Let's Party
How to celebrate your 18th Birthday
The following will provide any youth with precious advice that can help them to throw an unforgettable party for their 18th birthday that will literally fly them into adulthood to change the rest of their life. It must be said though, that drug and alcohol consumption are not part of this way celebration as their lack does not necessarily - if done correctly - have a negative impact on the party atmosphere.
Day 1 - Celebration with Friends
This must be carefully planned a month or so ahead. The first question is: Who do you want to be there? This is not only a decision for one day, for one party. This is a life decision. You literally decide who you want to be part of your adulthood - and who you’d rather leave behind.
First settle on ONE group of friends. Do not mix a bunch of people from various corners of your life as they might not get along well with each other. Do not fear to combine multiple close friend groups though, as long as they belong to the same larger group. For example, if you decide to celebrate with mostly classmates, feel free to invite anyone from the parallel class or the school choir or something. But, if you happen to also play in a band, it might not be a good idea to mix them with the more civilised friends from school. Musicians often do not like to talk about politics and vice versa. Jokes about teachers or famous bass players just don’t fit into one room most of the time.
Next reconsider your friends. It is time to say goodbye to some of your old friends for sure. Welcome the change, that adulthood brings into your life and feel it in every cell of your body. Only because someone might get mad at you doesn’t mean that you have to invite them. I suggest excluding friends who
betrayed you
are too needy
are simply not funny enough for a party
are associated with spoilsport behaviour
are not liked by anyone of the other guests
do not like any of the other guests
If you roughly keep to these you will probably find your list of guests cut down to less the ten people. If not, you haven’t been severe enough and you’d better start the exlusion all over again.
Otherwise you can now continue with the most daring part of guest list. But - no risk no fun!
Consider your guests’ shared friends who might only be acquaintances to you. Talk to them and find out who they really are. Then simply choose a few (2 maybe 3) and also put them on your list.
Finally give one last glance to your list: do any problems occur? Any broken up couples? Remember, a party is only as good as the guests!
Spend a few minutes or so on a carefully written invitation. Keep it precise, give it a catchy title, include a picture. Be sure to create something unique that cannot be forgotten by anyone. Not even your lazy best friend. Print it out. Yeah, that’s correct. I just said that. Print it out. Watch a YouTube video on medieval letter folding and directly deliver it to all your guests.
But now enough of invitations. How should you actually celebrate?
First of all make sure that you create a chilled atmosphere for the half hour you have to wait for the most lazy best friend of yours who is still lying in bed with his girlfriend - who you also inveted. My suggestions:
Show people round the house
Tell a few stories connected to object on some shelves
Set up a little game that needs little explanation
Listen to african jazz
Introduce guests that do not no each other (well)
Finally, when everyone is there go down to the kitchen where your mom already made everything ready for the celebration. Gently order her out of the room then let the lazy best friend of yours light the candles on the muffins. Deeply moved listen to their carefully intonated Happy Birthday then blow out the candles - all in one blow like a true master.
After the muffins go on with the presents. I personally like to change locations as often as possible as it keeps spirits up and people awake - remember there’s still a whole parte to come. Do not linger to long with any of the presents but always appriciate the work, thought and money that has flown into the gift. If anything is asked from you (off the cuff translation of birthday cards written in latain, gardening or eating a rather weird kind of choclate)? - Do it! The answer is always do it! You are an adult now, this is a first taste of it.
Now, that you have recieved a whole lot of wonderful presents, it is your time to shine. Now is the time for a performance. Remember the catchy title in the invitation? It really should be the title of this performance. What should you perform? Really any craft is possible:
Progessive Rock Concert
Comedy
Dance Performance
Drawing of a party guest
Crafting of a statue
Just make sure it’s entertaining. Hey, be creative with this one! And don’t fear to fail, that’s the whole point.
It is helpful though to practice beforehand. Also find a good place to perform like the rehearsal room in your cellar. Set it up nicely maybe with some christmas lights. If you plan to be loud buy ear protection for your poor guests.
After that play some collective game, but let the guests decide on what exactly they want to play. Keep a few options ready so you will never run out of things to do. My go-to for eight to let’s say twelve people is werewolf as it works in almost every setting, as long as the dead have something other to do than disturbing the living (maybe I’ll cover that in another article).
Probably somewhere between 8 and 9 p.m. people are gonna get hungry again, so it’s time for dinner. It is always a good idea to have something unique to serve to your guest but let your parents worry about that.
When everyone is fresh again, it is finally time to leave the house. Why go outside? There are really two reasons:
There is no house in the world great enough for a great party
Your dad prepared a treasure hunt, so that no one starts putting their energy in demolishing the house
If someone wants to stay inside you shouldn’t have invited them in the first place. Make sure you go anyway. As soon as the option arises to stay inside laziness will win and all of a sudden everyone refuses to go out into the cold. Just go.
Back inside it is now again time to give responsibility to the group. Let them decide what to do, what game to play, what room to be in. You just be glad about your fulfilling party. Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and gather your strenght for what is yet to come.
When midnight gets closer people will eventually start to leave. When this process begins, do your best to get it over quick. Who’s leaving is leaving and there should be nothing in between. Do not change the current activity until only those remain who sleep over. The ideal number is three with a maximum four. The goals for the night are:
Keep spirits up
Do as much bullshit as you can
Do not fall asleep
This all must be accomplished without arguing a single time. It must be a night without no. Yes is the answer. Always yes. She loves you, yes, yes, yes.
Here are some suggestions for the night:
Have some muffins
Listen to Selling England by the Pound (Genesis) VERY LOUD
Construct a marble run
Construct a Kapla Building to then shoot it down with some more Kapla
Play Halli Galli in a dimly lit room
Tell some Cocktales
Record a spontaneous album
Have some water to recover from the experience
Have some more muffins
Play Wikipedia Skip (A game where one must find the fastest way from one article to another by only clicking on Wikipedia links)
Go outside
Walk in the middle of the street and halt at streetlights
Visit a friend and shoot a photo on the doorway
Visit you school and shoot a photo in the church
Have some more muffins
Keep in mind that whenever anyone of the group is getting tired it is time to change the location, the activity and the overall atmosphere to keep everyone awake easily. Also keep in mind that certain activities should be done at certain times. For example going outside at the break of dawn, a creative process somewhere around 3 to 4 a.m. and so on.
When someone really wants to sleep, however, then let them sleep. Remember? No arguing!
After breakfast ask them to help you tidy up a little bit, then close the party with the second have of your progrock concert. Make sure everyone leaves at once.
Do something you enjoy. It is the first thing you do as an adult. Then go to bed - you really do need that sleep.
Day 2 - Celebration with Extended Family
After some two hours of sleep and a drowsy lunch get ready for your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and whoever is coming. Celebrate how it has always been done in your family to please everyone’s views. Talk a little about yesterday’s party. Do not make the mistake to tell any stories from last night though. It is your night. Be careful about who you share it with.
Is it a problem to almost fall asleep the whole time? - No!
This is not a disadvantage of this type of celebration it is a benefit. Family parties tend to be boring. But this time you will find yourself welcoming the boredom. Yet, when it is time for presents, it is also time to wake up again. Show gratitude in every oh so boring present and don’t be disappointed - you still got that stuff from yesterday’s party to enjoy. If you happen to get any money, openly suggest what you might do with it. Feel free to make up something wierd like building a bridge from your house to your grandma’s place. Just have a laugh or two.
After the presents, again it is your time to shine. Find your last resources to give a little acoustic concert or something similar. You will thereby show your family that you do not value them less than your friends and even now that you are completely tired and exhausted you still find the strength to play for them.
You will mostly be the inactive center of attention. Everyone is somewhere around you but not directly communicating with you but rather the rest of the family. You can easily pretend to be a responsible adult now - by simply sleeping with eyes open there in the middle of it all. And not doing anything that irresponsible youths might do.
When everyone has left it is finally time to fully revover - and go to bed.
Day 3 - Celebration with Immediate Family
The third day of the celebration is really just a closure of it all. Ask your mom to cook your favourite meal, play some games in the afternoon. Enjoy your presents. Process what has happened. Process the information that now you are an adult. But really: Do nothing. Nothing unusual anyways. You changed your life, not it is time to live it.
Congratulations!