How to Plan a Winter Birthday Party (For Teens)

Co-authored by Natasha Miller

Last Updated: October 4, 2021 References

Your teenage birthday party should be full of friends, good food, and great activities. Even though your birthday is in the winter, you still have plenty of options for your birthday. Create fun indoor activities or plan winter outdoor activities like sledding or gathering around a bonfire.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Planning Fun Winter Birthday Party Activities

1
Choose a venue.^{[1]
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Research source} Unless you’re having your entire party at home, you’ll want to have a great winter-friendly place to celebrate. Depending upon where you live, you have a variety of options for places to host your birthday party. When choosing your venue, keep your budget and number of party guests in mind. Possible winter party venues include:
- A bowling alley
- An arcade
- A restaurant
- A movie theatre
- A dance studio
- An indoor pool
- A studio with classes (e.g. ceramics painting or dancing)
- An indoor or outdoor ice-skating rink
- A local museum that hosts parties
2
Plan activities based around your party theme.^{[2]
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Research source} A great way to get inspiration for winter birthday party activities is to think first about what you want your theme to be. Then, you can think of activities that go well with your theme. Some examples of themes with corresponding activities include:
- “Art Party”: Create drawings, paintings, and sculptures. You can even host a contest, choose judges, and have small prizes for the winners. Consider also making something the party guest will use, like a painted tote bag or t-shirt.
- “Nostalgic Disney Party”: Every one loves remember their favorite classic Disney movies. Play Disney Scene It! and trivia, and marathon watch old Disney movies.
- “Winter Wonderland”: If you live somewhere snowy, take advantage of it. Go sledding and have a snowman-building contest. You can even try to build a fort from snow. Just make sure all your guests bring their snow gear.
- “Baking Party”: Use premade cakes or cookies, and let everyone decorate their own with icing, fondant, and sprinkles. Watch shows like Cake Boss to inspire your sweet creations.
- “Dance Competition”: Put on some music, and see who can come up with the best moves. Play dancing games on your Xbox or Wii, if you have one, to make it a bit more structured. Watch and comment on dancing shows like Dance Moms, So You Think You Can Dance, or Dancing with the Stars, when you get tired of dancing yourself.
- “Indoor Scavenger Hunt”: Scavenger hunts are fun and versatile. Make clues in advance and hide them around the party venue. Break guests up into teams. See who can follow the clues to the hidden prize first.
- “Dreaming of Summer”: Having a sunny indoor party when it’s cold and gray can be a lot of fun. Have beach chairs for your guests to sit on, and let everyone wear flower necklaces. Play summery music, like Jimmy Buffet or the Beach Boys. Turn up the heat, and tell everyone to bring beach clothes. Watch a classic surf movie.
- “Spa Party”: Throw a spa party, and pamper all your guests. Do each other’s nails and hair. Make homemade face masks.^{[3]
  X
  Research source} Light scented candle. Give everyone a gift bag with make up or a sleep mask.
- “Murder Mystery”: Having a murder mystery party can be a great way to make your entire party into a game.^{[4]
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  Research source} You can buy a premade game, download a free one, or make up your own. Give all your guests a character, and send them a small description of that character before the party. Tell them to dress up like the character. Throughout the party, as your characters, you and your guests will have to ask each other questions to determine who the murderer is.
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3
Create a bonfire party. Having a roaring fire is a great way to have an outdoor party even during winter. Pick a spot in your backyard to have your fire, and set up camp chairs around it for your guests. You can roast marshmallows and hot dogs in the fire.
- Keep safety in mind.^{[5]
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  Research source} After you build your fire, make sure your have sand and water on hand to put it out once the party is over.
- Keep a stack of wood handy to stoke the fire during the party.
- Provide blankets. Even though you’ll have a fire, it can be nice to have a bunch of wool blankets on hand to keep your guests comfortable. If you don’t have enough blankets, ask the party guests to bring their own.
- If you know someone who plays guitar, ask them to bring their guitar so they can play songs around the fire.
4
Create your own cinema.^{[6]
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Research source} No matter the theme of your party, you can always find a related movie or TV show to watch. This gives everyone a chance to relax. Creating a cinema experience makes watching a movie feel more like a party.
- Hang up a white sheet on an empty wall. Borrow a projector to project a movie up onto the sheet, as an inexpensive movie screen. Cozy up the movie area with lots of pillows and blankets. If you live in an area with mild winters, you can even have an outdoor movie, complete with lots of blankets and maybe even a campfire.
- Make popcorn, and serve boxed candy, just like the movie theatre. Let everyone know what movie you’re showing when you invite them to the party.
- Have a marathon. Consider making a night of it, and watching all the movies in a series.
5
Play board games.^{[7]
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Research source} Board games are a great option for any home party. They are inexpensive, and provide hours of entertainment. You can even have prizes for the winners.
- Play classic board games like Monopoly, Sorry, Life or Risk.
- Choose more interactive, creative board games like Balderdash or Cranium.
- When choosing board games, make sure you choose games that all your guests can play at once, or have different game stations.
- Consider also playing party games like Never Have I Ever, Musical Chairs, Charades, or Two Truths and a Lie along with your board games. Many games like this also have board game versions.^{[8]
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  Research source}

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Setting Up a Winter Party at Home

1
Decide how many people to invite.^{[9]
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Research source}^{[10]
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Research source} When you begin to plan your birthday party, you want to start thinking of who you’d like to invite and how many people will be your limit.
- Don’t feel obligated to invite people you don’t know very well. You want to feel comfortable, and it’s okay to only invite your close friends to your party.
- Sometimes fewer people is better. Think about the amount of space you have and how many people can comfortably fit. Also, take into account whether you’ll be driving anywhere and whether or not you want to have a sleepover.
- Anywhere between 5 and 15 people is normal for a teenage birthday party, but the number is ultimately up to you. You might only be comfortable with having your two best friends over, or you might have 20 people you really want to invite. Ask your parents what they are comfortable accommodating.
2
Pick a length of time for your party. Giving your party a time helps your guests know what to expect. Also, how long the party will last will determine how much food you need and how many guests you want to invite.
- Try to have your party on a weekend so that more people will be able to come. If your party is a sleepover, think about when you want your guests to arrive and when you’d like them to leave the next day.
- Consider your activities. For example, if you want to have a bonfire, you want your party to occur in the evening when it’s getting dark.
3
Pick a party theme.^{[11]
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Research source} Having a theme can help you plan your invitations, decorations, and food. For a winter party, your theme might just be a winter wonderland. You could plan to decorate with snowflakes and have cozy, comfort foods. Other possible wintertime themes could be:
- A camping and bonfire theme
- A movie-based theme (e.g. Harry Potter)
- A combined birthday and holiday party
- A sports watching party (e.g. hockey)
4
Make and send party invitations.^{[12]
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Research source} Invitations are fun way to make your party feel more special and build the anticipation. You can use programs like Microsoft Word or PowerPoint to make your own invitations, hand write your invitations, or buy premade invitations.
- Either mail your invitations, or give them to your friends in person.
- Make sure the invitations include the date and time of the party, the location of the party, and how the guest can RSVP. Also include if the guests needs to bring anything. For example, if it’s a sleepover, let them know if they should bring a blanket or pillow.
- If you don’t want to send physical invitations, you can use Facebook to make an event for your party.^{[13]
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  Research source} All your friends can RSVP through the event page and ask you questions about the party.
5
Decorate for your winter birthday party.^{[14]
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Research source} Even if you don’t want to go all out, a little bit of decoration can make your party feel festive and thought-out.
- Pick a few colors to based your decorations around. For example, if your party has a seasonal winter theme, silver, white, and blue are good colors to decorate with.
- Get a tablecloth for the table you’ll put food on, and get some balloons for the main party room. You can also add streamers or tinsel.
- Make a birthday banner with some ribbon, cardstock, and a marker.^{[15]
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- Before the party, it can be fun to invite over one or two of your close friends to help you decorate and set up.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Making Winter Party Food

1
Serve warm drinks. A winter party is the ideal time to have warm comfort foods and drinks. Hot chocolate can be a great winter party beverage that most people enjoy.
- To make it more festive, have a hot chocolate bar.^{[16]
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  Research source} On a table, set up hot chocolate with plenty of toppings for your guests to choose from. You can have whipped cream, chocolate chips, sprinkles, crushed cookies, and peppermint stirring sticks.
- In addition to hot chocolate, you can also serve warm apple cider. Set your drinks out with an assortment of mugs for your guests to choose from.
2
Make finger foods.^{[17]
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Research source} Whether or not your party falls around a meal time, it’s good to have snack types foods.
- Pizza is a great finger food that can be a meal or a snack. You can also serve breadsticks or pizza dough pretzels in addition.
- Serve different kinds of dips, like onion dip or hummus, with chips and pretzels.
- For a healthier snack, set out cut fruit and vegetables on a platter.
- If you're trying to socially distance, offer individual food servings or hand out pre-packaged food.^{[18]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Natasha Miller
  Event Planner & CEO, Entire Productions
  Expert Interview. 20 April 2021.}
3
Create a buildable dish. This allows your guests with various dietary preferences or allergies to all find something that they like. For example, nachos are a great party dish. You can serve all the topping in bowls along a table, and allow your guests to build their own. Other dishes like this include:
- Salads
- Sandwiches
- Burgers and vegetable burgers
- Rice bowls
- Tacos
- Personal pizza
- Spaghetti
4
Consider the cake. For your birthday, you’ll want to have some type of sweet confection to celebrate with. You can go with a traditional decorated cake or cupcakes, or you can choose another type of dessert.^{[19]
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Research source} Some alternatives to traditional cake include:
- Cheesecake
- Ice cream cake
- A cake made from donuts
- A cookie cake or platter
- Pie
- Brownies

Expert Q&A

Question

What is the best way to throw a birthday party?

Natasha Miller
Event Planner & CEO, Entire Productions
Natasha Miller is an Event Planner, Chief Experience Designer, and President of Entire Productions, an event and entertainment production company based in San Francisco, California. Notable clients Natasha has collaborated with include Apple, Google, Gap, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., and Salesforce. Natasha and Entire Productions has been awarded Inc. 5,000's "Fastest Growing Companies in America", Entrepreneur Magazine's 360 List of "Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America." Entire Productions is also a Certified Women Business Enterprise. Natasha is a member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI).

Natasha Miller

Event Planner & CEO, Entire Productions

Expert Answer

Schedule plenty of games to play! If you're concerned about social distancing, games like charades are a great option. You might also enjoy "Heads Up," which is a party game for your phone. BINGO has also made a huge comeback.
Question

What would be a good movie to impress everyone (including boys) that's PG or PG-13?

Community Answer

Personally, I think Marvel movies are good for that because they have the perfect mix of romance and action.
Question

What if there's only 2 people who can come to my birthday party can we still have fun?

Community Answer

Of course! Plan some activities that are fun for just a few people, maybe watch one of your favorite movies, or play a card or board game that you like. These activities are actually more difficult with a bigger group.

Warnings

Get people to RSVP well in advance if you are booking a venue.

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Be sure to clear all your party plans with your parents first.

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