Though there are tons of celebrations in one’s life, only two are considered to be special for a woman excluding the day that she first got her monthly period. The most important would be her wedding day and the second would be her debut. This is the stage wherein a girl says farewell to her childhood and embraces womanhood.
For the past few years, I’ve been attending a couple of parties and even made one for myself. To help you plan one for yourself, here are three types you could choose from:
The laid-back-no-fuss type
If you’re not a fan of big parties and only want to celebrate with your closest friends and this one is for you. No need for big ball gowns, no need for dance rehearsals and no more hotel reservations. All you need is your garden, a few friends, good music and good food.
My bestfriend had one and we had so much fun. She saved us from the hassle of choosing the right dress and all the work. We wore jeans and shirts [not the ones which you go out with – ours were the pambahay type], sat on the banig and listened to our fave music all night.
The the-big-powerful type
THE PARTY OF ALL PARTIES. This includes all the things that we see in movies plus some more. It’s like a modern version of a royal party for a princess. There were big gowns all around, celebrities mingling with you and of course who could forget the party coordinator.
One of the parties I attended was like this; it seemed to me more like a TV show than a debut. But we still had fun; the food was excellent it was held in a hotel, so the food should be good] and it was great catching up with some old friends.
The independent-woman-on-my-own type
My party gave me a lot of lessons in life. First, if you want to plan a party on your own, plan it 6 months before your birthday. Second, be sure that all your supposed guests get their invitations before the day of the party not on the day itself. Lastly, get a venue that is easily accessible to all your guests.
Though there were a number of down moments before, during and after my party, I could still say that I had lots of fun. I got to make my own invitation and souvenirs [including some Divisoria trips for the materials], had my way for the best deal for the food and the venue and found out that when worse comes to worst, I’ve got all my friends behind me. But I wouldn’t say that my party was a mess, it had the most important factor, we all had fun. (Yanyan Pascual)
Do you want to tell us your story?
Drop us an email at party@mydebutideas.com
Hi, I would like to hear your ideas about a non-traditional debut, NO dancing and flowers and candles. I plan to have a dinner party lang, but still, it is my debut and I would like my friends to remember it as my debut, not just some dinner they attended. I would like to ask for ideas on what kinds of features I should add, like some fun games perhaps? Thanks.
I also suggest you put some venue suggestions. 🙂 Depende sa price range. 😀
More power to the site! It’s really informative.
hi yaoyao
A debut need not be extravagant and traditional. A get together with your friends and family is also one way of celebrating your debut. A debut that is “strictly friends and family” is okay because you get to personalize your souvenirs. The dinner will be cozy and comfortable because you are just there to have fun and enjoy each other’s company. Games may be a nice addition to liven up the party. I will be posting an article on games, gathering a list of games that is surely gonna be fun to have. Function rooms of three-star hotels are a nice venue if you are going to have a small amount of guests. Decide on how many guests you will have. Then you may choose your venue. What area do you wish to celebrate your debut? Our suppliers page is currently under construction because we are trying to collate as many venues as we can for the benefit of our debutantes. We are also sorting them by city instead of making it alphabetical. In the meantime, you may want to look in the venue section just the same (alphabetical order). This may give you an idea on where you want your debut to be held. In the next few weeks, we will be coming up with a more or less easy to use suppliers page for all debutantes. Happy planning and we’re glad to be of help.
Hi, my debut is only 9 days away, I’m excited and a bit nervous too. I’m planning to have a simple dinner party (at home)and a slumber party afterwards because I don’t like having the traditional debut. I also like the idea of ‘laid-back-no-fuss type’ – very unique! 🙂 I just need some suggestions and ideas too for my dinner & slumber party.. How can I make both parties an interesting and a fun night to remember? Can you give some ideas for games? Or anything that would liven up the party.
Thanks in advance! Keep up the good work and more power to the site!
Hi rachel,
It is nice that you are going to have a simple dinner party/slumber party. No matter how many people you are expecting, I think a simple program is in order. A friend of yours could be the host. The purpose of the program is to introduce you as the celebrant and make it organized. In order to make it a night to remember, you must remember to always keep the energy up and that is through games. I have collected a few that I have posted on the Games page that you may want to take into consideration. There are some games there that are nice for your dinner party.
One game that is especially nice for your slumber party is the camera techie game just because you can do this sitting down. For your slumber party, another game you can play is a word/phrase guessing game or better known as charades. Of course it can be all about you since this is your birthday. For instance, you will act on your favorite past time, your favorite movies, novel, singer, artist, etc.
Another suggestion is is to play the “doctor game.” This is a good game to play since there are only a few of you and you probably know each other so well. Choose a doctor among the group. This person will diagnose each person’s illness. The “illness” apparently is that each person believes herself to be another person in the room. This is a great way of determining how well you know each other.
Begin the game by making the doctor leave the room. Determine among yourselves who to impersonate. It is best if you make a circle and impersonate the one on your left or right and will answer all questions as that person. After this has been settled, ask the doctor to come in. The doctor will now ask a question to any one in the circle in order to identify their problem. For instance “Do you love photography?” (This may or may not be answerable by yes and no.) If the person answers “Yes,” and the doctor knows that Jam is the only photography fanatic among the group, then the person is out. However, if that person answers the doctor’s question incorrectly, the person they’re impersonating should yell “Doctor!” and everybody should run around and switch places, confusing the pattern. Play this way until the doctor figures out the pattern or the problems. Then a new doctor is chosen.
This is all for now. Happy birthday and enjoy your party.
Hello, my birthday is also in this month and I’ll be having a dinner party too.. Can you help me make a simple program for a dinner party? With a 25-40 guests, at our house garden(i think it’s big enough for my guests.) Will it be still okay to add 18 candles, 18 roses etc. but with a different one? Thanks a lot!
Hi Audrey,
Happy Birthday Audrey! I think a simple program is still in order even though you only have 25-40 guests. You may eliminate the formalities of the program by just being spontaneous with how you plan the program. For instance, ask a friend of yours or an aunt probably who has the gift of garb to be the host. It is nice if the host is someone within the family because he/she gets to throw in a joke or two which will make the party more lively. You may also remove the cotillion and replace this with probably a song or a dance number from you or your friends (if you’re shy to do it alone). Some debutantes showcase their talents on this once-in-a-lifetime occasion. You can have that AVP that you and your friends can still do (given the time frame). You can also have 18 candles and 18 roses because I think a debut party is not complete without this.
So let’s see a simple program would probably be something like this.
Guests arrive.
At this point, cocktails are being served (optional)
Host will call in and usher all guests to the main area (or your house garden) to start the program.
Parents talk about your achievement, goals, ambitions, etc.
Either your parents introduce you or the host will and then
GRAND ENTRANCE
AVP (optional but I think necessary)
Eighteen roses (speech and dance)
Father and daughter dance (This may also be incorporated into the eighteen roses. Fathers are usually the first or last dance)
Eighteen candles (speech)
Cutting of birthday cake
Prayer
Dining
Games
Debutante speech (thank you speech or something)
Everyone dances.
You can move the prayer and dining a little earlier if you see that your guests are getting hungry.
A party thrown at a garden would be extra nice with a theme. Why not try a white zen party. This is very simple because you just have to fill your garden with japanese white lanterns and some teelights. You can also ask your guests to wear all white. This will look great on pictures, believe me.
I hope you have a wonderful time at your dinner debut party. Again, Happy Birthday from Debut Ideas!
Hey there 🙂
My debut is on the 27th of June, and it will be semi-formal. It’s a cotillion with the 18 roses and candles, but the program is inter parsed with trivia games and the food is buffet.
I would love for the party atmosphere to be light-hearted and relaxed, so how can I make the 18 roses dance less formal and stuffy?
Also, I want to have engraved pens as my give-away (http://www.pensxpress.com/xpress-fever.html). On the pen, I do not want to write the typical, “Thanks for coming to Pauline’s Debut”
Do you have any short, clever phrases I can use instead?
With much thanks,
Pauline
P.S. I have a lot of tips that I would love to share on saving money and DIY favors and decorations (all from wedding websites, haha). It would be really cool to see a forum for easier sharing 😀
Hi Pauline,
Thanks for visiting our site. As you know, this site is a work in progress. We are actually planning on placing a forum so that debutantes will be able to share their experiences and stuff here in the site, but isn’t able to get around to doing that yet. Thanks for your suggestion. We will try our best to create that forum the soonest possible time.
Making the 18 roses dance less formal depends on the music that you would dance to. I have seen 18 roses dance that really rocks and this is because of the song choices. I have seen debutantes dance with their partners on practically any beat. It is not just the usual slow dance, but they really worked the dance floor. For instance, I have seen a debutante switch from dancing a slow dance with one partner and then doing a hiphop dance on the next. She even did a swing and it was really wonderful. The unexpected dance moves from the debutante and her partner made it so exciting that the guests were practically on their feet and cheering on. Seeing this debut made me think of the 18 roses dance in a whole new light. Our song choices on our 18 roses dance page has a wide variety of slow and fast songs that you can choose from. This is constantly being updated so feel free to visit it every now and again. Happy Birthday!
Hi! My friend’s debut is 2 months from now, and i am the who were planning for her party. she like it to celebrate in a private pool with our friends and her relatives.. i am thinking of a hawaian or beach party but still has its 18 roses, candles and treasures in the program.. how can i make the program in the way we like? thank you and more power!
Hi Mia,
We have an article about beach parties and also a tropical or beach inspired party that you might want to read on to gain some insight. http://debutideas.com/?p=859 and http://debutideas.com/?p=694. You can still have the 18s even with an informal party such as a pool party. It will be way cooler if you incorporate the pool as a prop for her 18s “The pool can be used as an excellent and dramatic prop for your 18 candles. Have your 18 candles put floating candles in the pool afterwhich they make a speech while the floating candle glides toward you. Another variation would be that during your 18 candles ceremony, ask your 18 candles to prepare their speech on a piece of paper, read them out loud, and then insert the piece of paper on a bottle, seal it tightly with a cork and then let it float, hopefully towards you.”. Happy birthday to your friend Mia.
Hi! I have no idea on how to celebrate my 18th birthday. I do not know if I want to have a simple party or an extravagant one. I’m thinking about the budget kasi eh. nanghihinayang ako. but this 18th birthday party is also a once in a life time experience so why not make the best out of it diba? im really confused. and I don’t have theme pa din. I want it to be not common but i don’t want it to be super unusual din naman. basta i want it to be a great party where me and my loved ones will surely enjoy. i hope you can like give me tips or something. yeah. thanks
Hi Nic,
Debuts need not be extravagant and having a theme does not mean more money to shell out. If you still have time, you can scout for your materials early on so that you can do some of it yourself. Choose a theme that you think you will be able to pull off. Pick from among our themes that best capture your personality. Ask the help of your relatives and friends for a total bonding moment. You can hold your party in your own garden or a friend’s garden to cut cost. Serve pica pica foods instead of 5 viands. Make your own invites and give aways. Choose a gown that is fashionable and glamorous but reusable. These are just some ways of cutting cost in order to still have the debut of your dreams without having to break the bank. Hope this helps and happy birthday.
Hello, I have some questions. The only thing I’m planning on having is the 18 candles and 18 roses. I don’t like it when people talk about my life… I get embarrassed easily. Do you think this is okay? How would my debut go if it’s only 18 candles and 18 roses, dancing and eating? My theme is Alice in Wonderland, but the catering doesn’t reflect it, unfortuantely. 🙁
Also, is an escort necessary for 18 roses?
Hi! I have been planning for several months and I really don’t know what to do until I found this site. It’s a BIG BIG help! I was inspired and ideas came rushing into my mind when I read your friend’s debut celebration which is the laid-back-no-fuss type.. was it dinner time when you had the party or an afternoon picnic kind of party? thanks! and more power. 🙂
Hi Nela,
It was an afternoon picnic kind of party. It would be great if you can still see the sun while you’re partying with your friends! 🙂
I was seeking a post like this. Thanks a lot.
Hi Nicole,
Sorry for not replying sooner. Of course it is perfectly fine that you choose 2 sets of 18 candles. They are after all the most important. You call the shots this time because this is your party. This makes a party unique. It is putting whatever you want into it and it gives off a little bit of your personality in the process. The escort is usually included in the 18 roses and may either be the first or the last dance, depending on your relationship with your escort. Hope this helps.
Hi, so the theme of my party is star/pool themed. something like that. but my problem is that i don’t know what the dress code for my guest should be. and what the decorations would be. any ideas? the planning is already kinda late cause my party is already next month. so i was hoping that you would help me. and by the way, you’re website is great. its a big help 🙂
HI, my birthday is on june 28.. i have some questionS. what are kind of games that i have to prepare in my debut??:) thanks and more power!:D