Teenagers parties are tricky. First of all, they’re at an age where they have a multitude of interests. It used to be easy planning a party when these kids were younger. If your child’s a boy, there are pirate parties and superhero themes. If she’s a princess, there are Barbie parties and fairy princesses.

But now, you don’t really know what he or she wants, or what the whole gang wants. Teenage life involves having a lot of friends who share the same interest. It’s also the age for approval seeking behavior. When the consensus is “your party is boring”, you’ll see more sulking and more ‘my parents don’t get what I’m about’.

It’s pretty tedious just trying to “get” your teenage son or daughter so the thing is, you should simply plan a party according to what is generally accepted in their world. Namely, video games and a lot of space to hang out.

Here’s how to set up a video game party for teenagers

1. Keep the food flowing.

Teenagers eat a lot, even when they’re not mood-eating. For a video game party, however, the food should be located in a spot that has a lot of bean bags and sofas arranged around a central table. This is so the kids can hang out and talk while they munch away. You can serve crunchy fried sandwiches, a lot of chips and soda. You can serve salad, in small quantities, for the figure conscious teens in the group.

2. Get the best consoles around

What are these? Xbox, PS3 and wii, to name the more popular ones. You should probably leave the game choice up to your teen so that you don’t inadvertently get the “wrong” games.

3. Separate the music room from the video game room

Teenagers parties can be quite loud, as you will soon discover. They want to play at full volume and they want to really “feel” the songs at high volume. Some of your kid’s friends will dig music more than video games, and are likely to music trip rather than play. To handle this, put the sound system in the living room, and the video game in the den.

4. Inform the parents

It’s best to keep the party time frame within the curfew limits and inform the parents ahead of time if you can. “I’ll be at a friend’s place playing video games” can sound like a rehashed alibi (and goodness, the teenagers use this often!) so it’s best to handle this ‘parentals’ issue as well.

Good luck with your teenager party. It will be a blast, literally!

One of the most important things in a party is the buffet table. It’s where the food is laden to be consumed by the appreciative, hungry guests who will notice everything from your centerpiece to your serving dishes. In fact, everything on the buffet table gets noticed except the table itself.

But you as a party caterer should pay attention to the table. You can’t use a make shift one, dress it up to hide the frame and call it good. Remember, all your best dishes will be on there, including the food that your clients paid 75% of the fee for.

While inexpensive makeshift tables are out of the question, you should definitely consider the ones that you can dismantle and store when not in use. If you’re feeding 300 people, you’re going to need two or three of these long ones to accommodate your chafing dishes and bulky centerpieces.

Then, of course, one more aspect of buffet table setting you have to keep a close eye on is the way you dress the table. Usually it’s a couple of white table cloths arranged neatly and pleated to hide the ends (where they meet across the table), but for simple home parties, you can use your dinner table if the width allows one large centerpiece and a couple of dessert trays arranged around it.

You can have one custom made for parties, but make sure to check the materials. Most go for the hard plastic tables that are hardy enough to withstand he elements (you can use these for outdoor parties during the summer). Some people who dislike the thought of washing sauce-smeared tablecloths simply invest on the materials used for the surface of the table, such as ceramic tiles, lacquered wood, marble and glass.

Unlike the younger generation, our grandparents have mellowed into old age and are more likely to appreciate the small things that make life the beautiful experience that it is.

That said, it’s probably a great idea to focus more on sentiments rather than the technicalities when throwing a party for your grandmom or grandad. It won’t do to just send a gift like a paid-for-by-you Medicare supplement insurance or a gold necklace during his or her birthday. It has to be a lavish affair, but not necessarily expensive.

So, now you’re probably thinking, how can a sentimental party be lavish and grand without costing so much? The answer is simple… focus on the sentiments rather than the grandiose details.

It’s the fact that you’re having a party because you want to celebrate them rather than the small details that really matter to them, so make it work… and make it a sentimental event for them.

What’s a sentimental party for grandparents?

It’s a party where everyone they love attend. Call your cousins in another country, or if you have the budget, fly your grandmom over to her homeland where the rest of her relatives are.

It’s probably a usual thing for you to see your grandparents pining for their childhood days or the times when they were in their small town playing with the rest of the kids there. You probably have heard all the stories about how she grew up eating this or that fruit under this or that tree in one relative’s backyard and getting busted for stealing the fruit before it’s fully ripe.

You know how grandparents ramble on and on… and they look really happy doing so.

Now, the party you’re going to throw for this special person must make her so happy that she will remember it even when her memory fails her in a few years time. She will remember it in her heart, and that’s what’s important.

First,prepare a program where every child’s family is represented. The grandkids can prepare a sing and dance number, and the celebrant’s children can deliver speeches or sing a nice love or thank you song.

One must remember that the feeling of love and privilege is the dream of every grandparent. So duringthe party, she must feel like all the sacrifices she did for her children and all the hard work she has done to secure the family’s finances in the past were all worth it.

Throwing a get well soon party for a friend or a family member is tricky, particularly if the mood is somber and it’s pretty difficult to NOT think of the fact that the celebrant is sick. Have you ever felt this? If the party is for someone who survived an accident and is now recuperating, the mood around is ‘relieved’ and ‘thankful’ (that the person has survived and is now ready to face life again). But sometimes, it’s still difficult to have fun when all you can think of is whether the person will get well or not.

But, you know what?

The person recuperating would rather have a get well soon party with all his friends present than none at all. It’s an awesome feeling to see the people he loves wishing him well and having fun… and NOT treating him special just because he’s sick or dying with a disease that’s difficult to cure (like malignant Mesothelioma

It’s the fact that people are around him acting normal that cheers him up.

It’s the fact that the get well soon party is obviously just an excuse to cavort together, spend quality time together and build memories.

There’s always an excuse to party, and cheering someone up is the best there is.

Here are some pointers for a get well soon party

Prepare food that the celebrant can eat, but also prepare food that the kids can eat. I’m talking about chocolates here. A diabetic patient can’t eat chocolates in massive doses (like how kids consume it) but it wouldn’t seem like a party if there isn’t a chocolate cake, so indulge the sweet tooth of the other people in the party. Of course, for every chocolate concoction around, there must be something healthy that the sick person can eat.

If possible, refrain from using pale yellow as a theme color. Some sources claim that pale yellow makes a person feel pain more. If you have to use yellow (yellow IS the cheeriest color!) use the bright variety.

Use banners and confetti for a really festive feeling.