Hobbies And Interests
Door Prizes
Door prizes are fun because people like to win, but they can be more fun if you turn the idea of door prizes into a game. Come up with a list of celebrities your teenager likes and write them on 3-by-5 cards and place them in sealed envelopes (these will be used for the next game). Label half the envelopes A, B, C and so on with red ink, and then again with the same letters in blue ink. You can give door prizes to specific colors and letters of people. (The colored letters on the envelopes will hopefully have discouraged guests from opening them early to see what's inside; that is for the door prize game.) As each guest arrives, give them an envelope and tell them not to open it. Door prizes can be determined randomly by selecting a color and letter. For instance, Red-C wins the door prize.
Door Prize Game
Place all the guests in two teams determinate of their red or blue color, or you can pair them off by letter in smaller teams of two. Now, have each team open their envelopes and tape their celebrity to a team member's back. It is only important that the person who has the celebrity taped to them not know who is written on their card as everyone else will be able to read it. The goal of the game is to guess which celebrity̵7;s name is taped to your back based on clues other people give you as you converse about each other̵7;s identities. The first team to guess all of their identities wins.
Teams
Rather than allowing teens to pair off and choose teams on their own, assigning teams with the lettered envelopes will help ensure everyone interacts, creating a sort of team camaraderie. The letters also allow you to pair two people together for similar games that don̵7;t require full teams. For instance, red A and blue A work as a team one round, and later all the reds or blues work together.
Lifesaver Chain
The goal of the game is to be the first team to get their lifesaver to the end of the line by passing it from toothpick to toothpick. The kicker is each player has to hold their toothpick with their mouth. For this game, you̵7;ll need a pack of lifesaver candies and a box of toothpicks. Separate your two teams and line them up. Have each of your guests place a toothpick in their mouth. At the start of each line, place a lifesaver onto the first player̵7;s toothpick. First team to successfully get the lifesaver to the last player wins. If a lifesaver is dropped, the team must start over from the beginning.
Board Games
If you have a small group of people, there are a number of board games that are a ton of fun and allow teens to show off to one another with their creativity. Scattergories is a great game to play with teenagers. Each player is given a list of questions like ̶0;things you take on vacation.̶1; You roll a letter and have to come up with things that start with that given letter to answer all the questions on your list.
Another great game is Cranium, which incorporates games like Pictionary, charades and trivia all into one board game; there is also a teen edition. Apples To Apples is another great game that allows players to show off their wit. Each player is dealt a hand of cards with nouns on them like celebrities, places and events. Each player takes turns playing as the dealer who draws an adjective card, like ̶0;stupid̶1; for instance. The dealer reads his adjective and everyone else plays a noun card they feel personifies the given adjective, though the dealer decides whose answer fits best.
Outdoor Games
If you plan the birthday party on a sunny day, you could incorporate outdoor games into your party. You can either separate into two teams or pair people off. Outside you could have a three-legged race, egg or water balloon toss, sack race or any other activity you think your teens will be in to.
Fashion Designer
In this game, you choose one player on each team to be decorated. Each team is given a bag full of materials. These materials can include recycled tin cans, rolls of toilet paper, scotch tape, newspaper or anything else you have lying around. Give each team 5 minutes to design and implement a full outfit for their person, scoring points on design, originality and execution. You can also assign them popular figures like Santa Clause to replicate.
Digital Scavenger Hunt
Based on the location of your birthday party, make a list of likely items they would be able to find in the vicinity. Then, send your guests out in teams to find everything on their list and document it with a digital camera. This game might require you to borrow additional cameras from trusting friends or relatives.
Prizes
It might be helpful to make prize cards, and a lot of them. If you plan to separate between teams and pairs, you can just hand out a prize card to the winners of each round. The guest with the most prize cards at the end of the party gets something good.