For most young adults, no birthday is more important than the 21st. If you’ve been asked to plan or host a party for a friend or relative who is turning 21, the following tips will help you plan and throw a great birthday party. 21st birthday party.

Send invitations a month in advance: Whether you’re sending e-invitations or mail-in invitations, you’ll want to invite your guests at least a month in advance to make sure they save the date for your party. Both types of invitations are acceptable. Be sure to provide the date, time, and location of the party on the invitation, as well as any specific RSVP instructions. For example, provide the name of the person recipients should contact, as well as the preferred way to contact them (email, phone, or both). Or, to make it simpler for you and your guests, ask guests to RSVP only if they’re unable you wait.

Other things to include in the invitations if they are relevant to your party:

• If you don’t want guests to bring gifts, be sure to state on the invitation “No gifts please” or “All we ask you to bring to the party is yourself.”
• Ask guests to bring something specific to the party, whether it’s a photo of themselves with the guest of honor to make a collage, a plate to pass, or a ‘drink of choice’ to give to the birthday boy or girl in honor of becoming ‘legal’.
• Directions for the party.

Deciding what foods and drinks to serve: Let’s say your party is being held at a house or clubhouse, so there is no formal meal. Do you want to offer finger food that people eat throughout the night? Or offer a full buffet style meal. Whatever you decide, make sure you have enough to serve everyone, it’s better to have too much than too little. Trust me, if there’s food left over at the end of the party, you’ll have plenty of guests who would love to volunteer to take it off your hands. Bring inexpensive disposable bags and containers so you can easily pack up leftovers.

Be sure to remember the necessary plates, napkins, and utensils. Nicely designed plates and napkins are always pretty and add a festive look to the food presentation, but they can be expensive. One option is to buy the plates and napkins in a single color to save costs. Or maybe just splurge on the smaller, decorated “Happy Birthday” dessert plates.
And a birthday cake is always a must, although now cupcakes are also in fashion. Although bakeries may offer fancy varieties, they are often priced high. So if your budget is tight, feel free to order a large cake from your grocery store or warehouse bakery. And if you have something special or unique in mind when it comes to how you’d like to decorate the cake, feel free to ask if they can accommodate you. I’ve seen supermarket bakeries make great “beer” and “cocktail” related decorations on their cakes. Remember to give them at least several days notice for your order.

As for the drink, of course, there should be a toast to the guest of honor at some point in the evening. Wine, beer, mixed drinks, or champagne are appropriate for toasting (as are, of course, any non-alcoholic beverages for those guests who prefer not to drink). Prior to the date of the party, decide who will toast the birthday boy or girl and ask them to prepare a Shorts toast. When he or she is done with their toast, ask them to ask all guests to raise their drinks to the guest of honor.

For the rest of the evening, make sure you have plenty of water and soft drinks on hand. Lemonade or iced tea works well too. As for alcoholic beverages, see what your budget allows. The “21” age group will likely be happy with just beer, however some of the older guests may prefer wine.

Ambient: Although decorations are not necessary, they help set the stage for a festive gathering. They can be as simple as a few balloon bouquets placed strategically around the room. Plus, a balloon bouquet on either side of the party entrance screams ‘Party’ and also makes it clear to guests that they’ve come to the right place. Vases of fresh flowers are also a nice touch. Party supply stores have great “themed” decorations (sports, beach, etc.) that can also add flair to the event.

Music also plays an important role. Does it have to play in the background or does it have an important role in the event, as in the case of dance music? Think about music options ahead of time, as well as the sound system if the party is not taking place at your home. In advance, assign one person the responsibility for the music throughout the party. And remember: there are plenty of songs related to ‘drinking’ (type ‘songs about drinking’ into a search bar and they’ll be at your fingertips).

Do you want to play drinking games? If you only know one or two that everyone else knows, just go to your favorite search page and type in “drinking games” and you’ll have access to more games than you ever thought possible.

Always keep the guest of honor in mind when planning the party: Take into account the likes and dislikes of the celebrant throughout all your planning. If he or she has a hobby, a favorite food, a favorite city, all of these things can spark ideas on how to incorporate it into the theme of the party. For example, let’s say the birthday boy is a sports fanatic. He can send ‘sports ticket’ invitations to the party and decorate in the color of his favorite team. Or the birthday girl has a favorite singer – you’ll want to make sure songs by that artist are included in the party’s music mix. Or maybe she’s a chocoholic. Make sure the birthday cake is fudge and hand out take-home gift bags with her favorite treat.

A little planning ahead can save you time, hassle, and money in the long run.

Nice Party Favor – Copyright 2009