Chips Tips: Throwing your own super cheap sixteen

Silver stars dangle from the ceiling. Sheer white fabric drapes the walls of the room, which is warmly illuminated by shining white Christmas lights. To one side are tables set up for poker; opposite the tables are trays laid out with delicate hors d'oeuvres. Guests dressed in tuxedos and sparkling dresses intermingle on this February evening, socializing as they sample shrimp cocktail.

But this isn't the scene of some swanky celebrity ball: it's the 17th birthday bash that senior Nipon Saisaard, a party-planner-in-training, masterfully orchestrated last year for his friends and fellow seniors Joe Lorenz and Josh Gist. With a few clever choices, such as sprucing up Lorenz's home with inexpensive but elegant decorations, Saisaard was able to create the illusion of a classy party for less than $200.

In a time when shows like MTV's "My Super Sweet 16" pepper the airwaves and a New York bar mitzvah bill exceeding $100,000 is commonplace, it's often hard to remember that pulling off a beautiful ball like Lorenz's and Gist's doesn't require spending beaucoup bucks. If a host knows what steps to follow and how to find the best deal, there's no reason less money can't mean more fun.

Location, location, location

An expensive venue like a lavish Italian restaurant or a hotel social hall isn't the only location for a smash-hit party. Often, just as much fun can cost half - or even a tenth - of the price a host would spend for renting the site.

Senior Aden Kinfe kept this party-planning maxim in mind when she searched for a place to host the 17th birthday party of her friend, senior Woine Demissie. Kinfe settled on a local park in Wheaton, where, for absolutely nothing, around 25 guests could enjoy barbecue, play football and, when it got dark, lounge in the gazebo that Kinfe decorated with tiki torches and candles. "It can be just as good as an expensive party... if you ask anyone, it was probably one of the funnest things they've ever done," she says.

But for a party held during the winter or late into the night, a park isn't the best choice. For the later months of the year, renting a local community center is an excellent way to keep guests not only warm but also entertained. A host operating on a small budget, though, may not be able to shell out the somewhat sizeable amount needed to rent the space. In addition to a $200 security deposit, renting a Montgomery County community center costs $130 per hour, although discount rates of $50 per hour are available if a party has less than 50 guests and is held during regular community center hours, according to Jason Rundell, the Bauer Drive Community Center director.

If these prices are still unobtainable, never fear: What inexpensive party planners lack in cash, they can make up for in creativity. With an eye for style, a party in a friend's home can still be a glamorous occasion.

Beautifying the basement

After honing his decorating skills for Lorenz's and Gist's party, Saisaard applied them a second time when he threw an 18th birthday bash for senior Brian Kesten. Under Saisaard's vision, Kesten's bland basement was transformed into a black and white dance floor. Saisaard purchased 15 yards of sheer black and white fabric, draping it from the ceiling to create an overlapping effect. The fabric was "cheap" but "looked rich," he says. "It stepped up the room but still kept the tone soft."

Saisaard topped off the ambiance with a flickering strobe light and a ceiling-to-floor silver curtain at the entrance. The decorations gave guests the feeling that they were strolling into a Kennedy Center ballroom - no party-goer would guess that Saisaard spent less than $50 on all of them.

Saisaard's eye for creative but classy design was key to pulling off the party, and his knack for finding inexpensive party supplies was also essential. A single trip to Party Warehouse on Brookville Road in Silver Spring is sure to get even the stingiest person excited about planning a bash. "We have over 25,000 different things," says store manager Jeremy Hinds, listing products from tattoos to moon bounces.

Party Warehouse sells gleaming metallic curtains for a cheap $5.95 each, while 12-foot-long ceiling decorations with dangling birds, flowers or suns cost only $6.49 each. And decorative dining ware isn't left out either: Plates, silverware and cups come in a variety of colors and themes and usually cost around $5 for a 20-piece set. The selection is limitless - and more importantly, inexpensive. In general, says Hinds, a host won't spend any more than Saisaard did on his decorations.

But even the most beautifully decked-out party is not a surefire hit. The savvy host knows that keeping guests entertained is often the deciding factor.

Delightful diversions

The most common form of entertainment at parties, dancing, is deceptively simple; the widespread assumption that guests will start dancing once a host throws in a CD is often proved false. As frequent party thrower senior Patrick Aparicio knows, there are a few secrets to getting a party off to a rockin' start and keeping guests on their feet. First, says Aparicio, "gut out" the room where the party will be held and place three or four speakers in different corners, so the sound will be amplified throughout. Second, play a variety of music - Aparicio spins Spanish, go-go, hip-hop and Jamaican reggae at his parties - to keep all guests dancing no matter their tastes. Last, but not least, play the music loud, so loud that the amplifiers become "the boxes that rock the roaches in the walls," says Aparicio.

For the host who wants to throw a successful dance party, Sharon Whitt, a sales representative for Talk of the Town, a Rockville-based party planning business, recommends getting a DJ if the money is available. Another alternative is to hire a local Blair band, like junior Phi-Thi Thach did when she booked go-go group "Armed and Dangerous Band" for their first gig at her July 4th celebration. To pay the musicians, Thach charged guests a $5 cover, a great strategy to save money when hiring entertainment.

If a party is held outdoors, like Kinfe's, inexpensive opportunities abound. Hosts can plan field games and obstacle courses, says Whitt, and spend nothing at all. Kinfe took this advice to heart when she thought up the entertainment for Demissie's party: water balloons and water guns, purchased at the dollar store or brought by guests, made sure that there "was not one dry person" left at the end of the party, she says.

Being able to come up with a creative solution like Kinfe's is a party-planner's greatest asset, especially if a host's allowance is running low. A tight budget should never be considered a limit to a party's success. "It's all in your creativity," says Saisaard. "Bring it out. Just have fun with it."