The best way to throw a teen party that stays under control is to provide an activity that fully engages and involves the kids. That way they won’t be interested in doing the things you don’t want them to do. Of course, they need to socialize, but within the parameters of their planned activity. A Casino Night party for teens works and does it well.
Casino games are a lot of fun and people enjoy playing them; That’s why casino nights are so often used as fundraisers. And this applies to both adolescents and adults. Making a casino night theme look like something very “fancy” helps get kids involved in party activities early on.
Card and dice games are not and do not have to be the equivalent of gambling. Make it clear from the outset, in your invitation, that “Only fun is allowed, no gambling.” You can use poker chips to keep track of the score, or your chips can be pennies, M&Ms, matches, anything. Get the kids even more invested in your party by encouraging them all to “Dress for Vegas”; fancy clothes can equate to better behavior in children’s minds.
Borrow plenty of game tables and chairs, but you can have more kids than seats to allow for that socializing when there isn’t a game available to play. To keep the dice contained instead of flying to the floor, make some dice trays using short cardboard trays from the beer or soda store. You can paint them, put contact paper on them, or leave them as is. You will need enough cards and dice for each game.
Set up a buffet table to encourage grazing. Keep it easy with store-bought frozen meatballs, homemade or store-bought chicken wings with sauce, salad, and/or a 6-foot hero. It doesn’t have to be fancy food, just look nice with some dice, jokers and face cards, and poker chips scattered around the buffet table for themed decor. Have a large tub of soda and bottled water on ice for the kids to drink when needed. The background melodies will keep the festive atmosphere going.
In addition to the ever-popular poker and blackjack games, you can find a variety of appropriate and fun craps games online. If you have the room and the budget to do it, I highly recommend including a game of craps in your casino night schedule. A craps table cover can be purchased for $20-$30, so it’s not out of sight. Craps is by far the most fascinating and complex of craps games, and many would say by far the most fun. If you have ever been to a casino you know that it is always the loudest with laughter and shouting. It will definitely be a challenge for children to learn how to play all the variations contained in a dice game and think about the different probabilities for each one.
And there’s another benefit to including a game of craps: You’ll need a dealer manning the table who understands the game, and no teenage guest will want to stick with that job all night. Therefore, your dealer must be an adult, who then becomes an adult presence in the room. And that’s a good thing. There is plenty of help online to learn how to play the game and get your dealer up to speed so he or she can, in turn, teach the kids and run the game.
A casino party is not difficult to organize and everyone will have a lot of fun. The games will keep teens busy competing to do well and do better than the next guy (or girl). You can end the evening with a silly prize or two for the ‘big winners’ of the night. While teenagers are more difficult to please and play games than younger children, it CAN be done, and casino games will do it. The more engaged they are, the less likely your teen hangout will get out of hand and turn into activities you don’t want to happen.
