Hot air balloons are an awesome experience.
A thirteenth birthday party is a major event in a child's life. It marks the end of childhood and the beginning of the teenage years, dreaded by the parents and anticipated by the child. In some religions, including Islam and Judaism, the thirteenth year marks the beginning of adulthood. A birthday party that reflects that transition needs to be awesome in the eyes of the child and manageable by the parents. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Design the invitations so they look like a hot air balloon. Include a permission slip for the parents to sign with the invitation. Hot air ballooning is not dangerous, but parents might get upset if they aren't asked first. Use a real balloon blown up. Attach the balloon with ribbon to a basket. Write the details on the balloon. Another option is to write the details on a deflated balloon as part of the invitation.
2. Limit the guest list. Hot air balloons hold from four to six people. One of those people has to be the pilot. At least one should be an adult. That leaves space for two to four teenagers. You'll need to hire four balloons for a guest list of 12 to 16.
3. Plan on some of the guests declining to go up in the balloons. Have chase four-wheel-drive vehicles available for those who decide they aren't quite brave enough for the ride. The chase vehicles follow the balloons until they land. Hot air balloons are controllable, but they follow the wind. Winds blow in different directions and speeds at different heights. A chase vehicle is almost as much fun as the hot air balloon ride.
4. Create a menu that appeals to both girls and boys. Hot air balloons are limited to certain times of the day, often early morning. Serve a breakfast menu as a picnic after the ride. Teenage girls prefer food that can be broken off and eaten while boys like big chunks of food. An appropriate menu might be egg and bacon burritos, mini muffins, hard boiled eggs, cream cheese and salmon mini bagels, fresh fruit and orange juice mixed with sparkling apple juice.
5. Take videos and pictures before, during and after the ride. Make up a keepsake album for each guest. Upload the photos and videos to a social networking site, video hosting site and even the birthday girl's own website.
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