Valentine Party and Craft Tips for Tweens

QUESTIONS:
Where are you going to have the party?
How many will be invited?
What type of invitations will you send?
What games will you play?
What day and time will you have your party?
What food and prizes will you have.
Who will be involved in planning and work details?
Who will be involved in clean up?
What is your budget allowance?
Who will provide the leadership?

So many questions.

"I just want to have a party and I know we can work it all out" they say to you. Now is the time for good conversation.

Take time to chat with your twees about hosting a successful party.
Yes, they must be willing to follow through. Then ask them to think about the above questions. If they can provide you with some good suggestions, they'll likely host a fun party. Assure them that you or another adult will want to know the plans and will be present at all times during the party. Tweens can get loud, out-of-hand or downright nasty but they love to socialize and party. Also mention after party clean up.

Plan for more events than they think they will need.
Every party turns out different. You never know when a game or craft will be completed quickly or will be so much fun and go on forever.

Invite only as many as will comfortably fit your party space.
This is especially important if you have a small space and plan to do crafts or certain games. It's also important for group control.

Invitations.
Do not pass them out at school or talk about the party at school if only a select few are invited. No one wants to be the one left out.

Invitations can be found on line for a variety of parties or simply make your own. Some invitations can be very costly when purchased or home made. However, if that's your choice, it may be possible to cut costs elsewhere.
Homemade, evite or downloaded valentines are very appropriate for a valentine event.

Valentines themes Are Easy.
Red and white and pinks are likely color themes, as are hearts and flowers and pets. You could simply dangle hearts from the ceiling, cut out rows of hearts to hang in the party area or have a big valentine person to greet your friends.

Games and crafts should be applicable to age, personalities, budget and numbers.
Games/crafts could include making and/or decorating cupcakes and cookies. A variety of frosting colors, sprinkles and candies can easily be accumulated for everyone's use.

A fun valentine cupcake can be easily made by rolling up a small ball of foil and inserting it between the pan and the cupcake liner to form a heart. Chocolate covered strawberries are fun, easy for tweens to make and so tasty. Some adult supervision is great.

Another fun thing for your party is to have large pieces of cardboard and heart traceables available. The tweens could cut out heart frames and have their close-up pictures taken within those large strong frames. Then, put into small photo frames to take home. Or the pictures could be used in the thank you notes.

According to the current trends of your tweens, jewelry is always a hit. Purchase supplies at a craft store, on line or even at the dollar stores and both boys and girls will enjoy crafting items for themselves or others.

Scavenger hunts can be exciting and fun. Be sure they are well thought out. especially if you have several teams and smaller spaces.

Relays are always competitive and small prizes are great rewards. Examples of tween prizes could be bags of candy hearts, one chocolate heart, rice krispie treat - heart shaped or perhaps heart pencils or sports items.

Just about everyone loves music - tweens included - so a "valentine walk" type of game or just having a musical background will be appreciated. Look around for "prizes" from something that you already have on hand.

Beware:
Red drinks are pretty, but beware if you're serving in a living area. Red stains are almost impossible to remove. A pink punch could work out better. Subs, crackers-cheese-fruit, veggie or fruit pizza are great suggestions to include in your food menu.

Party hours:
Be sure other parents know when party begins and will end. Having to wait on belated parents can cause problems for you or the tween.

Reinforce any rules:
If you are holding the party at a restaurant or other place of business, revisit rules to your tweens just prior to the party. Understand exactly what you can do and what is not available or allowed. Instruct tweens as to their behavior and relay what is available for them.

Note to adult:
A couple hours is probably the maximum length to schedule the party. Have fun, and if someone seems a little left behind, have them help you in some way. You want everyone to have a good time and feel comfortable.

Thank you.
Even if no gifts are received, it's great for a hostess to send a thank you to her friends. This could easily be done by email.