For my 14th birthday, I had a FUN IN THE SUN party! Although I personally held it at a hotel with a nice pool area, it could be adapted for a water park, backyard pool, lake, or other outside venue. Ten girls showed up, but I would not suggest having more than 8-10. INVITATIONS: For invitations, I bought blank greeting cards for 1$ apiece at target. The front had a glittery flip flop in bright colors, and there was no writing in the inside. This was a cheap, cute, and easy alternative to homemade invitations. I then typed up, "Help us celebrate ___'s 14th birthday with some FUN IN THE SUN!" as well as all the usual party information. I told everyone to come wearing there swimsuit and lots of sunscreen. I sized it properly so that it exactly fit inside the card and then glued it inside. To coordinate everything as well as let guests know they were receiving an invitation, I used Avery labels and a greeting card program to create envelope decorations. Using a blue water-like background and a fun orange font, I created address labels, return address labels, and labels that read "you're invited", all placed on the front of the envelope. It was then sealed with a sticker (also made on greeting card program) that had an orange sun with "fun in the sun" inside of it. Invites were sent plenty in advance to insure sufficient planning time. VENUE: For my party, I looked at local hotels. I found one for a relatively low cost that had an extensive pool area including a lazy river and a waterslide. When looking for hotels I would suggest finding seasonal deals and make sure that you get enough rooms to accommodate all of your guests. Although the hotel had perks, the party would work just as well at a water park, etc. DECORATIONS: The colors of the party were bright and loud- pink, orange, green, etc. We hung streamers, balloons, and had colorful cups and napkins, plates with suns on them, and clear silverware. FOOD: Guests came after lunch, so we provided dinner and breakfast. Dinner was served uniquely and proved to be a success: We made individual "bistro bags" with a fun top. Here is how to make one: We took plain colored paper gift bags in bright green, pink, purple, and orange (12pk at Michael's). Next we cut out a ½ sun shape from orange card stock large enough to cover about half of the bag. We cut a slit about 6 inches long about 2 inches from the straight part of the sun, and then folded. This was the slipped over the 2 handles on the bag. The result is a kind of lid for the bag. Large flip flops in different colors were cut out and glued to the sun. We took a napkin, fork, and knife and rolled them up together. 2 holes we poked in the front of the sun and ribbon was threaded through so the 2 ends were in the front. The silverware rolled in the napkin was then tied in front by the ribbon. It is hard to explain, but it turned out very cute. Individual guest's names were written on the bottom of the flip flop. On the day of the party 'bistro bags' were filled with subway sandwiches, Pringles snack packs, fruit snacks, and fruit salad (blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, and mandarin oranges put in a twist-and-seal Tupperware container). This method was more creative and cute than just hauling in some pizzas! Snacks were goldfish, peanut butter pretzels, fruit, and popcorn. For breakfast the next day we served mini muffins made in "fun in the sun" liners, fruit, yogurt, and mini bagels with cream cheese. CAKE: Because we were at a hotel, it seemed too cumbersome to hall a cake there, so we had creative cupcakes. Cupcakes were made with a mix in silver liners. Once they were cooled and iced with vanilla frosting, we used color spray bought at Michael's to spray a tie-dye of the party colors on the cupcake. Colored sprinkles then topped them. Each cupcake had a homemade "Fun in the Sun" party pick: I took purple, yellow, and orange colored cardstock and cut them in small squares. Each one was stamped with a sun stamp, taped to a tooth pick, and then laminated. Each pick was stuck in a colorful starburst the placed on top of a cupcake. These were tasty and stayed in theme. To display them, we used a dessert stand (20$ Michael's) which was a wire tree with layers made for displaying cupcakes. The very top one we placed a "1" and "4" candle for me to blow out. It was easy to transport and turned out great!!! THE PARTY: Before guests arrived, my parents and I went to the hotel to decorate and set up. Guests arrived in the hotel lobby around 3pm. From there we walked to the water park area and swam until it closed- 6pm. We walked to the room for dinner, and then returned to the water park for the "dive-in movie" (a movie shown in the pool- you swim while you watch). After returning to the room, everyone put on pajamas, cake was eaten, presents were opened, and we talked until we were tired. The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast, went back to the water park, packed up our stuff and met parents in the lobby. GOODY BAGS: Wilton "Fun in the Sun" treat bags were filled with starburst, laffy taffy, an initial sticky pad, a "soda pop" shower gel, and were tied with ribbon. THANK YOU NOTES: had a cute picture from the party on front and included a hand-written personal note. ADVICE: This party was a lot of work, so plan in advance. If going to a hotel, make sure you pack EVERYTHING you might need- including a lighter for candles, extra sunscreen for guests, etc. I had a great time and would recommend it to anyone with a spring or summer birthday! Hope this helps someone!