Sweet 16 DIY Birthday Party Favors

Here are four clever ideas for a Sweet 16 party favor that won't be labeled as "so 5 minutes ago". Girls can be tough customers when it comes to what's popular, chic, and in style. You'll have them showing off their party favors for months... okay, weeks... if you take advantage of these fashionable ideas for the Sweet 16 crowd.

Photo coasters

Photo coasters can serve a variety of functions and be one of those items your guests will enjoy every day. They can be purchased for around $1 each in many styles to suit the theme of the Sweet 16 party. Start off by using the coasters as place card holders. Be as simple or fancy as you like when choosing the paper and fonts to print the guests' names yourself. Have a photographer available for guests to have their photo taken with the birthday girl and exchanged with the place card at some point during the party. Be sure to have an extra ink cartridge on hand.

Friendship phone charms, bracelets, and necklaces

Putting together a personalized phone charm using alphabet beads is a unique favor and can be adapted to the party theme. Use the birthday girl's name, or simply spell out "friends" or "sweet 16". The design is totally up to you. Having the girls each put together their own phone charm can be a great party activity and each girl will end up with her idea of a perfect favor. Have bowls of different beads: alphabet, butterflies, flowers, hearts, feathers, etc. and plenty of cord in different colors to choose from. If the girls are more into friendship bracelets or necklaces, those can be made with the same kinds of beads as the phone charms, but there are also novelty items to add, such as shells or river rock.

Paint your own ceramics

If you have a paint-your-own ceramics shop in your area, this is definitely worth looking into for either a favor idea or a group activity. Pick the pottery piece you want, which could be a plate, plant holder, bowl, or any shaped pottery piece in the shop selection. Choose the glaze you want to use, paint your selection and use special paint bottles to write something on your favor or to make little designs. The shop will fire the painted favors and you can pick them up another day.

Potted plant or terrarium

Choose the size pot or glass terrarium that's appropriate and fill it with your favorite flower or plant. Terrariums have the added flexibility of using party theme trinkets, such as sea shells or small figurines to add color and interest. The girls will love having a green gift to put in their room, take care of, and watch grow. The pot or terrarium you use can be decorated with stickers or paints, and the event and date can be easily added with paint pens. The materials can be found in craft stores and the plants can be picked out from huge selections at garden centers.

What you need:

• Glass containers (They don't need to match.)
• Covers for containers (Use a pretty plate if you don't have a lid.)
• Gravel or stones for drainage (Use colored gravel from a craft store if you want)
• Potting Soil
• Activated charcoal (available at aquarium/pet stores)
• Plants
• Decorations (shells, rocks, or figurines)

Layer the ingredients in the following order, starting at the bottom - gravel/stones, activated charcoal, potting soil, plants. Sprinkle with a little water and cover with the plate or lid. Care: Water about every 4 weeks and put somewhere it gets the right amount of light for the plants you use.

Click here for plants that are recommended for terrariums that you might want to choose from before going to the garden center.