Top Trends in Bar Mitzvahs for 2016

NJ Bar mitzvah planning continues to include fun and personalized party themes and details to make the bar mitzvah an unforgettable event, and at our top NJ event venues, we’ve seen some spectacular celebrations designed to reflect the guest of honor and create a fabulous experience for party guests.

Here are some of the top trends in bar mitzvahs for 2016:

Top bar mitzvah themes for 2016

• Star Wars: the popularity of the Star Wars franchise makes this a top bar mitzvah theme for 2016, given how easily Star Wars-themed décor may be acquired, Star Wars costumes created or worn, light sabers flaring, and even bar mitzvah catering elements given theme-matching names, and colorful cocktails suiting the theme. One detail to consider: playing past Star Wars movies on big screen televisions throughout your event venue, and theming different areas of your event venue or event ballroom to match snowy or jungle-themed scenes seen in the Star Wars movies.
• Marvel’s Avengers: superhero party themes have long been atop the best bar mitzvah themes lists, and this year there is a resurgence in Avengers party themes, with the new movie and, again, the excellent availability of Avengers costuming and party décor, making this theme easier to style as the guest of honor wishes. Add in comic book-style signs like ‘Pow!’ ‘Zap!’ and other well-known comic book word bubbles, and even full-wall comic book page enlargements or custom art for parties to set the scene, then continue into giving party menu items theme-matching names. One detail to consider: hiring professional entertainers to race into the ballroom on a ‘chase’ after the supervillains, an interactive experience for the guests and great photo opportunities for the guest of honor, especially if this entertainment plan is a surprise for the guest of honor.
• Ski lodge: Give your event venue’s ballroom a ski lodge feel with skis, old-fashioned sleds and toboggans, and snow shoes used within the party décor, and theme your party menu to include hearty and warming wintry dishes and winter-themed cocktails. Guests can be sent ‘lift passes’ as their invitations to the party.
• Sports: A perennial favorite bar mitzvah theme idea, this one remains strong as a top bar mitzvah theme in NJ, as the party centers around the guest of honor’s favorite sport, or a collection of sports. Favorite players’ jerseys may be displayed around the venue, and the cake may be designed to look like a soccer ball, again a favorite player’s jersey, or the guest of honor’s signature sports number. Add in tailgate or stadium-inspired menu items and drinks to your party catering list, and the experience turns interactive for guests, a big draw in NJ bar mitzvah planning.

Bar Mitzvah Details:

• Bar mitzvah menus are more elaborate with multiple serving times: NJ bar mitzvahs often include extensive cocktail party menu choices, gourmet multiple-course dinners, extravagant dessert hour and cakes, and late-night bites served towards the closing hours of the party when guests may have been dancing for hours, hungry again hours after dinner. Teen guests’ palates have expanded beyond chicken fingers and fries, with more teens preferring refined and upscale tastes like sushi, filet mignon, Mediterranean station, seafood and other top party menu trends.
• Custom stations and drink bars: With the bar mitzvah guest of honor more involved in the party planning, a top bar mitzvah trend for 2016 is custom food stations and drink bars or menus. For instance, a custom soda bar, pasta bar, burger bar and other favorite tastes are added to your cocktail party stations list. Add to this the trend of renting a custom bar itself, perhaps one that’s mirrored for a futuristic-themed bar mitzvah, or designed in a favorite team’s colors and logo, lit up in theme colors, and so on.
• Logos and branding: The bar mitzvah boy’s name, monogram and logo are displayed throughout the event venue, from signs to bar napkins, as a design for the cake and elsewhere throughout the party. A fun trend in bar mitzvahs: many bar mitzvah boys are designing their own monograms or logos, as well as creating other graphic design details for their own parties.
• A gaming room: A spacious event venue provides room for a separate gaming area where kid and teen guests can play video games to their hearts’ content.
• Smart photo booths: NJ photo booth companies now offer smart technology photo booths, allowing guests to step up to a kiosk that allows them to social media share their photo booth photos, or email their photos to themselves or others. Some new photo booths also allow for slow-motion video, which creates fun footage of groups’ interactions and prop use.
• Grand entrance: The guest of honor may be introduced into the NJ ballroom, and to the sound of guests’ applause, make his grand entrance on a skateboard, Segway or other rolling device, or be introduced into the room in the manner of sports stadium announcers or pro wrestling announcers, complete with theme music. Custom lighting effects can be designed in the ballroom to add further excitement to the big moment.
• An impressive mitzvah project: Bar mitzvahs share the project or charity of the guest of honor, with projects ranging from clean water missions, mosquito net purchases for developing countries and islands (now more popular given the dangers of Zika,) literacy programs, NJ animal shelter programs, and support of top professional athletes’ charities, for a sense of ‘giving back’ added to the best NJ bar mitzvahs.