Have you hosted an 18th birthday party?

[petitdonkey]

If so, tips please!!! Dd wants about 60 friends with most of them camping. Dh is stressing about how many adults we need (I think it’s okay to have just the two of us fully focused on them)

im not worried about random extras as we live rurally so only invited people will come (hence the camping over). We have said they don’t need to bring booze as we will provide. Planning on beer, cider and Prosecco. With vodka and mixers later on. Will feed them burgers then a round of pizzas later.

I know these kids and they are all nice. Dd said no one does drugs (a few smoke)

sm I being naive?? I think it will be fine (we have hosted many mixed age parties)

feel free to tell me horror stories but I’d love to hear of some parties going off without a hitch!!

You are a bit naive tbh!

Don't provide spirits as someone will drink loads and could get properly ill.

You may well get extras as they will have driving licences and be able to get to yours if they hear about it.

Roll out the booze slowly- don't put it all out at once as some of them will massively overdo it. Presumably some attendees will be barely 17 and may be overexcited.

We only had beer and Prosecco at my DD's party and had a 25% vomiter rate. So that will be 12 people sick. If it is like the party my DD went to at the weekend 15% will be sick.

They will bring booze even if you tell them not to. Same goes for weed. Someone will bring it for sure.

You need more than 2 adults tbh. 60 kids is a lot and they won't all behave well when drunk. Boys tend to get a bit fighty in some cases. Sorry!

(And don't forget the soft drinks, as well as making sure people have food throughout, and you have adequate loo provision). Set a leaving time in the morning unless you want stragglers into the afternoon.

Oh my word you are being incredibly naive. Or maybe you want to be cool.

I agree you need more adults, you need to be really careful with anyone under 18, you shouldn't offer spirits.

im not worried about random extras
Dd said no one does drugs

Not done a party but you don't know how they will behave no matter how much you think you know them...
My extremely health conscious anti drinking sensible teen got really drunk at his own prom and I had to collect him and listen out all night in case he was sick and choked on it. Completely unexpected because his gf had dumped him just before prom and it upset him.
So you just don't know how teenagers will behave. You can ring the parents though and get them to collect if needed. 2 separate people contacted me and I was very grateful to get him home safely.

Absolutely not! I used to work at a wedding venue and they refused 18th parties and with good reason. The kids drink too much and most will be underage (your child must be one of the oldest in the year group), they will smuggle booze and drugs in, some will be sick (are you prepared to clean up the toilets etc?), they aren't organised and don't book taxis home in advance etc so you'll end up being responsible for getting them home, and some get absolutely paralytic. I wouldn't want the responsibility of 60 children. I think you'd need lots more adults. And lots of food to soak up the booze. Good luck!

I wouldn't want the responsibility of 60 children. This is the key thing.

If anything happens on your premises, you are going to have to answer for it. You are effectively running a moderately-sized hospitality venue, and allowing underage children to consume alcohol and drugs.

We had 50 last weekend for an 18th (although not sleeping over). It was fine, they drink loads but it was perfectly manageable with two of us “supervising” (aka sitting in the kitchen trying to watch a movie over the noise)

most of them camping
Boys and girls?

I hosted an 18th in a bar in London. Food, booze, pretty much an open bar (within reason: spirits and cocktails, but no double/triple measures and no shots), cake, DJ etc. They all got a bit pissed but nobody was sick or destructive, and nobody fought. Kids can be idiots but most of them are fine; just make sure there's lots of food and lots of soft drinks alongside the booze. What are they going to do all night outdoors though - bonfire? Entertainment? Is the party in a field or in your garden?

60 kids and camping?! Fuck me you're brave 😬

In a bar is so different - presumably they asked for ID before serving drinks and had professional staff on hand to deal with problems. Plus people tend not to be so brave about taking drugs in bars as at private parties.

Parties here have always been fine. They've been very respectful and tidied up, put out the recycling and washed the floor! ( no carpets) My 18 year old was sick and friends had done their best to clean it up. We've never had 60 people though, just a regular gang.

We provided beers, cider and soft drinks and assumed they bring anything stronger, also provided lots of easy food, crisps, pizza etc

60!!!

Honestly, you can’t possibly think you can keep an eye on things with that many. Particularly if you are rural, and someone wonders off etc.

I would suggest to your daughter, that she reduce to 30.

If things go well, let her have as many as she wants for her 21st!

We've never had a problem, but parties at home are limited to 25. Over that and they hire the village hall. If it's outside the house then no adults supervise, they organise it themselves.

Why would she need to worry about someone "wandering off"? They are not 3.

I had 60 at ds's. More adults at start, but they left by 11pm. So, just me, a very pissed ex husband and 60 teens.

It was fine. House was a tip, and we lost some garden furniture, but rest was fine.

I set up.camp outside the loo, and kept an eye, but no one got too ill tbh. Worse person was my thrn husband (now my ex).

My concern would be monitoring those who have got really drunk and go back to their tent. How will you know if they are choking on their own vomit?

No….but likely to be very drunk

No idea why MNHQ is hiding my pleasant experience of my DD1’s birthday party - weird!

Personally we told them to make sure the house was tidy after .. £3 charge to each attendee to pay for clear up...!we booked an airbnb and left them to it ..

House has never been so clean . They can have a party every week !

I’ll try again (in case MNHQ doesn’t release my original post). My ExH and his other half recently hosted DD1’s 18th.

it was festival themed as the kids had recently gone to the Reading Festival and they got loads of accessories from a well known reasonably priced website (think flags and wrist bands etc).

The kids had a cocktail/mocktail on arrival but beyond that it was ‘bring a bottle’.

The kids were amazing, tidied up after themselves, no one got leathered and it was a lovely evening.

We had a festival party , had four complete sober adults and we needed it . One drunk girls so bad we had to call her mother . We had portaloos , a marquee, silent disco and beer keg and some Prosecco . ( it was a joint party for 3 so good budget ) Had a photo booth and we did a bbq from Costco . It was a really great party but we were exhausted, it's a lot of responsibility

And we did have some wanderers- tried to ride a cow ( they were stopped but most indignant )

That's a lot. If you had to take one to A&E you'd only have one in charge. I've known that happen.