy snacks by incorporating baking into the celebration. Freshly baked cupcakes, created using our innovative Cupcake Kits and a mix of other cake decorations, will be a hit for your teens-to-be; they can devour their treats during their favorite movies.

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5. Games Night or Arts Party

Why not let your tween host a games or arts party? Whatever their interests may be, from video games, arts and crafts, Lego and more, organize a fun afternoon around their creative endeavors! Bright colors and rainbows are perfect for these parties, and we recommend our Flower Wall or Rainbow Twisty Fringe Backdrop to instantly elevate your chosen space.

For gaming events, invite guests using this customizable Paperless Post design and set up a console in the living room filled with colorful streamers and balloons to create the right atmosphere for hanging out with friends. Choose age-appropriate games that have group appeal – ones that are fun to both watch and play. Make sure they take breaks for food and other refreshments, and keep it separate from the games room so their minds can take a break too!

For arts and crafts, set up a table with a Rainbow Star Tablecloth for extra style points, and place plenty of napkins around for messes and spills. Create a snack station using our Beautiful Basics collection for tableware, and then make finger foods such as chicken nuggets, crudités, sweeties, and popcorn that will be easy to eat whilst engaged in their crafts or games!

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6. Retro Party

Rainbows, smiley faces, and flowers all in a dreamy pastel color palette – perfect for a 90s-inspired party! Host a stylish retro celebration with our Happy Icons and Roller-skate collection, featuring sumptuous tableware and decorations, and pair with a range of delicious treats. Your guests can eat whilst watching iconic 90s films (we love Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Jurassic Park) or listening to a 90s mixtape featuring the most popular artists of the era (think Britney Spears). You can also create a ‘tubular’ photo opportunity with our Fun Icon Garland and Enamel Hair Slides – take it to the next level by using a Polaroid camera to take photos they can keep forever!

If it’s sunny outside, bring the retro party into the garden – create an elevated yet fun tablescape using fresh flowers, Happy Icons tableware, and table candles. Use Balloon Arches to create a totally fly party backdrop too! Mini cakes and crudités are the perfect foods for this table, and you can put together a 90s and early 2000s trivia game to see how knowledgeable they are.

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We’d love to see how your tween and teen parties turn out!

Share your stylish celebrations with us on Instagram at @merimeriparty