13271

Rock n' Roll Sweet 16 - Karaoke Contest

April 2006

Jenny in Portland, Oregon

Honorable Mention

I'm a very wild person, and I want a Sweet 16 just as wild. I love rock n' roll-80s metal, 70s classics, 60s blues, and 50s rock. I dress and act like a Motley Crue refugee. I love Hollywood and glamour. I also love my parents, and don't want to drain their bank account. So I've come up with some inexpensive, fun ideas for a party. I'm planning 4 months ahead of time because I don't want the party to have any major problems and we can prepare gradually. The party is in August. My theme is Hollwood sleaze. This means decadence, glamour, rock n' roll, leather, spandex, silk scarves, and AquaNet hairspray.

In the front of my house, there will be a big banner (made on a computer) that has the Whisky a go-go logo and "Tonite: Jenny's Sweet 16". As invitations, I will take old ticket stubs and scan them onto my computer, then replace all the info with info for my party. I'm inviting at least 30 people, and for each person I will tell them to dress and act like a different movie star or rock star.

Each era and style will be represented (eg: 50s greaser).I've offered to help with people's attire. I'm lucky and have a house on a hill with a good sized covered patio and a big grassy area in my backyard, so I won't have to rent anyplace. There is also a straight path to the patio from my front yard, so I've gotten some cheap red cotton fabric at WalMart and I'll lay it down on the walkway.

For entertainment, instead of a band, I'm making a small plywood stage painted black on the grass and setting up karaoke. A friend is loaning their fog machine and strobe light for "special effects". I will put white X-mas lights around the stage.

For karaoke prizes, I got fake jewelry and cheap sunglasses, and the winner gets a denim jacket I bought at Goodwill and put rhinestones on with a bedazzler that has "Jen's Sweet 16" written on the back with a sharpie (pretty snazzy). In case the karaoke gets too horrible, we'll just listen to music. We also have a TV on our patio, so we can watch This Is Spinal Tap or play 80's music videos.

For decorations, I'll make them: band flyers from Sunset Strip bands (GN'R, Vain, Jetboy, Motley Crue, Poison, etc.) and put them on the wall by the patio. There will also be confetti everywhere. I've arranged a balloon drop under the patio, and the balloons will have a dare written on them. When it gets dark, we'll let the balloons fall and each person has to grab a balloon and complete the dare before they leave the party.

For "snackage", there will be a punch bowl, veggies, cookies, and chips. Around 9, we will have a fabulous (cheap) candlelight dinner. We have card tables, and my friends are bringing some, too, as well as plastic lawn chairs. Since that's pretty drab, I got red tablecloths, a candle for each table, napkins, and plastic wine glasses from the dollar store, paper plates that say "rock n' roll" from Party City, and designed stars like the Hollwood walk of fame for name tags at each seat. Some of the chairs will have feather boas draped over them that I got at the dollar store.

My two brothers, being so nice on my birthday, have agreed to dress as waiters and take people's orders. I printed up little menus that have the choices of steak, pizza, burgers, or hot dogs, and punch, soda, or just water. We'll order pizza and barbeque the rest.

Throughout the party, I'll take pictures with my digital camera, print them out, and glue them onto a piece of construction paper decorated with markers and glitter glue. Those will be party favors, as well as burned CDs in jewel cases with a cover that we will let each person decorate and personalize. Before people leave, we'll do cake and presents.

My mom and I are making a HUGE 7 layer cake and decorating it with red and gold icing, then putting the 1 and 6 candles on top. There will also be cheesecake and ice cream. People will leave around 12, except for a few people who stay the night. My dad has been cool enough to allow girls and guys to stay over, as long as we're seperated, which we've all agreed to.

The people staying the night will help clean up, then we'll set up a tent for each gender. Before bed, we'll do hair and makeup (yes, even on guys lol) and take goofy picture and tell goofy stories and do all the goofy stuff you do at a sleepover. In the morning we'll chow down on whatever's left over and finish cleaning up, then whoever wants can come to the mall and help me spend my money. Bon magnifique!

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