Teenage birthday party ideas start with consulting the teen herself. Teens want and need a say in the party planning. Start by setting guidelines, and then find a theme.

Teenage Birthday Party Guidelines
The guidelines can make figuring out the theme much easier. Guideline topics are these: budget, number of guests, co-ed or same-gender, additional chaperones needed or not, party location, party duration, professional entertainment hired or not. Once you know these parameters, you can choose a themed party that fits into them.

Co-ed Birthday Party Theme Ideas
Murder Mystery Party: No need to hire actors: The guests take on roles and solve the mystery. Murder mystery games are easy to find and inexpensive to purchase. They come with everything you need. Just supply food for the eating portions of the game. The teens can basically run it themselves if they have everything.

Game Party: Set up tables with munchies, and get the TV with Nintendo or Wii ready to run a selection of games. You can have the teens bring their favorite games over and provide a few of your own. Games that appeal to teens could include Party Pooper, Apples to Apples, Cranium and Scene It. Card games that teens like include Killer Bunnies. As for food, stick to munchies like pizza, wings and soda, and don’t forget about the birthday cake.

Psychic Party: Hire a psychic to do Tarot readings or a hypnotist for a short show. Let the teens bring and play their favorite music, keep lights low and burn incense. Let everyone have a reading, mingle, socialize and eat a big sub sandwich, snacks, punch and ice cream cake.

Teen Girl Party Theme Ideas
Sleepover Birthday Party: Sometimes it’s great for girls to have a chance to spend the night with their bff’s. A slumber party birthday might be a teen favorite for a teen girl. Slumber parties are pretty low maintenance for parents, too, although there might not be much sleep happening. Rent a bunch of movies, provide favorite snacks, sing Happy Birthday over a great cake and let them stay up late and crash out in the living room in sleeping bags or on the couch.

Spa Birthday Party: Invite the girls to be pampered by hiring a few salon workers to do makeovers, chair massages, nails and hair at your house for an evening. Offer healthy foods like veggies and dip, fresh fruits, crackers and cheese, and finger sandwiches. Serve tea and sparkling water to drink.

Teen Guy Party Theme Ideas
Extreme Sports Party: If the weather is right, go to the park, where there is plenty of room for football, skateboarding, in-line skate ramps or hockey. Let your teen organize this party based on his interests. Serve bbq fare, like burgers, hot dogs, fries, chips and soda. Be sure that safety precautions are followed and that each guest has the appropriate safety equipment, such as helmets and kneepads. Extra adult chaperones are encouraged.