All teens love to get together with their friends and watch their favorite flicks. But for a special teen party, like a birthday or graduation, it's important to celebrate in style. A "silver screen" teen party is a creative teen party idea that includes all of the essential elements - movies, music, food, friends and fun!

Decorating Ideas

Since the theme of the party is the "silver screen", be sure to use silver as the accent color. A great place to showcase some silver sparkle is on the food table. Use silver platters to hold the food and stainless steel bowls for snacks. Galvanized buckets filled with ice are perfect for keeping beverages cold during the party. Fill clear glass or plastic containers, like vases or bowls, with miniature candies wrapped in silver. Hershey Kisses™ would work well for this. Or go one step further and buy full size candy bars, remove the outer wrapper, and make a big silver pile of sweet treats. For an added touch, and for easy clean up, use plastic or paper tableware in, of course, silver!

Teens have long outgrown the traditional birthday streamers as decorations for a party. Instead use rolls of "Admit One" tickets to decorate the party area. Drape them from the ceiling or simply twist and wrap them around the table.

Create a banner or sign to act as the focal point of the room. Have it read "Now Playing..." with the names of the movies everyone will be watching. If you have a string of white Christmas lights that flash, you could outline the banner to give it a real "marquee" feeling.

Food

For a teen party, there are two main things to remember about the food. Keep it simple and make sure there is lots of it! An absolute must for a "silver screen" teen party is popcorn. No night at the movies is complete without lots of hot, buttered popcorn. In fact, buying or renting an old-fashioned popcorn maker would be a fantastic, and interactive, party idea. Nachos and pizza are also easy party foods and popular choices among teens.

Instead of a cake for dessert, serve cupcakes in foil wrappers and decorate them with silver accents.

Movies, Music and Games

Choosing movies for the party should be left up to the teens. They may want to have a fun-filled night of comedies, some scary horror flicks or some sappy love stories. However, make sure you have the final say on the chosen movies. Be sure the movies are appropriate for the age of the guests attending the party.

Every great teen party needs music. For a "silver screen" theme teen party, music from the movies is a must. Use CD soundtracks from favorite teen movies or download some popular tunes to play at the party.

Planning teen party games can be a challenge. Some teens want to play games to avoid having everyone just stand around. Others are happy to just hang out without the need for organized games.

If games are on the agenda, here's a few fun ones.

The Popcorn Catch

Place a special chair at one end of the party room. One at a time, each teen sits in the chair and tries to catch popcorn in his/her mouth that is being thrown at them by their friends. Whomever catches the most popcorn wins.

Superstar Challenge

Fill a large bag with costume pieces like jewelry, fake mustaches, wigs and so on. The teens must pass the bag to one another as the music plays. When the music stops, whoever is holding the bag, must choose an item and wear it. When the bag is empty, vote on who looks the most like a superstar or who looks the silliest!

Here are some great party supplies to help make your "silver screen" teen party a huge success: