Planning A Sweet Sixteen...

What to do first? Make an invitation list, find a place that holds the appropriate number of guests, hire a caterer (if one doesn't come with your party room), hire a DJ, decide on the theme, choose invitations and come up with decorations and party favors.

Another important aspect to a Sweet Sixteen party has become the candle lighting ceremony. What is it? A candle lighting ceremony is a way to honor those guests that have made a difference in the celebrant's life. The traditional way to arrange a candle lighting ceremony is to do the following:

* Pick the most important 16 people in your life that are attending the party; people who have influenced you while growing up. If relatives and friends are invited, this list should include all grandparents, siblings and parents (or extended family). The list would then move on to important aunts and uncles, cousins, other family and friends. If it's just friends, the list should be considered carefully since you don't want anyone's feelings to be hurt. After all, 16-year-old girls are very, very sensitive!

* Now comes the hardest part. Part of the ceremony is saying a little something about each person as you introduce them and call them up to light a candle. Thus, you have to write a paragraph or two about each, you may want to make it a poem, you may want to tell a favorite story or anecdote about something that happened to you, or you may want to mention your favorite thing(s) about that person (like Grandma's meatloaf or what it's like when your Mom and you go shopping).

A word to the wise--do not go on too long or your guests will be bored and fidgeting while you are trying to pull this off. So keep it short and to the point, but entertaining if you can.

Sometimes people do unique things instead of using candles. For instance, they may go to a sign company and have a puzzle made. Then each person puts up a piece of the puzzle. When the puzzle is finally done, it has message like "Happy Birthday," or it's a picture of you as a baby or even now. There are all sorts of creative things you can do.

* Finally, if you are using candles, you need to make sure that you tell the venue to have a table available to set them up. You need to buy the candles; they can be tapes, they can be ball-shaped or they can be creative representing one of your favorite things (like rose-shaped candles). Go to a local candle store and you'll see what they have available...it's amazing!

* Schedule the ceremony at the beginning of the evening; otherwise, it's an excuse for your guests to sneak out early! Do it before dinner is served or between dinner and dessert. Make sure to tell the DJ beforehand so they can work it into their evening schedule.

So, now you have the basics for a great party. Happy Planning & Happy Sweet Sixteen!!!

Article by The Party Girl