I am a carer to a 15 year old who turns 16 early next year.
He is Mr popular and has a lot of friends... But goes to quite a rough school. Some of his 'friends' have stolen from him before and I don't want my house gate crashed/trashed... But I also don't want to be an "uncool" mum.
I need a happy medium of things;
It can't be too pricey - obviously, hosting it outside the house will cost.
It needs to be big enough for at least 40-50 people.
It needs to be away from our house!
And something fun, that teenagers (boys and girls) will enjoy.
Any ideas?!
8 Replies
Paintball and limit the numbers a bit? Strike a deal with a paintball place?
I had the best 18th at paintball with 30 friends
Or a venue ? You can hire them for around 100 sometimes and maybe spend and extra hundred on your biggest friends for " bouncers"
I would just have a bbq. That's what I done for my 18th and will be doing for my 21st. I think what made my mum amazing for my 16th was we had a bbq but she also let me have a drink.. yes I was under age but she always said "a 16 year old WILL drink, whether you approve or not" and its made her feel better knowing what was going on. And looking back at it now it seems like the smartest thing she done. I would have been jumping out my window and going to the park drinking god knows what with god knows who. The more trust you put into them to do the right thing, the more they will behave because they dont want to lose that trust.
This child is in care. I can't promote underage drinking.
BBQ is a good idea though.
I'd do a BBQ but also try and give him some privacy. He is 16, if you don't give it to him and trust him to try and make some decisions he will do a lot behind your back. My mums friends were always like "your kids are doing this and that" and she knew everything we were doing because we knew she would support our decisions, what the other parents/carers didn't know was their kids were right beside us doing the same thing. He might be a trouble child, but if you try and keep him locked up he will sneak out and do it behind your back. Underage drinking probably not a good idea since he is in care though.
I would suggest an arcade or similar. If its not too pricey most kids that age will pay there own way. Many 16th I went to were ice skating or similar without the parents and we paid with our allowances for entrance fees etc. It was more organised between ourselves.
Depends what kind of kids they are. When I was 16 there's no way I'd want to go to an arcade or ice skating lol if they are party type hire a local hall they are pretty cheap!
We had a ball, and no parents to see who you were kissing :) parents trust kids who sound like they are going to innocent places!
depending on what state you live in (I know this is the case for NSW)...any birthday function with 25+ guests is meant to have security- this is in an attempt to stamp out the violent gate crashers etc. just another thing to think about...
maybe just a paintball morning with mates & family dinner would be the cheapest...but try to limit numbers with the paintball