10 Playful Themes for Your Debut

In Filipino culture, a girl’s 18th birthday is the parents’ opportunity to present their daughter to the public as she turns of legal age. This is why debuts are often celebrated in grand formal fashions and expensive venues.

Nonetheless, a debut’s very essence is to celebrate a girl’s transition into adulthood. There are plenty of modern-day debutantes who opt for less formal but creative 18th birthday celebrations to go along with affordable debut packages.

For upcoming debutantes who want to stray from serious and formal parties, here is a list of 10 playful debut themes.

An Alice in Wonderland-themed debut is an easy upgrade from the basic event set-up that comes with many debut packages. Transform your garden venue into a Wonderland enchanted forest and incorporate elements from the fairytale, like using long tables similar to the Mad Hatter’s tea party and putting “Drink Me” tags on your cocktail glasses.

Have your party host dress as the Mad Hatter and encourage your guests to dress like any character from Wonderland, but do tell them that only you can dress as Alice or any character you want to be for the night!

Celebrate your first day of officially being an adult by having a casino-themed debut party. Recreate casino interiors by setting up poker tables and preparing fake casino chips for your guests to play with. You can serve finger food and cocktails before dinner to add to the casino atmosphere.

Guests would have to dress in formal attire but incorporating the elements of a casino would add an air of playfulness into the party.

An easy twist on the traditional formal debut celebration is having a movie awards night theme. Have MMFF or Oscar Awards logos as photo booth background by the entrance before your guests walk on the red carpet leading to your venue. Don’t forget to design the interior to look like a theater.

With this theme, you can give out awards like “best dressed,” “best dancer,” and “scene stealer” to your guests.

Another easy twist on formal 18th birthday parties is having a masquerade ball. Gowns and tuxedos are the perfect dress code for this theme, but being strict about it on your guests can make it very costly for them. Tell them any formal attire would do but remind them to arrive at the venue wearing their masks!

Having to guess who is who can be confusing but it can also be fun!

If you want your 18th birthday celebration to reflect your bold and bright personality, a pop art theme will suit you. You can use your creativity to design your birthday celebration with mass-produced objects, like giving away Coca-Cola bottle keychains, putting up a big self-portrait painted using the pop art style, or using comic strips as your invitation.

The key to a pop art-themed debut is the use of vibrant colors, so dress yourself and the venue with loud colors.

Like every birthday, you can get very nostalgic during your debut. Take your guests on a nostalgia trip with you by having a decade-based theme for your 18th birthday celebration. How about dressing up as flappers or gangsters from the 1920s, or dancing to 70s music while wearing your parents’ old disco attires?

Whichever decade you choose, a decade-based party is definitely refreshing for you and your friends especially if you will choose a decade you guys have never experienced.

Let out your secret dream of being a rock star and make it come true on your 18th birthday by having a rock and roll-themed debut. Set-up a stage with your instruments and perform solo or with your band. Your venue design will depend on which specific kind of rock star you want to be for the night. Whether you want to be a metal head or a pop rock artist, it is all up to you!

Encourage your guests to dress in their best rock n’ roll outfits too, and call them on stage to perform!

If you are an avid comic, cartoon, or film fan, maximize your guests’ participation points by holding a cosplay on your debut! It does not matter whether they go all out or just copy the key details; require your guests to dress as any existing character!

You can also include character quiz activities during the program and give out “Best Cosplay” awards to your guests.

A totally playful theme for your debut party would be the circus theme. You can set up a big tent to cover your whole outdoor venue or imitate the tent interior. You can hire men on stilts, jugglers, acrobats, and the like to entertain your guests. Circus ticket-designed invitations will perfectly complement the theme.

Although not necessary, it would be better to hold a circus-themed debut party near carnivals or fairs in various provinces. There are plenty of catering services in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and other provinces that you can get for your out-of-town circus-themed debut.

The ultimate non-formal party would be a pajama party. It totally removes the formal atmosphere of a traditional debut celebration and will make your guests become more interested in attending your party. Set a space where your guests can sit or lie down on the floor while watching your prepared performances or videos.

You and your guests can dress in your most comfortable pajamas, be it two-piece pajama sets, night gowns, or onesies. After the party, you can just wipe off your make-up and go straight to bed hugging your pillow or stuffed toy party favors.

From looking for a venue, searching up affordable catering packages, planning the program, making up invitations, to holding the actual party, debuts can be very exhausting.

Even so, whether you pick a theme from the list above or use it as an inspiration to devise a creative theme for your own debut, remember that your 18th birthday is all about you and what you want to do. Have fun and seize the night!