Big City Lights

These little town blues, are getting in your way, so start spreading the news, you’re having a party today! Bring all the glamour and excitement of New York without ever having to buy an airplane ticket or pay for a hotel. This party is perfect for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah! It's easily transformed into a party based on your favorite city - just keep an eye out for cool decorations and favors relating to your city and work them into your themed decor.

New York Theme Invitations
Along with your formal Bar or Bat Mitzvah invitation, you want to include a fun party invitation. You can mail it with your formal invitation (in the same envelope) or mail it separately shortly after you mail your formal invitation.

New York is a city of tickets – to the theater, sporting events, train or subway. So what better way to invite your guests to a night in New York than with an actual ticket? Party411.com can create a fabulous ticket invitation just for you. Make it into a magnet and it can stick right to your guests’ refrigerator. Once everyone hears about this party, they’ll be trying to find scalpers to get an invitation!

If you want a more traditional invitation, personalized New York themed invitation. Or use a great black and silver (or gold!) City Skyline Invitation or a die-cut Skyscraper Invitation. Put skyline confetti in the envelope for a special touch.

A semi-custom caricature invitation (or a fully custom caricature) is a truly unique way to invite your guests to such a unique event! Start with fabulous New York theme art and add the Bat Mitzvah girl's face and all of your party information.

New York Decorations and Party Supplies
There are so many decorating possibilities for a New York theme party. Here are some highlights! Central Park is one of New York’s most famous and beautiful landmarks. Few of us can have a lake, boat house or walking path in our front yard, but it can still be scenic and bright. Decorative gas lamps placed along a front walk look elegant and romantic. Or, use votive candle holders in the shape of the Empire State Building; they will make a wonderful entry way to your party. And how magical will the entrance to your party look with small, white twinkle lights on bushes and trees?

As your guests walk through the front door, greet them with a great welcome banner. The New York theme banner can be customized any way you want – a general party welcome or one to a New York City landmark - “Welcome to the Smith’s 13 Club” or “Smith’s Madison Square Garden, Ticket Holders Only.”

New York is known for its night life so play up the glitter and glitz of the big city with a silver and gold color scheme. Mix bunches of silver and gold balloons on either side of the door. Clear balloons filled with metallic shred or confetti for a really unique look. You can use these balloon bunches as centerpieces on your tables too – they look fabulous and are cost effective. Everyone will feel like they’re in Manhattan as they look around at the walls covered in a city scene backdrop. Complete with fireworks (the New Year’s add ons are optional), your party room will be the most festive place in town! If you’ve got the room, we love the Twilight In Central Park kit with a Central Park gate, lampposts, building skylines and other New York theme options.

Near the entry, have a fun taxi photo op, with the windows cutout. Your guests can take pictures with the photo op throughout the evening. Place the pictures in frame and your guest will have a wonderful party favor to remind them of their great evening long after it’s over.

Get your guest's autographs on a Broadway theme sign in board or choose a big city theme 3D sign in book for your child. The books are personalized with your child's "favorites" and make a great memento. You can even use them for photos after the party.

A personalized show ticket seating card is a fun choice for a New York theme Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Each table can be named for a different Broadway show. Or, use a ticket as a seating card and have it direct them to a sporting event, show or museum in the city.

As your guests enter the party room and during the cocktail hour, be sure that the smooth sounds of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. are playing. This classic music will set the tone for the evening.

Big City Table Decorations
Start with fabulous linens on your tables. Black with sparkling silver overlays will have a great impact on the party. For the kids, choose black cloths with silver napkins. Another option is to use white, yellow and black and play up the colors on a taxi on your table. Sprinkle some skyline confetti on the table to add sparkle.

There are a ton of great ideas for your New York (or city theme) centerpiece. Here are just a few:
  • Empire State Building votive candle holders work as a simple centerpiece. You can surround it with smaller city skyline votive holders for an elegant evening look.
  • Take pictures of the Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebrant around New York and create a centerpiece with photos of your child throughout the city.
  • Each centerpiece can be themed for a different area in the city: Chinese take-out boxes for Chinatown, Clothing sketches and fabric for the Garment District, etc.
If you are not using NY votive holders, on the tables, choose personalized mini tabletop lanterns with a photo of your child (in the city!) on all four sides. They all come with LED candles, so they are safe to use on the kids tables too, and look great surrounding a centerpiece. Place personalized Bar and Bat Mitzvah cameras on each table for your guests to use for pictures!

New York is famous for its’ restaurants and eateries so be sure to offer your guests a sampling of the City’s finest! Your guests will love a buffet overflowing with egg rolls and chow mein (from Chinatown), hot dogs (remember Nathan’s?), pizza (home of the famous slice), corned beef and pickles (from the Lower East Side), hot pretzels and roasted chestnuts (found on any street corner) and cheesecake (Lindy’s is the best).

New York Party Favors
Want to give your guests more than just great memories from your party? The sweetness of the evening will linger as everyone nibbles on a milk or dark chocolate personalized New York theme candy bar. Delicious! Here are some other city theme favors for your guests:
Have a great time in the big city and at your big city lights party!