18th Birthday Party - Ideas?

[MySweetPrince]

DD will be 18 in Nov........at the beginning of the year I asked her if she would like a party and the answer was no. Fast Forward 6 months and she now decides she would like to celebrate in some way...trouble is a lot of the halls will not cater for 18ths because of previous trouble,we could hire a hall but would have to supply the booze which would be expensive.....anyone organised an 18th and any tips for a memorable, trouble free evening?

[ruckyrunt]

Rugby Clubs' often have a club house and are happy to hire out for party's as they get an income - plus they are used to rowdy players in the bar

disco and do a hot food with hot rice - another advantage of a rugby club house is the usually have a small kitchen for meals after the games

[mumblechum]

Does it have to be a big party? How about a nice dinner for maybe 15 or so?

[iwastooearlytobeayummymummy]

DD1 had a dinner party for about 18 friends, and it was very successful, although squashed.
Dh and i stayed upstairs and provided some wine and made beef bourgignon.DD did other stuff,and most of her friends crashed here for the night
For DD2 we did a cocktail party at home, with DH 'tending the bar' and mixing the drinks He had 4 or 5 recipes to hand as he was in chrge of the bar we could make sure nobody got totally plastered especially as all of DDs friends were still 17 at the time.For food I was going to do something sophisticated, but instead ordered in pizzas which went really well.she had about 20 people over
On both occassions they guests had a really good time and appreciated doing something a little more 'grown up' , keeping it small also worked well.
good luck

[hettyhoover]

How about dinner at a nice restaurant for a few friends (number depending on how much you are willing to spend!)? It can be quite fun for them to get a bit dressed up and go out. Or could she just have a larger party at home? Strictly invitation only though, and make sure it's not advertised on Facebook. People would bring their own drink to that so no need for you to supply it all.

If you do want to hire a room/hall, how about local hotels or pubs? IME can be quite expensive but they would probably have a bar there so again you wouldn't have to buy the booze.

[lazymumofteenagesons]

clubs are not always keen on 18th parties because quite a few will still be 17 and this causes them a problem with alcohol.

DS1 went to quite a few small but extravagant dinners where the restaurants didn't seem to mind what age they were and then those that wanted went onto a club after.

[larry5]

Dd will be 18 in 3 weeks time and we are having a dinner party at a local pub restaurant for 11 - 6 family and 5 friends.

On her actual birthday she wants to have a picnic at a local beauty spot with her boyfriend and dh and I. If it rains we will have the picnic sitting on the floor in the living room - as we used to do when she was little and had been promised a day out but the weather was bad!

[brimfull]

dd had a party at home
cocktails etc
70-80 kids and we had a few friends
it was on NYE
everyone had a fab time

I think at 18 they are old enough not to be embarassed about having adults there and that helps to keep them in control

[MySweetPrince]

Thank-you all! We are going for the restaurant option with about 16 close friends...then those that want to can go on to the night club - 10 mins walk - and meet up with other friends and they can party on without adults. Have said that they can crash at our house when the evenings over.She very pleased with this idea,smiles all round.

[SouthDevonDelight]

Obviously too late with this suggestion, but my daughter is 18 in a couple of weeks and said she didn't want the usual party in hired hall etc. After brainstorming session, we came up with hiring a narrowboat for the day and taking 12 friends for lazy trip + picnic (just hope the weather holds!)

In the evening they're "glamming up" and going to local pub and maybe on to a city club later.