For debutantes who simply love the beach and can’t seem to get enough of it, a beach themed party would be an excellent choice for your themed debut party. A beach-themed 18th birthday party spells both fun and ingenuity. Just imagine bringing the beach indoors! So, how do you pull this off without getting wet? Here are some suggestions to make your beach party a success.
INVITES-Your invites should spell out what is in store for your guests. Create a one-of-a-kind invitation by sprinkling white sand on your invites. You can also look for cartoon pictures of seashells, seashore, jellyfishes, starfishes and attach them to your invites.
If you are going for a simple invitation, a simple white paper made into a scroll would also be nice. Get a string and attach seashells or beads on its ends. This will not only serve as your ribbon for your scroll invite but it will also suggest to your guests what your theme is.
Another way of letting your guests know the theme of your party is by using catchy phrases like these: “Let us have a nutty time on my debut party (this pertains to the coconut tree, of course).
“I’m feeling a little beachy, so let’s party!”
DRESS- Pick a sundress that can standout among a crowd of sundresses. Remember that you are the star of this party so wear something that screams it. One way of achieving this is by making them wear all white. That way, all your guests are wearing white but you have the liberty of wearing anything you like.
DRESS CODE – Make it a requirement for your guests to dress appropriately. It would help create the ambiance of the beach if your guests adhered to the dress code.
It will also help pull your beach-themed debut party together and gets everyone in the spirit. Be sure to give them dress ideas in their invitations. You can ask your guests to wear all white in which you can fuse the elements of a white party in your beach-themed party.
Or, you can ask them to don on their favorite beach wear. For the girls, sundresses, cute beach t-shirts, boardshorts, and bikini tops with matching beaded accessories.
For the boys, they can wear boardshorts, cute beach t-shirts, and flip-flops.
STAGE- Bringing the beach indoors is going to be really awesome. Your stage should have a coconut tree, tiki torches, teelights on a colored paper bag, beach flags (of your color choice, but white is a safe choice), fan to create a windy breeze and to make the flags sway, a huge white cloth to serve as your screen for your projector.
Edit beforehand a scene of the beach in your favorite movie perhaps and play this nonstop, or look for pictures of the beach, waves, etc and make it into an AVP. This will create a very believable backdrop for your stage.
TABLE CENTERPIECES-For not so formal venues, beach towels turned tablecloths would add to that beach feel. For formal venues, do this instead:
Fill a bowl with sand and some stones nearly halfway, fill it with water just enough for the floating candles to float, and lastly place the floating candles. This will serve as your table centerpieces instead of the usual floral arrangements.
FOOD AND DRINKS – A variation of the usual iced tea or softdrinks would be to have pineapple juice, guava shake, tropical fruit drinks and buko juice. This will beach theme even more tropical. And while you’re at it, add something grilled on the menu to create that barbecue feel to your beach party.
GIVE AWAYS
For a beach themed debut party, these are some party favor suggestions we came up with. You can give away White sandals (flip flops), sarong, tie-dyed shirts, bottled sand art, CD with 10 beach-related songs, beaded necklaces or bracelets.
MUSIC- Music is a key important factor in creating a beach feel. Pick songs that are beach inspired. These are some suggestions: Dick Dale, any reggae, Sublime, Beach Boys, and the Hudu Gurus.
Just remember that all it takes is a little imagination and lots of hard work and creativity.
Photo credit: © Tomas Rodriguez/Corbis
Hello! I’m Mae.
My debut is on May 18, 2010. but until now i can’t decide the theme of my party. I want it to be simple but very unique from the past debuts that I have attended to. I’m considering this beach themed party cause my birthday is on a summer. Could you suggest what could I do for my party? I don’t want to follow the traditional program, with the dancing and all.. And also, could you please suggest what I could replace for the 18 roses and treasures?
Thank you very much! 😀
Hello Mae,
A beach themed party is a great choice as a summer 18th birthday theme, although pool parties are also popular during summer because you and your guests can dip in the water after the program. It depends on what venue you choose. If the beach themed debut party is what you really like, as we have said in the article, you can actually bring the beach indoors. A beach themed debut party is in itself a nontraditional way of celebrating your debut. This usually is informal and laid back. For your 18 candles, you can try substituting 18 bonfires, 18 torches, 18 tiki torches or 18 seashells (candles are decorated with seashells or put the candles on huge shells). For 18 roses, you can substitute 18 leis, 18 garlands, 18 corals, 18 toasts or 18 wines. Hope this helps and happy birthday Mae.
hi. im just wondering what will be the best debut theme for the month of july/august?
hi! hey that is also my theme for my debut 🙂
Hi, my debut’s on december 19, 2010… (yeah I know it’s a bit to advanced to think of this one haha) but to make my debut unique from the others, I’d like to have the summer feel on my debut… like summer in december… could you suggest of ways i can fuse christmas with summer time 😀 thanks
Hi, I’m having my debut on the 16th of April 2010. I’m planning to have this beach theme. Please help me. :>
Hi Rae,
Debut themes usually reflect the personality of the debutante. I believe that a theme is just a theme, but if you put some creativity to it, plan it perfectly and make your individuality stand out, it would be a totally unique party. For some cases, the theme is usually dependent upon the venue. As we know, July/August is the start of the rainy season so that it is usually wise to get a venue that is indoors or a garden that has a canopy or a tent. For indoor venues, practically any theme will work because you can transform it into the theme that you wish. You can have a Rave theme party or a Glam Rock theme party in a bar or transform a function room in to a masquerade hall and have a masquerade theme party. For garden venues, Butterfly theme, flower theme, fairies theme, a midsummer night’s dream theme will be just perfect. Hope this helps.
Hi Rona,
Wow, summer in December would really be awesome. Some people flock the beach at this time of the year, even celebrities, so why not try a pool party. You could name it “Splashy Christmas!” or “A Christmas Luau.” We have an article on pool parties that may give you some more ideas. http://debutideas.com/?p=694. Infusing Christmas with Summer would be hard but here is an idea. You could have a dessert bar of Christmas goodies on one corner, gingerbread cookies, candy canes, Christmas tree shaped chocolates, etc. and then have a bar of summer drinks and summer fruits, four seasons, pinacolada, fruit punch, pineapple juice, buko juice, with slices of pineapples, apples, mangoes and watermelons on another corner. In your invites, you can have a picture of Santa sunbathing with shades and having a fruit punch under an umbrella. That will totally be cool. Hope this helps and happy planning.
Thanks 😀 I was thinking about the “swinter” episode in Phineas and Ferb 😀 =)) I thought it was both FUN and cute 😀
Hi Izza,
The tropical-inspired theme is a great theme to have in the summer months especially that people are in the beach mood. I believe these two articles would give you great ideas for your party. http://debutideas.com/?p=859 and http://debutideas.com/?p=694. If you have a specific question in mind, don’t hesitate to ask. This is all for now and good luck in planning your debut party.
Hi i’m Sianne,
My debut is going to be on November 4, 2010.., am already planning for it cause am pretty excited. i would like my theme to be summer but am worrying cause my bday is in the month of november and summer time is too much far from it and the presence of halloween is still there. could you please give me some advice and ideas for it? thanks! =)
Hi Sianne,
It really doesn’t matter if you want your theme to be summer while it’s still November. A debutante once had a pool party in December, which is a cold month! As long as you are really into the theme, you will be able to rule out that Halloween feel! Make all the elements of your party coherent to your summer theme, from your invites to your decorations and souvenir items, and i’m sure your guests will forget it’s still November! It might be better if you hold your debut party outdoors and in the afternoon towards nighttime =)
Happy planning!
Hi there! My daughter will be celebrating her debut this April. Am still undecided whether I will make the theme the traditional semi formal attire or a more casual “luau” party. I have considered a pool side venue near in our place. My daughter wants to have 18 roses and 18 candles. I have some questions in mind that you might be of big help. In a tradtional semi formal party, is it possbile for men guests to wear long sleeves with tie only without coat, especially the ones in the 18 roses? How about the ones not included in the 18 roses, can they wear the casual polo shirts? I am asking this bec. I am also taking into considerations some of my relatives that can’t afford to wear coat and tie. As for the luau theme. Is it possible to have all the guest in white and floral attire while the debutante is wearing a ball gown? Also, with regard to the music, is it not awkward to play modern and latest music with a luau theme party. I was thinking that if I play hawaiian music, the party will be boring. I want the guest to feel lively during the party.Also, can you give me an idea on the type/design of invites for luau theme. And lastly, please give me an idea on how much an emcee charges. Can you recommend someone who is good , lives in the south of manila and charges reasonable fee?
Thanks and hoping to receive your reply soon.
Emily
Hi Ma’am Emily,
Indeed, it is good that you take into consideration the ability of your guests to actually adhere to your daughter’s dress code. After all, it adds to the ambiance of the theme you are aiming for. April is a hot month so I think you can do away with just long sleeves and tie for participants of the 18s. Semi-formal attire nowadays usually constitutes a nice looking well-pressed polo either with solid colors or with prints, slacks and then a tie. For your other guests, you could ask them to wear just polo without the tie.
For a Hawaiian theme, I think a ball gown is not a good idea. A gown that is flowy, probably with flowery prints or in earth colors, green, moss green, beige, brown would work.
Source: http://images.teamsugar.com
Source: http://coquette.blogs.com
Playing modern pop songs would defeat the theme that you are aiming for. Music will add authenticity to your Hawaiian theme so for music, just put on some world music, reggae, Hawaiian reggae or Jamaican music and you are all set. You can also play some Bob Marley CD. I’m sure your guests would even dance to it.
For invites, here are some suggestions: Make a scroll type invite and bind it with a leis band. Take a picture of your daughter in a hula skirt and make that as the front cover of your invite.
Hope this helps and happy birthday to your daughter.
Hi, this is Chef Romi of Tops Catering. For ideas on a beach, indoor or outdoor debut theme, may i suggest those who are thinking of this theme to visit our site, http://www.topscatering.741.com, and go to the debuts section, where you will find pictures of our Tropical or Hawaiian themed debut, complete w/ everyone in costume including our crew, (sulo) lighting, decos like our table centerpieces w/ sand and real fish, motifs and more, including our fish themed cake.
Hope you could get ideas on this theme from our site, and maybe give us a call? 0917 528 1264 or email us at topscatering@yahoo.com Thanks
hello i’m blanche and i wll be celebrating my 18th bday this april 17-18, its a pool party and the venue is in a private resort Monte Azure, in Los Banos Laguna. i had a hard time thinking what would be the best beach attire or a unique beach attire/ costume that can make me standout:( thanks in advance good day and godbless:)
Hi Blanche,
Maxi dresses are great for pool parties because you can wear your bikini or swim wear inside and after the program or when your are not swimming, you can easily slip on it without making a fuzz about it getting wet. Look for intricate designs and go with your color motif in choosing the color.
Source: http://www.anewmode.com/
This dress is also cool.
Source: http://sc4.stylefeeder.com
This dress if longer is okay too
Source: http://cn1.kaboodle.com
This maxi dress actually cool too
Source: http://images2.lkimg.com
There are more boho maxi dresses here in this link that I’m sure would get you inspired in looking for your perfect outfit. Hope this helps. Happy Birthday.
hi, I’m Angelie and I’m having my debut this August. I am searching for opinions about this event. Pls. help me. My favorite color is yellow. I would like my party to be modern, elegant and different. I have some plans in my mind, would it be okay if I will going to have a white party with shells as my theme? What vinue, decoration would sooth it? Thank you!
pls. I really need your help. thanx
Hi Angelie,
Well, it sounds like you’re going for a beach themed debut party. go for it! for the venue, you can try a beach or if that’s too far, look for a venue with a pool. ask the venue if you can decorate it with sands and seashells 🙂 a white party is a great way to celebrate your birthday. it’s something unique and refreshing. moreover, your guests won’t need to worry about wearing too formal outfits. beach sundresses are fine. fill the pool with floating candles for effect. your favorite color fits your taste because it’s warm and your theme is something very summer-y.
hope this helps!
Thank you very much! So, what title soothes it? Is it alright to have a summer-y theme in the month of August? Can I ask your opinion about my gown? http://www.thebridalgowns.com/mo-quinceanera-gownsdresses-mq4-p-2736.html…this is for the upper of the gown…and…http://www.thebridalgowns.com/2009-new-styles-quinceanera-dresses-mq41-p-2773.html…this is for the bottom of the gown and the over all color of the gown is white…is it okay? thanx
pls. a little help can do!
hi, it’s me again. Can you help me for my debut’s title? Thank you very much!
Hi Angelie,
I believe you can have a summer theme even if it is a rainy day. If you love summer so much, there is no reason you can’t incorporate it in your birthday. You can have A Summer Solstice — a turning point in your life because you are now an adult. As for the gowns, I’m sorry the link you gave does not work. White gowns though are okay. Debutantes in the US wear white. Hope this helps.
Is there any other title for my debut because “A Summer Solstice” maybe isn’t that appropriate?