How to celebrate your Sweet 16th (Cuban Style)

If you're going to celebrate your 16th birthday, Cuban-style. There are things you need to know.

 First of all, ask your mom to make Arroz con Pollo and then invite a small army of friends.
If you play your cards right (and you usually do) she will recruit your big sister into the cooking process and they will cook tons of it, so you will have leftovers for the next two days.
This makes everyone happy.

Ask your guests to wear hats, because it adds to the fun and festive atmosphere and seriously, it's a party, right?
Somehow everyone smiles at each other when they are wearing hats. Plus it makes for really fun group pictures. And mom will be happy because it gives her an excuse to wear her tiara.

Party hats = Mandatory. That is all.

Besides, you just happen to look adorable in a hat, but that's not important right now. =D

As a party favor, make a cd with your favorite artists, songs, or music that somehow alludes to you and how cute you are and being sixteen and all the stuff surrounding your birthday. Make sure you use sixteen songs (for symmetry). 😉

1. You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful and You're Mine) – Ringo Starr  
2. Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison             
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds – The Beatles      
4. For The Longest Time – Billy Joel                   
5. Un Artista Famoso – Willy Chirino  
6. Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys
7. Dancing Machine – The Jackson 5   
8. Love Her Madly – The Doors   
9. Sadie Hawkins Dance  – Relient K                   
10. Sweetest Thing – U2
11. Smooth – Santana                   
12. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic – The Police
13. Free Fallin'  – Tom Petty                   
14. Sixteen Going On Seventeen – The Sound of Music (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
15. To Life! – Fiddler on the Roof               
16. The Maladjusted Jester – Danny Kaye   

And  make the cd label a photo of something that's totally your signature look. (Or have your mom, who is also a graphic designer, make it for you.)

Show an old school movie in your Backyard Movie Theater (assuming of course, you have a backyard movie theater…) like The Court Jester with Danny Kaye. CLASSIC. (Have your dad set this up. He'll be really into that part. Especially if he's a techno-geek kind of guy.)

Make sure to provide lots of popcorn and candy, like a movie theater concession stand.

The next day, your mom will still be cleaning up and trying to fight off the sugar coma. She'll try to blog about how much fun the party was, but she will be so exhausted that it will end up being just a few lines and some pictures.

But she will decide that you are totally worth it. =D

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