Shotbook parties... the new official way your most basic girls celebrate their 21st birthdays. I have always loved the idea of getting your closest friends together to ring in the new age through drinking and taking plenty of Instagram worthy pictures! While I turned 21 back in October, I have had a lot of questions on how to plan and throw a successful shot book for your best friend, so I am sharing all the secrets from an over-planner!
What is a Shot Book Party?
Shot Books are a fun way for you to celebrate turning 21 with your 21 closest friends! You throw a mini "pre-game" before the bars so that you can hangout with all of your friends and have an awesome keep-sake of the last important birthday! The birthday girl chooses her 21 friends that she wants to make her a scrapbook page! Usually, the pages include funny or embarrassing pictures of the birthday girl with a cute saying! It's always fun to see what everyone comes up with and is something you will always look back on and laugh at! At the party, you start at page 1 and go all the way to 21 as the night goes on! Usually on the pages, it includes a "S", "T", "P", and "X"! "S" is for Shot, so she can keep track of what she drank with that friend! Some people will actually attempt all 21 shots, but others (like myself) prefer to actually make it to the bar that night! In that case, girls will usually take small shots or drink wine/champagne throughout the night! "T" is for time so you can write down what time in the night you took that drink! "P" is for place! Sometimes, people will take the book with them to bars so this is a fun way to keep track of what bar you are drinking at! And last, "X"! This is for your signature! Everybody does it differently, but we usually have the friend sign it with the birthday girl (which is hilarious to see the decline in handwriting skills as night progresses! At the end of the night, she has an awesome book filled of memories from the evening with all of her closest friends!
10 Steps to Planning & Executing the Shot Book Party
1. Have the birthday girl select her date, location, and list of 21 friends to include in her book
2. Create a group message (usually 100x easier in a Group Me, which can be downloaded in the App Store) with all of her friends that are included or are invited! You are the official communicator to them to make her life easier!
3. Let everyone know what page number they are responsible for and then be sure to tell them what size book you are doing! Usually, girls will choose the basic 12x12 book so that there is more room (and more page options) to create off of!
4. Hop onto Pinterest for all of the good ideas and photo wall backdrops! She probably already has a little bit of an idea on what she wants to do, but Pinterest is filled with awesome ideas and hacks!
5. Get to shopping to make her vision come alive! I am linking all of my photo wall props below for you all below!
6. Collect all of the pages from her friends and go ahead and put them in order in the book for later so that you won't have to worry about it at the party!
7. Help set up the wall for her because I promise, it will take you both to make this happen. Bring plenty of tape and command hooks because you never know what you will need!
8. Bring everything to the party for the birthday girl including booze!
9. Steal her phone for the night and be her personal paparazzi! She will want all of the pictures and it's way easier if you just hold onto her phone!
10. Make sure she has her ID, a charged phone, and drunken self to head out to the bars!
Don't Forget to Bring to the Party
Easy to forget but make sure you have:
Sharpies to write in the book
Phone charger
Alcohol
And of course... the SHOT BOOK
My Party Photo Wall Decorations
(click the pictures to shop them)
