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Just because teenagers around the world are practicing social distancing, it doesn't mean we can’t celebrate their very special day. Teen birthday parties can still happen, even if teens need to stay home or practice social distancing. Whether your child is just becoming a teenager or they’re celebrating their sweet 16, there are plenty of fun ways to celebrate.
Organizing a virtual teen party
As soon as the stay-at-home order went into effect in Los Angeles, Masha Evans, known as DJ Maasha, got a call from a parent asking how she could move her 13-year-old daughter’s birthday party online.
“We treat it very similarly to the way we treat in-person birthday parties, in that we still have a plan and I meet (virtually) with the teenager,” Evans told Mom.com.
Evans sends out an invitation to meet on the Zoom conferencing app and lets the partygoers know if there is a dress code and to have a snack ready. “One thing we do is everybody will eat something sweet at the same time that the birthday boy or girl gets their cake,” she said.
Evans said parents can organize their teen’s party, but she’s found that families prefer an outside person to host because “kids are more likely to listen to someone like me on Zoom than having their parent hanging around at the party, which is just like in person.”
Teenagers are doing group chats and parties on Zoom, FaceTime, Discord, and Google Hangouts to name a few. As there are with in-person parties and any online activity, parents need to be aware that there are safety concerns with all of the apps. Parties can get "crashed" by strangers and some apps have no age verification, so check into the safety features before your teens start to party.
15 ideas for a teen birthday party
1. Drive-By Birthday Party – A lot of people have been doing these for people of all ages. Call your teenager’s friends and ask them to come by at a certain time. They can make a homemade sign, drive by and honk, ride by on bikes or park outside and wave. The birthday boy or girl will be touched by the surprise.
2. Theme Party – Supermom Richele Collins of Keller, Texas, has been planning theme nights with her two teenagers and her husband every night. They’ve done everything from Mardi Gras to Cave Man to Christmas theme — and her teens have loved it. For a birthday party, she recommends '80s night, which is fun for parents to introduce kids to '80s fashion.
3. Gaming Party – If your kids are like mine, they have been having a gaming party every day since schools were closed. Teens can play a game like Minecraft or Fortnite while chatting on Discord.
4. Movie Party – Netflix has a new feature called Neflix Party, where you can watch on Netflix and talk to each other in the group function. They can also watch a movie together using another service and then chat over FaceTime.
5. Dance Party – Have a zoom party and put on music. Create a playlist before the party and have everyone stream it and teens can dance the night away.
6. Spa Night – Create beautiful invitations on Canva and invite friends to a virtual spa night. Friends can talk online while they do facials, paint their nails, or color their hair.
7. Virtual Potluck – John Krasinski hosted a star-studded potluck with Martha Stewart and Guy Fieri on his YouTube show, Some Good News. You don’t have to be that elaborate, but a foodie birthday boy or girl can share recipes online and then chat while they eat what they’ve made.
8. Live DJ or Concert – There are so many great DJ sets on Instagram that kids can watch together and dance or just listen to. Billboard has a list it updates regularly of all of the live streams and virtual concerts, from Miley Cyrus to The Roots. Here’s a list of Latin live streams.
9. All-about-the-birthday-teen Party – Create a trivia game about the birthday boy or girl and quiz the guests. Or, ask guests to send in pictures and videos, and create a video montage, Evans recommended.
10. Game Night – There are different online platforms to play games together, like Kahoot, Evans said. The birthday teen can host a live game with questions on a screen and share it with players. The Houseparty app also has multiplayer games like Heads Up and Pictionary.
11. TikTok Party – Challenge your friends to make a TikTok video. Create your own birthday hashtag.
12. Camp Out – If the birthday teen loves the outdoors, you may want to have a family camp out in the backyard. Make s’mores, barbecue some burgers, and tell ghost stories.
Special occasion party
13. Bat or Bar Mitzvah – Kids and families have been planning their bat or bar mitzvahs for years. Instead of canceling, families like the Duboises of Sacramento asked their friends and family to get dressed up and join them on Zoom. She read from the Torah and guests held up signs, according to Jewish News Weekly.
14. Quinceañera – Turning 15 is an important day in a Latina’s life. To celebrate, families throw big parties and the birthday girl wears a beautiful ball gown. One girl in Pasadena was disappointed about the party being canceled, so her mother threw her a drive-by quince.
15. Sweet 16 – No need to miss this milestone birthday by celebrating alone. Make their 16th birthday special by inviting friends to make different sweets and then joining in on Zoom.
