Overview

• Ryan McVay/Valueline/Getty Images
  
  Turning sixteen means being able to drive and being only a few years away from the independence that college affords for most teens, but for a girl it may also mean being old enough to date and to wear makeup, which is a big deal. Help your teen daughter celebrate this milestone with a stylish sweet sixteen birthday party complete with decorative centerpieces.
  
  

Glamour

• Give the sweet sixteen birthday party you are throwing a touch of glamour by creating centerpieces with a touch of sparkle. Spray pillar candles in a variety of sizes with spray adhesive. Roll the candles in a plate of glitter until they are entirely coated. Arrange the candles on a fancy platter with the largest of the candles in the center of a tiara placed in the center of the platter. Put down a thin layer of white sand before putting the candles in the platter to cool the wax faster which keeps the platter cool. Mix a little white glitter in with the sand for even more sparkle.
  
  

Truly Sweet Sixteen

• Put the "sweet" in a sweet sixteen with a deliciously colorful candy centerpiece. Fill all different kinds of glass jars with different sweet treats. Fill the jars with brightly colored candy such as licorice, lollipops and gummy bears. Fill some smaller jars with layers of different colored sugar. Add sophisticated lighting to the centerpiece by hot gluing pieces of candy onto pillar candles and placing them on pillar candle holders grouped in among the jars. At the end of the party give each girl a gift bag she can fill with some of the leftover sweet treats to take home as a party favor.
  
  

Beep Beep

• Turning sixteen means being able to finally drive for many girls, so incorporate that new freedom into her party centerpieces. Build a fake three tier cake using Styrofoam discs of different sizes. Cover each disk with felt and shapes cut from felt to make it look frosted. Make the frosting job on the fake cakes at least a little on the girlie side. Then, top the cake with a little toy car, preferably one that fits with the girlie theme. Finally, on each layer of the cake, place a few small frames with wallet-size school pictures of the birthday girl through the years.