Pleasing a teenager is one of the hardest things in the world. It’s like they reach a certain age and switch flips and now suddenly they hate everything. Especially anything that you do and say. For teenagers, it’s all about being cool and parents are just about the least cool people on the planet in their eyes. For the most part, you should just ignore them and let them get on with it until they grow out of it and start being nice to you again (usually when they’re old enough to move out and they need money). But what if you wanted to plan them a surprise party for their birthday? Even though they’re a bit of a pain at the moment, they’re still your kid and you want them to enjoy their birthday. Some parents would tell you that you’re crazy trying to plan a birthday party for your teenager because anything that you do will inevitably be uncool and embarrassing and they’ll hate you for it. That is a big risk, but if you follow these simple tips, you might just be able to pull it off.
Ask Their Friends
You might think that you’re pretty cool, that you know what kids are into these days. Well, you don’t. You’re just delusional. No parent in the history of parenting has ever really understood what teenagers think is cool. That’s why you need the help of another teenager if you’re going to make this party a hit. Ask one of their close friends to help you out. That way, you can be sure that whatever you come up with will actually go down well and your party won’t be a flop. You’ll need help with the guest list as well because the politics of being a teenager can get incredibly complicated and you probably won’t know who’s mad at who right now. Your kids grow up fast and they change a lot along the way so the people that were friends a year ago might not necessarily be friends now. If you invite the wrong people, things will quickly get awkward so leave the guest list to somebody that you know they’re friends with.
Plenty Of Entertainment
Teenagers get bored in seconds so if there isn’t plenty of entertainment on for them, they’ll quickly declare the party a failure and you’ll carry on in your role of uncool parent. Try looking for some local live bands for hire and get them to come and play. Or you could set up some games for them to play, just be very careful here because you don’t want anything too childish.
Leave Them Alone
This is absolutely the most important part. Even if the party is a big hit and they’re secretly really thankful for it, they’re never going to let on to their friends that they actually like their parents. They’ll do as they always do and wish you weren’t around. That’s why it’s important that you give them space when the party is going on. Teenagers hate having parents around, watching over them while they’re trying to have fun. If you’re there all night then the party will be a failure.
Planning a party for a teenager that they don’t hate is a tall order, but if you follow this advice, it can be done.