Teenage Parties - Hosting One? Some Help

Now you’ve heard it all before, haven’t you? Are you mad?! Don’t you read the papers?! Remember – that girl who had a party and £25,000 of damage was caused to her family home?!

Ok, but let’s face facts – for whatever reason, you’re hosting one. At home, at a venue – the risks are basically the same. So we’ll do our level best to help you avoid the worst pitfalls, and who knows, maybe even enjoy the party (a bit) yourself!

But first, let’s have a bit of positive thinking here. What are the benefits (yes, we really do believe there are some) of hosting a teen party?

# If you do manage not to fall out, your teen will be pretty appreciative. No, not for ever, but hey, we’re talking teens here – anything is better than nothing, isn’t it?
# Keep it together on the night, and you might even enjoy a new status amongst his or her friends – that ever elusive status of the ‘cool parent’. Oh yes, even the squarest of us still long to attain this dizzy height!
# Providing you set out the rules early on in the negotiations, you’ll probably be able to get away with this being the only teen party you’ll host (unless you’re foolish enough to have more than one child, that is).
# Ok, there’s not many benefits that spring instantly to mind, but this is quite a goodie – your parents will think you are mad! What better opportunity to regain a moment of adolescent glory one last time?! Their likely disgust at your behaviour will be surely too good to miss!
# Last, but certainly not least, if you agree to host the party, there’s a significantly reduced chance that they’ll have one without your knowledge when you decide to leave them at home on your long awaited for weekend away!

So, let’s move onto some solid advice. The first, and most important, is that you’re probably worrying ad infinitum about the other parents. Or, more to the point, what their kids might get up to in your care.

And yes, we do mean the obligatory twins of adolescent life – sex and booze. Hosting at home does bring added problems. Yes, like many others, you probably have beds in your house. And more than one room, unless you’re living in an open plan creation of Grand Designs ilk, there’s bound to be rooms, cubby holes, dark areas of the garden, garages, cellars, attics….the list goes one…where naughty teen lovers can attempt to hide away.

There’s a couple of preventative measures you can try and take here – whether you’re planning to be in the house or venue at the dreaded party time or not! Firstly, why not install CCTV. Ok, ok, ok. You could try out of bounds areas, locking doors, or even planting elderly relatives in the most appealing looking rooms to scare them off. But, once combined with a touch of alcohol, teenage lust does have a tendency to find a venue in which to occur.

The best bet is to ensure as many of the parents of your teen’s mates as possible know that you won’t be there. Even if you will be there. Their children’s behaviour is down to them – it really isn’t your responsibility.

So, hopefully, they’ll all be so busy trying to scurry off in twosomes that they’ll forget about the drink. But hey, let’s face it, we were all young once, and inevitably the booze comes first…and the rest later. If you’re planning to offer some alcohol at your event, then the same rule applies – tell the parents. If they don’t want their child to drink, then that’s up to them. Their child doesn’t have to come, after all!

And even if you’re not planning to offer booze up front, do be prepared for almost every attendee bringing their own. From dad’s half drunk whisky to a 3 litre bottle of cider from the local shop, they’ll find a way. The best plan is to have a lot of food on offer to soak it up. And get the food out early on too – any lining of the stomach you can do just might help. Soft drinks should be in plentiful supply too. But face facts too – that expensive rug should be out of the way, and sick buckets in every corner really wouldn’t go amiss!

If it’s your belongings you’re worrying about, or the fixtures and fittings of the venue that have you enduring sleepless nights, a bit of forward planning and clear expectations can help. Plastic cups, paper plates, locked away valuables, paintings removed from the walls - these are all sensible preparations to make! Don’t underestimate the destructive capabilities of teens en masse – think the worst, and just prepare for it! Then at least there’s a chance you might be pleasantly surprised! Oh, and if you have pets, a fish pond or tank, whatever you do, make sure they sleep over at someone else’s for the night. They’ll thank you for it!

Finally, if it all goes horribly wrong, try and remember the following: not everything is your child’s fault – so don’t act like it is!

Not only that, we’ve got a host of birthday present ideas for your teen at http://ww.cocooncollection.co.uk – whether you’ve told them the party is their only gift or not, we’ve got something to suit every budget!

Plus, even teens will be pleasantly surprised with a parting party bag – no, no, not those plastic bags with clowns adorning the front – http://www.cocoonparty.co.uk has gorgeous, inspirational party bags to suit any party – and every party goer too!

So sit back and relax – surely it’s not going to be as bad as all that – and revisit the list at the beginning of this article too – there’s some benefits coming your way!