To ask your top tips for a 16 year old's party - this Saturday!!!

[loveyouradvice]

Hi... I've been so chilled about this... so much else going on from GCSEs to work commitments and sick mother ....

But I've suddenly realised I do have 70-80 teenagers turning up at our house to party on Saturday night...

DD has bought disco lights - a mate has done playlist - we're ordering range of beer and cider (and champagne for midnight when it actually turns into her birthday) with not much to munch on beyond crisps, popcorn and sweets and guacamole/hummous.... we're putting away anything breakable and covering the downstairs loo floor as we've been warned by DD and her mates that it "could get really manky".

She's lined up 4 mates to be the "bouncers" if there is any trouble ..and laughingly said all her male mates are small or tall and gentle but the two girls are pretty feisty!

We have guest list - and I'm allowed to be on the door for the first hour and then instructions to vanish so DH and I will be watching telly upstairs - and occasionally glancing out of window to see what actually is going on!

Oh and she's said we should put a "Private" sign half way up the stairs but be a bit relaxed so that only her closest mates go up to first floor. Luckily we have bizarre outside loo (70s decor!!) as well as inside one so should be enough.

They are basically nice kids... but they are 16 and demob happy after exams! And I know some of them are quite capable of getting slaughtered though DD is pretty moderate in her drinking and feeling very responsible.... but she isn't one of the feisty girls, much gentler.

So..... what are your top tips? What have I missed? What do you wish you had known before hosting teens at home?

Perhaps the OP has been so traumatised she can't update or has been celebrating the success of the party

Or p'raps her day is entirely taken up, feeding the unicorns in the paddock.

Face it, op has gone, she ain’t coming back. Her username in the first instance implied it was a one off question, to be changed next time she wants to go on MN.
Frustrating I know but there it is.
We will never know what happened

That’s the magic of MN, she could have been joining in with all the comments and we would be none the wiser!

I’m just really glad the party didn’t end up being near me 😂

Oh FFS. I can't do emojis as am on an ancient computer. But I hope nobody is right. I want to hear from the OP, and will not gloat, because I am one of many who has been there.

Hi all... so sorry not to have been back earlier! Yup, birthday celebrations and 10 very sweet teenagers semi-competently tidying house while complaining it was too hot took over the day. Then putting feet up with DH for a bit of TV...Both of us absolutely shattered!

So an update.... the thing they drank most of was iced water!!! And yes the humous was eaten ....

No really ... above is true but I think it would have been horrendous if the weather had been different. They were all outside or in the kitchen dancing, so our carefully-covered furniture and floors scarcely got a look in. And we did find two university students to be on the door and mooch around checking up throughout the party, with ourselves obviously present beginning and end and checking occasionally, but mainly unobtrusive and doing it through the students..

DD proved remarkably savvy about guests and drinking - She put out not too much booze, more in the fridge and extra in a food cupboard. I really didn't think this would work but DH reports finding tipsy teenagers opening the fridge looking for booze and triumphantly bringing out - a bottle of olives! Only the more sober then looked (and found) any of the extra. So very savvy rationing which bizarrely worked. We had beer and cider left over.

And we constantly topped up the big jugs of iced water everywhere, made sure lots of soft drinks around and consciously didn't put out more booze.....

Vomit buckets weren't used - just 4 gatecrashers....

Three or four teens clearly had more than they were used to, but the rest I think weren't drinking massively as they're beginning to know their limits. And very sweetly they really do look out for each other and know what to do when one of them has had too much.... only one vomitted, rather gracefully into a flowerbed.

Yes booze was smuggled in, but not massive amounts - 3 vodka, 2 wine, 1 rum.... and only a banana and a Kitkat raided from our stores. Kitchen floor unbelievably tacky underfoot today but cleaned by enthusiastic teens.

I think we got away lightly....I'm hugely grateful for the great advice on here... and am looking forward to slightly smaller parties in future. Getting the house ready was a HUGE effort... which of course none of them realise.

Don't think we are going ti hear back, are we ?

Brilliant update! Well done op

How many turned up in the end??

Take my hat off to you OP! Thanks so much for letting us know! So glad all went well🤗

I was very sceptical, given my experiences with my lot and their friends - but so happy it was all ok, OP. You have done a marvellous job, and thank you for coming back to update,

Fantastic! So glad you survived!!!

Wow. You can do it all again next weekend.

I don't believe a word of the update

Over 80.....and nope, won't be doing it again for a while.... very glad that DD thought organising such a big party was stressful (!) and is planning to have smaller "get togethers" in the future.... 12-20 at a time I can handle... in fact, leave it pretty much to her (with mates tidying up)....

I do realise how lucky we were... and don't fancy chancing it again for at least two years.

You loveyouradvice are a bloody star! Sooo very glad all went well and a big high for coming back to face the mob! You sound like a very lovely mum! Respect!

80 plus 16 year olds who mostly drank iced water and ate hummous. It would make you believe in the human race again.

I'm so pleased! Teenagers are becoming boringly sensible the evidence seems to suggest. You can be properly smug now and you've taken your turn.

If you don't have teenagers you won't understand.. They are rebelling against parents, so we drink smoke dance. And so they go the other way.... Mine love a meal out with friends and anyone in the group who smokes, is subject to 20 friends worried about lung cancer..

Love that logic mummmy! Have you considered taking up hard drugs too, just for good measure ?

Glad things went as well as they could op! Also glad your dd isn’t up for a repeat performance.

Teens love to rebel. We're fairly chilled with our teen daughters (we were big party people) and so far they have rebelled by being incredibly sensible and mature. The last party DD had comprised of about a dozen 15 year olds cooking a slap up, sit down dinner and she begged to use my best crockery. She has morphed into my mother!

Other DD (14) met a friend for a sushi lunch yesterday then they watched a French subtitled film at our independent cinema.

Aw confusssed, your dc sounds fab! Love it. Praying mine are sensible too when they grow up... I’d better make sure I’m extra badly behaved when they’re pre-teens.

Oh sorry dcs not dc.