Hey SB,

Okay, party details, considering they might help in your daughter's party planning.

I turned 17, but I suppose interests would be about the same between that year and 16. I'm not sure how my group of friends compares with others - most parties I hear about at school involve just dancing/music, and I guess that's about it. Our idea of a good time includes moonwalks, playing baseball/basketball outside, playing Twister, and wearing balloon hats. Basically, we act like kids.

Does your daughter have friends over at other times, perhaps just to hang out? If so, what do they enjoy doing? I'd love to suggest ideas for what kind of a party you could throw, but I think it all depends on your daughter's interests, as well as her friends. My mom always tells me that you've got to have some kind of a game to keep the guests entertained, and I suppose that's true - the moonwalk, however, provided enough entertainment for this party.

Something that I've learned is that you can do just about anything at a birthday party. I had an I Love Lucy birthday when I was younger - we set up three games, a Vitameatavegamin one (We all had to read the script, using a giant blow-up microphone, and we voted on who did it the best.), a grape-stomping one (We used black balloons, and we had to stomp on them until they popped, and I think we had pieces of paper inside each one that granted the popper a prize.), and a candy factory one (We set up a table with a "conveyor belt" made of paper, and my dad rolled the paper along the table as my mom placed M&Ms on it one by one; we had to pick them up one at a time as they came by, and wrap them in tissue paper. The highlight of the party was when my dad sped it up, and the paper actually broke off the table!). My parents were really responsible for my having such crazy, yet memorable birthdays - they had a lot of creative ideas, and everything was always so fun.

If your daughter has a particular interest in something (such as my I Love Lucy interest), you could think up a wild party theme, as well! But, if she's not up for something like that, I'm sure a general birthday party would be just as fun. Usually, so much planning goes into a party, but once it starts, all the worries about people having a good time are gone, because everyone ends up loving it.