21st Birthday Party Ideas: Invitations, Cakes and Drinks

When you reach your 21st birthday, you've reached an important milestone. You've become a full fledged adult with the right to vote and the right to drink. So if you're planning a birthday party for the 21st birthday of a friend or family member, you'll want to plan a very memorable bash. But it's important not to go overboard with things like alcohol and lascivious entertainment. Instead, skip the hangover and plan some good clean fun that still allows everyone to have a drink or two.

21st Birthday Invitations

You can find all the free 21st birthday party invitations you want online. These include free birthday party invitation templates that let you design the invitations yourself. You can find the best free party invitations and templates on websites such as HooverWebDesign.com and GreetingsIsland.com. Just customize your birthday party invitations with the date, time and place of your party along with RSVP information, and print it out. You can find great 21st birthday sayings and quotes to include on your invitations on sites such as BrainyQuote.com or QuoteGarden.com.

21st Birthday Cake

Whether you're buying a cake or baking your own, the best cake design for a 21st birthday party is a tiered cake. If you're new to making a tiered cake, you can find detailed instructions with pictures on the Wilton.com website. One of the best decorations for your cake is the number 21. You can get a cake topper in the shape of a 21, or draw the number 21 in icing anywhere on the cake that you like. Some people like to put 21s all over the top and the sides of the cake. You could even bake the cake itself in the shape of the number 21. Bake four sheet cake layers, two for the number 2 and two for the number 1. Get paper templates of the numbers 2 and 1, then use them as a guide to carve the sheet cake layers. Frost and decorate the cakes as you would any other layer cake.

You could also use are beer bottles, cans or mugs, champagne bottles or glasses, or other alcohol-related cake decors or toppers as 21st birthday cake decorations. For a man's 21st birthday cake, you could use a cake topper in the shape of a pretty girl. For a woman's 21st birthday cake, decorate the cake with ornate designs and patterns from her favorite fashions. You could also decorate the cake based on the birthday boy or girl's specific interests, such as sports or movies.

21st Birthday Drinks

To keep everyone from getting drunk very quickly, it's best to offer mixed drinks. Get some champagne, some wine and some beer. Also purchase a small quantity of hard liquor such as vodka, rum and whiskey. Make some coffee and have milk, cream or Bailey's Irish Cream available to make Irish coffee. Also have some coffee liqueur on hand to make White Russians. Get some fruit juices to make mimosas and champagne punch. Get some tomato juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt, pepper and celery to make Bloody Marys. Have the birthday guests make their own drinks to slow them down. Also have plenty of non-alcoholic drinks such as sodas, tonic water, tea and hot chocolate. Encourage the birthday boy or girl and the guests to alternate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to keep things under control. You can find alcoholic mixed drink recipes on DrinksMixer.com. There are both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink recipes on AllRecipes.com. Print out the recipes on cards in advance of the 21st birthday party, then place them at the bar for your guests to refer to.

For more ideas, read The Best Free Printable Birthday Party Invitations Online.