The older your children get; their parties turn into personal occasions where they want to hang out with their friends and have fun. Fortunately, they do not entirely have complete freedom of fun because they are some years older. As a parent, you can help them plan an enjoyable bonfire party with their friends for a birthday, team gathering, or any other reason where a group of teens would like to hang out and have fun with each other.
Planning for the bonfire
If you have a patio fire pit at home, you can make it the focal point of attraction for your bonfire party. Make sure you have a sufficient number of chairs for your guests to sit down and talk. Since it is a bonfire party, you must make sure you have a fire extinguisher handy just if an accident occurs. Plan for some popular teen party games that are safe around fire.
Safe behavior with fire
Teens should be responsible and safe around the fire. You do not wish to make your teen feel suffocated by being with them all the time during the party. Give your teen the space to enjoy the party and make their own responsible choices. Teens often are mature when they are left unattended; however, keep in mind there are a group of teens having fun and anything might happen if you are not vigilant, especially when there is fire around.
Food
You can take out your barbeque grill and cook some scrumptious meat and vegetables. If you have the grill outside, protect it from the weather elements with good quality BBQ covers available in the market. The cover should be appropriate for the size of your grill.
You should serve food that fits the occasion. For example, you can roast hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and popcorn for the party. When it comes to beverages, you will find teens love soft drinks, lemonade and water. In the night, as the chill sets in, you can serve them hot chocolate with marshmallows.
Use your judgement when it comes to planning for the food. For instance, if you are having a bunch of athletic teens over for the barbeque, they generally would like to eat more food than their non-athletic peers.
You can have long marshmallow roasting forks for each of the guests. In case you do not have these forks, you can use something that is economical, like wooden dowels. They should be of the right size and kept in water for at least one hour before your party begins to prevent them from catching fire.
Music
No teen party is complete without music. Make sure you have a music playlist for the party. The list should consist of all the favorite songs of your teen. You can connect an iPad to a portable music system outside for playing music all through the party.
Last but not least, give every teen guest glow jewelry like rings, necklaces or bracelets, or a small flashlight. This will add fun to their bonfire party. It will also help you keep track of them as they move around in the dark around your yard.