Throw a Rock Star Birthday Party

Tweens love a birthday party that features their favorite pop music stars. These parties are easy to plan and fun to have. Here are a bunch of suggestions for unleashing a top-notch rock star birthday party.

Invitations
Invitations can be made in the shape of a star, a guitar, a backstage pass, or a ticket to a concert. Use card stock and a computer, and you can arrange anything you want with all of the details about the party on the front, inside or back. You can even take a picture of your birthday star and use it on the invitation. Phrases such as "Rock out with _______ at her Rockin' Birthday Party!" or "Here's your VIP Backstage Pass to __________'s Rock Star Birthday Party" can really set the excitement from the very start. The truly creative can put the initiations on a CD insert (printables available at most office supply stores) and put them in a CD jewel box.

Decorations
Posters of popular music stars, inflatable guitars and microphones (perfect for sending home with the guests afterward), balloons, a disco ball, colored lights, and stars hanging from the ceiling or on the walls are great choices. Plan to set aside a space for a dance floor or dance area. Also, you can put a big mirror up by a table for guests to "glam" with sparkle makeup or temporary tattoos, and other costume regalia like feather boas, flashy costume vests, costume bracelets, and sunglasses. Having a selection of popular music playing is essential. Kids can bring their ipods to plug in, or ask your own little diva to plan the music.

Food
Party food is definitely the thing here. Think chicken wings, French fries, veggies and dip, pizza or pizza rolls, nachos, popcorn, etc. For birthday time, serve a cake in the shape or decorated with a big star and lots of music symbols.

Activities
This is the fun part. Choose from one or more of these activities for a truly rockin' time:

Karaoke: the machines are inexpensive and you can always use a boom box with a microphone if you don't have one.
• Freeze Dance: play music, everyone dances, stop the music, everyone freezes. Those who move are "out." Last player remaining wins a prize.
• Arts & Crafts: get cheap plastic sunglasses - star-shaped are the best - and let the kids decorate them with stickers and/or glitter glue. Pre-cut cardboard in the shape of large electric guitars and let the guests decorate their own guitar with markers and music stickers, and then use them for playing in an air band to their favorite song. Take pictures or videos!
• Music Video: divide the group in half or thirds. Let each pick a song to create a music video to perform for the other groups. Give them 15 minutes to get it together. Videotape each one, and then play the videos for them afterward. If you have time and computer resources, burn a CD-ROM with the videos for each guest as a take-home.

Favors
Send them home with an inflatable microphone or guitar, the guitar they made, temp. tattoos or glitter makeup, and their decorated sunglasses. CD music mixes, the music video, and rock star stickers are optional.