Throwing a Surprise Party for a Teenager

Surprise parties are the most difficult party to plan. My oldest daughter loves to celebrate her birthday. Every year she expects something spectacular to take place. I decided to plan a surprise party to celebrate her 21st birthday. I told her I would be out of town on business for her birthday, so we would have to celebrate when I returned the following week. I could tell she was disappointed, but I knew the surprise would be well worth the effort. Every time she brought up what her birthday plans would be I kept playing it down. The closer it got to the date, the more difficult it was to keep the secret.

I had to enlist her brothers assistance to keep her attention diverted, below are some of the challenges to be overcome when planning a surprise party for a teen:

• Recon. Choose a location for the party. Take a look at parking. Cars will need to be hidden so the surprise isn't blown. Research all entrances to the building. Make a plan for which entrance guests will enter versus the one that will be used by family.
• Secrets. If additional resources are needed for planning only enlist family and friends that can be trusted with a secret. Teens can be crafty and if they get a whiff of mystery in the air, they will pull out all stops to get to the bottom of it.
• Execution. Meet with all of the guests prior to the party starting. Go over any details of the plan to insure the surprise goes off without a hitch. Provide clear instructions for the person delivering the guest of honor to the party.

The primary thing to keep in mind is that good planning is the key to success. Here are some ideas to help with your planning:

• Insure invitations are marked "surprise." Provide reasons they are not available if the guest of honor invites them out that evening.
• Do not suggest an activity that would raise suspicion.
• Keep your behavior cool and regular.
• Plan to arrive thirty minutes later than all of the guests to avoid running into anyone on the way in.
• Have guests or vendors leave messages on a cell phone rather than the family answering machine.

Paying close attention to details will be the keys to success. Use on-line party planning tools to manage your to-do list and RSVPs. Keep it simple, the fewer details to manage the easier it will be to keep the surprise. Having a photographer poised to catch the surprise will preserve the memory forever.