How to Surprise a Birthday Girl on her Debut

The best way to surprise a girl is to talk or hire several singers to sing ot dance on her debut.
It may be a celebrity, her crush, her classmate, her friend, her boyfriend, her brother, or father or anyone that she will appreciate.

Of course, the songs should be a little bit romantic or should be dedicated to the birthday girl.
The boys can sing solo but it is better if they can perform in group too. The nicest thing is for them to serenade and give flowers to the debutante.

I haven't heard a debut program with 18 songs or 18 boys singing a song for the birthday girl but I think that is more surprising compare to the usual 18 candles, 18 treasure, or 18 gifts

Mobile Cocktail Bar for Debut Party

Mobile Bar for 18th Birthday Celebration

If you have your parents approval for mobile bar, it will definitely look good on your venue.
Because mobile bars adds amazing colors to a party.

There are 2 or 3 mobile bars at the Megamall event Wedding and Debut event but I missed to capture all of their names.

Here are some mobile bar photos

Quinceañera vs Sweet 16 vs Debut: What is the difference?

 What is the difference of  Quinceañera and  Sweet 16 and Debut?

The answer is simple. Answer lies on age. Quinceañera is for 15th birthday.
Sweet 16 is of course for 16th birthday while Debut is for 18th birthday.

The places where these are celebrated are different too. Quinceañera  is usually celebrated by the Mexicans and Mexio, Sweet 16 by North Americans (US or Canada) and finally debut is being celebrated in the Philippines.


No one will stop you if you want to have 15th birthday, 16th birthday, 18th birthday celebration in other country and call it whatever you like. Isn't it your birthday? Have fun.

Games for debut

Fun Games for 18th birthday party

You have lots of guest. Most of them looks tired from a long trip.  Others look shy.
The rest looks bored.  Something needs to be done to liven up the crowd - Games !

Games is a fun way to break the awkward silence and shyness with your guests. If you invited family members, relative, classmates and friends then not all of them knew each other. Games is a fun way to introduce a friend to your cousins. Let them mingle with each other.

What games?

My first suggestion is to have group games. Form a group and play a series of Minute to Win it games.Each group will send a representative to each game.  Teamwork and planning are imporatant. Each group will need to send or reserve the best player for each game.


Sweet Games
Since debut is a celebration for an 18 year old there will be other teenagers around.
If most of the guests are singles then you can organize an activity for  pairs.

Im referring to games like eating an apple where a boy and a girl will help each other to finish eating an apple without using their hands. This games was played over and over again and I won't suggest it. but if you want, I will not stop you.

Anyway doing a slight variation or a different paired game will be more exciting.  How about eating ice cream or cotton candy or cake with lots of ic?


If you go for classic sweet games then I suggest the Paper dance game.  Im sorry I forgot the proper game title. I'm referring to the game where a background music is playing and when the music stop, the pair should stop dancing and step on a piece of paper and newspaper. Their feet should not touch the ground or floor until the music plays again.  Those who fail to do the task will be eliminated. On the succedding rounds, the paper will be folded in the middle.  Paper size will be reduced to half.  At latter rounds,  the boy may need to hug or lift his partner. The last pair who didn't touch the ground or floor is the winner of this game. Sweet isn't it?

Flowers for Debut

Flowers everywhere

After reading this article, you only need to remember one word - Dangwa!

Dangwa is  the  perfect place to shop for flowers.  It is a convention party of all flowers.  Ecuadorian roses, tulips, mums, stargazer..they all have it.  It looks like they are already celebrating a party when you get there.  Only the tables and chairs are missing.

Big stalls in dangwa uses refrigerator to preserve the beauty of freshly cut flowers. Some of the flowers were imported. Some were from asian countries like  Thailand but sources can be as far as Holland

I had a chance to visit dangwa during early morning of valentine's day.  We arrived there around 2AM.  It doesn't look like 2AM because all the people there were very lively. No one is asleep.  It's as if every one was overdose with coffee a few hours ago. If I didn’t looked with my phone, I'll think that it is only 8 in the evening.

In Dangwa, you can ask for discounts. Ask more stalls for two reasons. First, each place may offer different flowers.Second, stalls may offer you different price for the same quality of flower. Experienced buyers share that   flower shops in the inner part of the market are generally cheaper.  Don't settle for the first store you see

Ask, Ask, Ask!

There are more items where you need the seller's help.

Ask for instructions on how to handle the flowers after you brought them at home.

Usually, they will tell you to cut the flower's stem diagonally and submerge the stem on water.

Ask for delivery. If you think that you can't carry the flowers safely, ask if they can deliver it to your place. They will charge you additional amount for the delivery. The cost may range to a few hundreds but it is justifiable given the effort and time that they will spend in delivering the goods.

Seek help for good color and flower combinations.  You may know your favorite color and favorite flower but you need to have background colors and flowers. Colors that will blend is what you need.

Lastly, get the seller contact details preferably their calling card  and mobile phone number.

When you have the seller'r  number, you can easily track the delivery status and you may also contact them again for new orders without going to Dangwa.

Debut Party Themes

What are your suggested themes for debut ?

Would  you consider the following?

KPOP Debut theme

KPOP stands for Korean popular musics.  Everybody in the Philippines are aware of the rising popularity of korean music, telenovelas.  Even, Yahoo Philippines, have a section for Korean Wave.

korean  debut theme will be enjoyed by KPOP fans (snsd, psy, sandara fans)

For the venue, you can select a korean restaurant. If korean restaurant is out of the budget, you can choose a non-korean venue but demand for some korean foods or decorations in your venue.

You can also celebrate a Kpop theme at your home.

Why KPOP theme? KPOP is a good choice because some may have readily available KPOP looking suits and dresses. Even if they dont have one, korean dresses are widely available. With KPOP as your theme,  there will no need for fancy or customized costumes.

Why not KPOP theme?

You can't please everybody at the same. I mean there might be some audience who is not fan or irritated by KPOP idea.  You can't expect every Filipino to welcome all Korean culture in an instant, right?

How to have the KPOP look ?

Aside from the dresses and suits for men. You can invest with hairstyles. Korean girls usually have curly or distinct asian hairstyle. Most of the time, they have colored or highlighted hair.

You can use your 18th birthday as opportunity to change the color of your hair. You can also use wig but I suggest don’t wear it the whole day so others may recognize you and be mesmerized with your real beauty.

If you want you can visit a korean beauty salon like Tony & Jackey

An easy way to have the korean feel is to choose black and white as the motif.  

Look at Korean MTVs and  korean boybands .Usually they wear black and white shirts, suits, and pants.Be careful not to look like a domino or dalmatian hahaha. Just kidding.

Debut Invitation Ideas

Send the invites.  Have korean characters.  Address the guest with their names written on Korean characters.

Debut music Idea

Play the music.  Prepare a list of songs related to KPOP and birthday celebrations.

Here are some suggestions.

Do the Gangnam style.  Gangnam style is a popular dance craze from . It may not be popular now but you can search for similar KPOP songs to play.  Why not project a korean MTV?

Debut Food Ideas

Dial BonChon or korean restaurant. I prefer korean restaurant foods.

You can order Bibimbap, Kimchi, Bulgogi and more...

Popular Movie

Set a movie as your theme

Did you hit the like button for Hunger Games?Another idea for your debut theme is your favorite movie or a recent blockbuster movie.  Hunger games showcase tantalizing gowns and evening dresses.  One doesn’t want to wear flaming dresses but everybody will want to wear  as elegant with actress's dress on her 18th birthday.  

Debut Invitation Idea

For invitation, you can use old scrolls similar with the ones used in the movie as design.

Debut Souvenir Idea

There might be no mockingjays on the Philippines but you can have walking and flying pigeons or  doves on your venue.  Better yet find an event center who takes care pigeon. Let your guests feed them.

For souvenir, you can let your guest have  mockingjay pins.

 Hello Kitty Party  Debut Theme

 Hello kitty is for kids but no one will argue with you if you still love them when you are 18 years old or older.  It is a highly collectible item.  I think you have a friend with a collection or watch someone who was featured on a TV show for filling his whole room with hello kitty stuffs.

Trying to achieve a Hello Kitty appeal is easily achievable by choosing the right colors.  The trick is to set pink and white as the motif.  Cover the stage,  every tables and chairs with pink and white curtains and cloths and you'll have the hello kitty feel. Be sure to get the right shade of pink!

18 Treasure Ideas

If you want, you can also inform your friends and guests that you accept any  gift but you'll appreciate more if you can have hello kitty stuffs on your 18 treasures or 18 gifts.


For every theme, make sure you'll have a matching song. You can browse to around 50 different debut songs on Songs for Debut page