From the mind of T. R. R. Tolkien comes the popular trilogy “The Lord of the Rings”. This series of books has been enjoyed by teens for years, and now it has been made into highly acclaimed series of Big Screen movies! Following the adventures of Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and the wizard Gandalf, the Lord of the Rings has a lot to offer. So, why not make this well-known and liked series the theme for your next teen’s birthday party?

Having the guests come in costume is a great way to set the scene. You may have many of the teens arriving as Aragorn or another of the ‘human’ characters, but in all likelihood you will have a few going all out and dressing as a wizard or a hobbit. Have a costume contest where the guests do the voting! They can only vote for one person, but it cannot be for themself! At the end of the night, count up the votes and announce the winner! The prize could be a paperback copy of one of the Lord of the Rings books, or a copy of “The Hobbit”, which predates and begins the whole adventure.

Next, why not let the guests try their hands at some archery? Big with the elves, archery is a large part of all the battle scenes! Just get some hay bales, several targets and a few bows and arrows. Make sure to follow all safety instructions to avoid a hospital trip! If concerned, you can always take your guests to a special archery range, where injury would be much less likely.

After the archery, you can have the teens sit down to one of several board games fashioned after the series. “Lord of the Rings Risk” and “Lord of the Rings Monopoly” are only a couple of the games you can find at local stores and online. If you want to create your own game, have cards of “Lord of the Rings” trivia made before the party begins. Split the guests into two teams and the team with the most correct answers wins! The guests can also have fun playing “Lord of the Rings” charades. Have them create motions and clues to get the others to guess the certain character or event they are thinking of.

Most of the food in the movies was made while traveling. So, why not have a cookout, just like the characters would? You can have regular offerings, like hot dogs and corn on the cob. To make the cookout more interesting, you can only provide vegetables and meats that the teens will have to turn into some sort of stew. Whatever you can cook over the fire can be made at a party with this theme. (Make sure the fire has constant adult supervision, have plenty of water or a fire extinguisher handy, and keep the fire department phone number on hand in case of emergency.)

Party supplies for a “Lord of the Rings” party are easy to come by. You can find party supplies for the Lord of the Rings theme, at your local party shop or online retailer. You will be able to find everything you need: cups, napkins, plates, bowls, decorations, invitations and thank you cards. (Tip: when ordering online, leave plenty of time for shipping!)

To end you party, you can always pop some popcorn and watch all three movies back to back! You can find the theatre versions or the extended releases! If planning on watching more than one, have plenty of drinks and additional snacks available, as the teens will be watching for a long time!