Birthday Party Ideas for Teens: Fun Activities and Places (Fresh for 2024)

Your child prefers not to be called a kid anymore and that’s right. The first decade of their life has passed, and now they begin new adventures as they enter their teenage years.

It also becomes a more difficult task to plan a teenage birthday. But don’t worry because we are here to help. We grouped the top birthday party ideas so that you can surprise your boy or girl on their special day.

Our suggestions cover everything from indoor to outdoor parties and even those held at a location that’s not your home. Check out the list and pick your favorite!

Сontents:

• Birthday Party Ideas for Teen Girls
• Teen Boy Birthday Party Ideas
• Birthday Party Ideas Teenage (For Everyone)

Birthday Party Ideas for Teen Girls

There’s a good chance that your little girl already has a party idea, so try to talk to her and see if it’s doable. If you need to put everything into perspective, here are the top suggestions for a fun party for teen girls!

A Home Picnic Party

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A picnic is one of the coolest birthday party ideas for teens. The idea is about sitting socially on a blanket with pillows on the floor in your garden. Take your time with the birthday boy or girl, while snacking on lots of different little treats.

Then you can combine the pleasant with the useful, or rather, the necessary with the extraordinary. Let’s face it, “without much effort” is a bit of window dressing.

A picnic is one of the best and most popular outdoor birthday party ideas for teens. Of course, for such a picnic, you must be prepared. Yes, you can also just set the table as usual, but on the floor. You can have the table in the form of large pallets and you’ll have that little bit of holiday feeling. So it will be well worth all the effort.

Now, what about the picnic treats? Here are a few ideas.

Easy pretzel hot dogs

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Cherry tomato hearts

The banana gang

Homemade pancake with fresh banana tower

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By making your research, you’ll find more cool food ideas for teen parties online on YouTube, and Pinterest, among others.

• Location: This picnic can take place within your house, preferably in the garden, under the blue sky in the evening.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: You’ll need blankets, pallets, pillows, and candles for lighting, as well as treats and food servings.
• Number of guests: Since it’s a home picnic that will involve family members and a few people maybe, the number of guests can range between five and 10.

Teen SPA-themed Party

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The teen spa-themed party turns out to be another of the teen party themes preferred by girls.

The date to celebrate a teenage birthday can be at a spa with VIP service for the celebrant and the guests.

• Location: The dining room and the living room in the home.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Dinner table decorations.
• Number of guests: Between 5 to 10 teen friends are ideal for an indoor-themed party.

Painting Party

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If your child is an artistic type, you don’t have to look hard for unique birthday party ideas for teens. Organize a paint party and gather her friends to express their creative side.

We’d suggest that you place something on the floor if you plan to hold the party indoors. Furthermore, it could be smart to protect the walls. Alternatively, take the event outdoors where any excessive color might be easier to clean.

Or even better, organize a party bus and book a couple of hours at a local painting workshop. Professionals could even hold a painting class and reveal some tricks to children.

Another option that would be in the same category is a pottery class. Many children enjoy being creative, and making something out of pottery will make them proud.

• Location: The party can take place on the ground, on a large fresco, in a large bathroom, in the playroom, in a large dining room, or in the backyard if you’re wary of paint stains.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Paint, painting jacket, painting canvas, sheets, cardboard, old rolls of tapestries, and more.
• Number of guests: The number of guests depends on the location and the availability of painting resources. But 3 to 10 is a good number.

A Pool-Themed Party

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A pool-themed party is perfect to be part of the list of parties for teenagers. Here, the fun will focus on decorating the poolside with balloons of bright colors and much more.

The teens will have something to do all day and there is no time for boredom. You can do a swimming competition or who can dive the best.

You can bring food and drinks into your kitchen and bring them away from home or order them at the pool. All the swimming pools have small restaurants and you can have a birthday meal there.

• Location: Indoors or outdoors depending on the location of the pool to be used.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Balloons, lounge chairs, ribbons, clean blue swimming pool.
• Number of guests: A pool party can accommodate a large number of teens. There’s no limit here. A good range is between 10 to 20 teens.

Barbie Party

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We’ll admit that this birthday idea could turn out to be a bit expensive, but we guarantee teen girls will love it! Everyone is talking about the new Barbie movie, so use that to your advantage.

Turn your backyard or living room into a pink Barbieland for this special occasion. You can add pink balloons, and don’t forget to ask everyone to dress in pink. Oh, and don’t forget that the birthday cake should be inspired by the amazing doll!

You can prepare different activities, such as putting on makeup or singing karaoke. Also, prepare some party favors, such as small hair bows for girls to take home as a memory of this amazing teen’s birthday party!

• Location: Indoors or outdoors
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Pink balloons, luxe lighting, ice Barbie sculpture
• Number of guests: Between 2 to 10. Try to keep the number limited as this activity will require adult supervision.

A Disco Party

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A children’s disco for a birthday party is a great idea. Maybe for girl celebrants, this will be a better option than for boys. But boys actually love to dance and come up with different choreographies too.

Music: For a disco party you need more space for the podium where the children can dance. Also, a good playlist should not be missing either. It would be best if you get a DJ. Of course, this does not have to be a real, professional DJ. Call your neighbor or any friend to make a playlist for the kids with kids’ disco music.

Decoration: another thing to look out for is the decoration. A disco party must have many lights and a disco ball. Make a real disco atmosphere. It would be best to have this kind of party when it is almost dark outside. 6 pm would be a perfect time. So the lights and the disco atmosphere can be well taken care of.

Cocktails: Make more cocktails (non-alcoholic of course). So that the children can feel like they are in a real disco. Take a nice cocktail glass, put in the disco straws, and maybe a small umbrella. Kids will love this.

• Location: A disco party can be organized in your home or outdoors in the garden on a summer evening.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Music, cocktails, disco atmosphere, choreographies, disco ball, and more.
• Number of guests: This is a disco party and you need the number to make things lively. Between 8 to 20 guests are moderate.

If your child has a teen birthday party to attend, you can use the Findmykids app to monitor if they have arrived safely and track when they leave the event. It’s possible to listen to the surroundings to confirm they are in good company at the birthday, and the kid can send you an SOS signal at any moment.

Teen Boy Birthday Party Ideas

Boys might have a different taste than girls and they want a great birthday party idea that will make them look cool in front of their friends. Here are some great suggestions on how to prepare the event to exceed your kid’s expectations!

Star Wars Themed Party

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On a Star Wars-themed evening, you can organize a redo of the most legendary Star Wars fights in a game between friends.

A Star Wars evening is above all an opportunity to organize an animation of lightsaber fights between good Jedi and bad Sith.

You can also tell the kids they’re going to have to go through a training course to become a Jedi! The best way to set up this Star Wars game is to have “stations” where kids have to pass and complete a task.

Children can be asked to crawl under some chairs, climb a small ladder, descend a slide, and also jump through some tires or hoops.

You can provide a Jedi sword or lightsaber and kids have to hit small ping-pong balls a certain distance. They can also be asked to keep a balloon in the air for 20 seconds.

At the end of this training, you can tell the kids they have officially become Jedi by giving them a “Jedi ID Card” and a certificate.

• Location: A play hall, in the home, or outdoors in the garden.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Star Wars-themed costumes, Jedi swords, Jedi Identification Card, balloons ping pongs, and more.
• Number of guests: 4 to 10 teens are enough.

RockStar-Themed Party

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The budget for this birthday party will depend on how far you are willing to go. It’s best if you could include karaoke, some powerful speakers, and a mic where children could sing. That means you’d create an actual stage for the rockstars that are visiting your party!

Make sure to know what your child’s favorite band is, and use them as the main theme for the party. If they say, for example, Led Zeppelin or Nirvana, try to secure some costumes or at least accessories like fake earrings, leather jackets, prop guitars, and other details.

• Location: A hall, the garden, or the living room can be converted into a rock star-themed party location.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: You can get some crazy AC/DC costumes, have a rock-themed table decoration, get vinyl records as wall decorations, and funny costumes to liven up the evening.
• Number of guests: For a rock party, you’ll need around 10 to 25 teens. Don’t worry if you can’t get the numbers up to that.

Harry Potter-Themed party

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Credit: pinterest.com

if you don’t know much about Harry Potter, we strongly suggest doing your research or even consulting your birthday teen for details. It’s imperative that you do things right, so ask the child how they imagine the setting to look. That will ensure you create a memorable party for him and his peers.

We suggest you do your best to replicate a Hogwarts classroom or another setting from the TV show or movie. You can get some wizard props, such as hats and magic wands. Coming up with trivia quizzes or other Harry Potter-related competitions is a way to spice up the event with some activities.

• Location: Indoors in your home.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Some festive attributes include different colors of balloons, Harry Potter-themed tableware, candles, chandeliers, and more.
• Number of guests: Choose the number of guests that will be able to go around the table, which is around 8 to 10.

Treasure Hunt/Scavenger Hunt Party

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Playing this game is a tradition! You can’t celebrate a birthday, or have a picnic with your company without playing treasure hunt. This game is a team game, so all participants come together even more as team spirit will be at its peak.

You can find the tasks for this game on the Internet or you can do the tasks yourself. The place where you can play treasure hunt is up to you to choose. This game is best played in the summer.

If it’s still a children’s birthday party theme, you can play even better with the motifs and decorate the treasure well. For example, if it’s a pirate-themed party, then the treasure will be hidden in a pirate chest.

• Location: Indoors or outdoors in the yard or while camping.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Summertime, flowers, a chest, motifs, and more.
• Number of guests: 2 to 6

A Game of Bowling

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Everyone has probably played this game before. There aren’t many rules in bowling.

If a player hits all of the pins in one throw, that’s a strike. The goal of this game is to hit all pins with the ball and get them down. It’s not that difficult.

Eating pizza while bowling is an interesting combo too. All teens around will enjoy this time and this birthday will be talked about for a long time.

• Location: A bowling alley or a bowling arena. You can rent a small section out for a few hours.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Pizza servings, table decorations, bowling balls, and more.
• Number of guests: Up to 12 teens can come in for this game.

Go-karting and Laser Tag

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Karting will delight boys and girls alike. This is something new to try and we’re sure they’ll like it once they get behind the wheel and hit the gas. Who knows, maybe there’s a little Schumacher hiding inside you or your teen, you won’t know until they try.

• Location: A park is the most suitable place where you can find this activity. You’ll have to rent out carts each, depending on the number of guests.
• Festive attributes and decorations used:
• Number of guests: Three to seven guests are enough to keep the costs of renting the carts low.

Birthday Party Ideas Teenage (For Everyone)

Some ideas are simply universal and suitable for a teen’s birthday regardless of them being a boy or a girl. The following suggestions are great if the company visiting the party is mixed and you want everyone to have a great time!

Hawaiian Party

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The Hawaiian party is the most popular of the summer. The best thing is that you can celebrate it in a garden, terrace, house or the pool.

The first thing is to think about the decoration of the space. We recommend using decorations for the walls, colored paper, lanterns, torches, palm trees, lots of fabric hibiscus flowers, and if possible, a tiki bar to make the party more realistic.

You should also think about the food for your Hawaiian party. It is not necessary to throw a big banquet. Prepare fruit skewers such as pineapple and other tropical fruit. Drinks should be in abundance and can include cocktails, soft drinks, and, if possible, natural juices.

Make a list of music so that the guests can dance. If you have the budget, get a ukulele to play live. The costume is also important, so ensure your guests are in Hawaiian skirts and necklaces. You can also organize dances and typical games such as the hula hoop or the game of limbo.

• Location: You can celebrate it in the garden, terrace, or by the poolside.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: A tiki bar, colored paper, lanterns, torches, palm trees, and lots of fabric hibiscus flowers.
• Number of guests: Between 7 to 15 will be enough for a Hawaiian party.

Cinema Party

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We know that an outdoor movie night is a great idea for fall. However, you can also make your cinema party. Whatever the theme of the party might be, you can always find a related movie or TV show to watch. So everyone can relax. When you create a cinematic experience, watching a movie feels more like a party.

Hang a white sheet on a white wall. Borrow a projector to project a film onto the sheet for an inexpensive screen. Make the movie area cozy with lots of pillows and blankets. If you live in an area with mild winters, you can even watch the film outside, with lots of blankets and maybe a campfire.

Make popcorn and serve packaged candy just like in the movies. Tell everyone what movie you’re showing when you invite them to the party. Make a movie night out of it and watch all the movies in a row.

• Location: In your garden, in the living room, or in a cinema.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: A projector, a popcorn-making machine, and craft items.
• Number of guests: Between 12 to 30 friends is a good range number for cinema party guests.

Barbecue Party for Teens

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You could look for recipes online, get the ingredients and preparations ready, and grill with your friends or the teen kids when they arrive in the evening.

Are you looking for original barbecue recipes, but lack time and inspiration? You can also order special BBQ meal boxes and have them delivered to your home by refrigerated trucks on the day of your event.

The meats arrive seasoned, ready to be placed on the grill. The recipes are already prepared, all you have to do is warm and taste them!

• Location: Outdoors for the barbecue and the barbecue tasting can be done at a picnic party outdoors too.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: A themed or decorated dinner table, a set barbecue corner with the grill, and marinated meat ready.
• Number of guests: 5 to 15 teen friends are enough.

Pizza Party

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An entire picnic might be tricky to organize and requires a lot of effort from parents. You could simplify things with a pizza party, especially since you could organize it in a nearby restaurant or pizzeria. We suggest you book enough tables in advance, or if it’s a big party, go ahead and reserve the entire restaurant for a couple of hours.

Each kid should be able to pick their own pizza, as that would make it more fun. If the event is in the evening, consider turning it into a nice dinner party with several meals kids would choose from, and serve juice in those fancy wine glasses just to make it interesting.

• Location: Outdoors in the yard, or in a kid’s restaurant nearby
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Birthday theme, food, anything else your girl might want
• Number of guests: 2 to 10+

Bonfire Party

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If you have a nice backyard, this idea is perfect for teen birthday parties. The best thing is that you can hold a bonfire party at any time of the year. Although, remember to secure enough blankets and mention that the children should dress warmly.

There’s something about the atmosphere when sitting around the bonfire that increases the bond between people. You can put camping chairs for guests, and make sure to cook some food in the fire. It doesn’t have to be anything complex, but try to add marshmallows to the meal list since kids love them.

As for activities, you can ask children to share scary stories if they feel like it. Alternatively, try bringing an adult (or a teen friend) that plays the guitar. Everyone can sing and have a great time to ensure a memorable and lasting event. Oh, and you can also check some other backyard games for kids for inspiration.

• Location: The campsite or the house yard.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Bonfire or campfire
• Number of guests: Between 10 to 22 friends are ideal as can be seen from the picture above.

Play Board Games

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Looking for cheap birthday party ideas for teens? Board games are a great option for any home party. They are inexpensive and provide hours of entertainment. You can even give out prizes to the winners.

You can organize playing classic board games like Monopoly, Ludo, etc. You can also choose more interactive board games such as Cranium.

When choosing board games, make sure you choose games that all guests can play at the same time, or create different play stations.

Consider making tournaments if you’d like to make the game night a bit more interesting and competitive. You can check our guide on the most engaging board games for kids for inspiration.

• Location: In your home.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Not a lot of decoration is needed as we’re creating a budget activity here.
• Number of guests: 3 to 6 guests.

Take Kids to the Amusement Park

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A busy schedule might not give you time to organize the teen’s birthday party at home, so you need an alternative location. And is there anything better than an amusement park?

The trick with this birthday party idea is that it’s only doable if you actually have an amusement park nearby. Many parks have coffee shops and places where you can get cake, so don’t forget to book it for the children to have a place to rest after they finish playing.

• Location: Choose a reputable and family-friendly amusement park with rides suitable for different age groups.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Dress your kids in comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes for a day of fun and exploration.
• Number of guests: Between 3 to 20 friends.

Murder Mystery Party Game

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While we are on the topic of party games, let’s mention murder mystery, which is a great way to engage lots of guests without investing a huge budget.

You will need to invest an effort in preparing a good murder mystery, though. Think of a role that each guest will play, and visitors can then interrogate each other in an effort to figure out the mystery.

Add a special touch to the entire experience by acquiring some props that will spice up the search. You can even navigate children to look for clues in different areas. If you plan everything right, it will be one of the most memorable teenage birthday parties ever.

• Location: Indoors and outdoors.
• Festive attributes and decorations used: Detective equipment, murder mystery accessories
• Number of guests: Between 5 to 20 friends.

As we have shown, there is a bunch of cool and fun birthday party ideas for teens. But stay within your budget. Don’t feel compelled to invite people you don’t know well. You want your kid to feel comfortable and it’s okay to invite only best friends to the party.

Anything between 5 and 15 people is normal for a teenage birthday party, but the number is ultimately up to you. Maybe you’re comfortable with two best friends coming, or there are 20 people you really want to invite. Carry your child along to know what is okay with them.