Blacklight Boogie Party -14yr- Glow in the Dark

We did the Blacklight Boogie party for my daughter and her best friend when they turned 14. They wanted a co-ed dance party which, of course, made me very nervous. So here's what I did to keep it fun yet under control.

1. I rented black light fixtures from a local theater supply company - google theatrical lighting. Tell them the size of your room and they will tell you the amount of black lights needed. One light will not give off enough glow. I think I also rented a strobe light but we never used it.

2. The party was in our pool house with slate floor. My daughter wanted it more like a dance floor so I bought a roll of corrugated cardboard and duck taped it to the ground. This was the best idea because it really helped with clean up.

3. At a party supply store (or online), I bought a variety of glow-in-the-dark plastic top hats, necklaces and other accessories. I also found a cheesy 60's psychedelic dvd that I could play on the big screen TV in the room. Funny how mesmerized the kids were with it.

4. We decorated the room with glow-in-the-dark balloons hanging from the ceiling and the plastic hats set around.

5. My sister agreed to monitor the party and made continual trips through with pizza and other items and to take pictures (teens do not want their own parents to chaperone, no matter how cool they are).

6. Midway through the party I brought down a box of black light silly string and let them have a war. This was the highlight for most. It was a little messy but the cardboard floor made it easy to clean up.

7. To settle the party down and wait for parents to pick up, we roasted marshmallows and made smores in an outdoor oven which we monitored closely. By then, they didn't care if we were around or not.

8. The invitations we sent out had included a personalized, rubber ID bracelet commemorating the date and event (the girls wanted it to be like a required pass to get in). So we didn't hand out goody bags and no one seemed to care. The party is still talked about months later.