I still grapple with the idea of being the mom of a 16 year old. The thought astounds me every time it crosses my mind. The way friends and family look at me when they say “wow, you’re the mom of a 16 year old” confirms they feel like I do. Parenting has been my greatest gift. It has also been the part of my life moving the swiftest. The memory of my daughter’s birth is still quite fresh for me. I almost remember everything about that day. How I felt, what the doctor and nurses said to me during delivery, and that very moment I beheld her for the first time. The experience was simply wonderful.
Fast forward 16 years later and find myself continuing to look at her in amazement. My daughter is becoming this beautiful, smart young lady right before my eyes. This is why my family and I had to celebrate her in the manner we did.
We don’t have that “MTV, My Sweet 16” kind of money, so there wasn’t an expensive car, celebrity entertainment or lavish, over the top party. We honored her the way every young lady should be celebrated when she reaches such a significant age and begins the journey into womanhood.
Now I can’t take any of the credit for this idea, my sister was the mastermind. She decided that we have a luncheon for my daughter, but not just any old luncheon. So, the wording on the invitation read:
She is fortunate enough to be surrounded by women of great character, faith, intelligence and strength. Each of us has forged our way to being successful women. Some of that road we had to navigate alone. Much of it we walked with support from others.This is our time to walk with her and offer the benefits of our experiences as she navigates her path to becoming a successful woman. During our celebration, each woman in attendance will be asked to say a few words and present her with a token that represents an experience, quality or truth that she should carry with her as she transforms from being our little girl to being our young woman. Your token can be anything! It can be a relic from your past, a symbolic representation of your truth, or a special gift that you would like to present to her. You don’t have to think big and you don’t have to think expensive – think truth, knowledge, experience and what you wish you knew at 16 that you now know
From the moment the invitations were sent, I knew this event would travel with my daughter for many years to come. What I didn’t know was the affect it would have on all the attendees. There were tears as each woman proceeded to tell my daughter just how amazing she was and their future hopes for her. Each shared their own unique pearls of wisdom on what they learned while becoming a woman. The gifts ranged from a diva survival kit to a mirror with phrases like confident and powerful painted on it. It was magical. The ages of the guests ranged from 22 to 81 and every presentation was awesome. The gifts were great but the variety of insights on becoming a woman were priceless.
If you find yourself looking for new ideas on Sweet 16 celebrations or other momentous occasions, I definitely recommend this one. I am grateful our family and friends took this opportunity to share and support my daughter on her journey into becoming the woman God intended her to be.
BMWK, in what creative ways have you celebrated your children?
Wonderful idea Tiya. We’ll be doing this with all 3 of our daughters. I see a new tradition coming on.
Love it! Thanks for the idea!
I love this idea! I wish I would have seen this sooner, my daughter turns 13 in a few weeks and this would’ve been perfect but I think I’ll save it for another milestone birthday like 16! SIMPLY AMAZING, thank you for sharing 🙂
TamB,
The 16th birthday is perfect.
I have a daughter that’ll be turning 16 later this year and I’d been thinking about having two events for her: one with her friends and the other with me, grandmothers, God-moms, aunties, and female elders to “pour into her” from our experiences. This wonderful article confirms that I was on the right track! Such a great idea and far more impactful.
Lik,
Yes, you are going to have a fabulous experience!
Amazing idea! We love big Sweet 16 parties since that is our business, but ideas like this would be awesome if the tradition caught on across our country. Lik’s comment above has a great idea, too, to let the teens be teens with a fun party, but also, to honor the special moment in the teen’s life with a “rite of passage” event. You are lucky to have such a clever sister! Thanks for the post!
Thank you! I would love to hear the other Sweet 16 ideas.
This a beautiful Idea for daughters. And will definitely keep in mind for our daughters. Now, I wonder how can I use this as a Marital piece or Mother and daughter piece. Any suggestions? Thanks.
I love it as a marital piece if it’s for a newlywed couple. You could have older couples share their marriage wisdom. That could be powerful. Also, for mothers and daughters, have the mothers share their wisdom in a group setting. This could be powerful.
Nice! Wish someone could have youtubed it….very nice!
My daughters sweet sixteen was two months ago. After having the party I know for sure that these tips are great, and really worth reading. We rented a photo booth nj. Everyone loved it, it was a huge hit. I’m really glad it worked out. Thanks for the post.
That sounds fun. I have heard of the photo booths. I’ll have to try that for my next celebration.
I am turning sixteen in 4 months need a theme for my party
Maddy you could definitely use this idea.
Ok I have been searching for a unique idea for my daughter’s 16th birthday which is in 2 months. I am still tearing after reading such a BEAUTIFUL suggestion. The invitation wording is so perfect. My luncheon plans are starting now. My daughter has so many special women in her life (even though she doesn’t realize it). I can’t wait for her to experience such a memorable day! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing!
Thank you Christine! You’re going to be blown away. Would love to hear how it went.
Awesome idea. Im sure your daughter is just as proud of you as you are her
You have hit the nail on the head! Thank you. The past couple of years have been a huge challenge for our daughter. She has just been making bad decisions. She is always sorry and goes back and forth with her faith. We had a party planned that was going to include boys and girls, music, games, food and fun. That was until she made a major mistake which caused the youth plaster to restrict her from youth group for 3 months. At that point, no boys for sure and definitely don’t want to have the music and games. I’m feeling more sober about the whole event and that it is a turning point for her. I want her to realize her value as God sees her.
We have asked my uncle to write a week long devotional for our family to do throughout her b-day week. Now, getting ladies, young and old, together to celebrate and encourage her. The dilemma is taken care of. Thanks so much!
Cari, you are welcome. Please tell us how the event turns out.
This is absolutely Beautiful my Daughter will be sixteen on this Sunday I’m up making decorations at 02:00 am I decided to look for something special for her coming of age party I’m so very glad I read this is perfect for her and my mom also.she is very sick and this wonderful for her to experience this is her last grandbaby she would love it thanks so much
This is exactly what I need. I was trying to think of something different but unique and I’m so glad I found this. Thank you so much! I believe she will be touched for years to come. I didn’t want to throw a big party because that’s not what she want. She’s very family oriented and she would be satisfied with just celebrating with family. Now, she can have the best of both worlds with family and friends. Her birthday is after Christmas and right before New Years, which is somewhat of a difficult time to throw a party because a lot of people are celebrating with their families, on vacation or broke. But event with this idea, we still can make it work. Awesome!!!!!
Lady Tee, I would love to hear how the event turned out.
This is the perfect idea for my daughter’s sweet 16! Was it a female-only luncheon?
This is simply amazing. I was trying to find something encouraging, spiritual, and motivating to do to celebrate our daughter 16th birthday which is next month. I would love to use this shared it with my husband and he loved the idea.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful rite of passage! I’m very interested in learning more, as we are in the midst of planning for my daughter’s sweet sixteen and this would be perfect. Can you email me with additional details, please? Thanks and Blessings!
Thanks for the idea, can’t wait till November 2014, I know she will love it.
I so love this idea. I have been thinking and thinking what I was going to do for my son’s birthday and this will be a great experience. I know he’s not a girl but I hope that it will have the same effect on his life. Thanks for a great idea!
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