court

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1. Western or patriotic theme

Time of the year:
Summer or around July 4th
Your dress:
Red, white, or royal blue
Your court:
Girls — Cropped jean skirts and plaid shirttails tied into a front knot, cowboy boots, and pigtails.
Guys — Blue jeans, plaid shirts, cowboy hats, and bolo ties.
Decoration:
Red, white, and blue all the way!
Food:
Everything barbecue, including chips and salsa.
Music:
Rock-and-roll, country, and all-American, like 80s one-hit wonders and country party music.

2. Luau, tropical, or beach theme

Time of the year:
Summer, unless you live in a coastal city. You can go to the beach or an indoor or outdoor swimming pool.
Your dress:
White, yellow, turquoise, or lime green
Your court:
Girls — Short, flowing white dresses, hula skirts or pareos/sarongs, bright flowers in their hair, and bare feet.
Guys — Rolled-up jeans, Hawaiian shirts or guayaberas, and bare feet
Decoration:
Tropical flowers, fern, and fake or real palm trees. Seashells, pineapples, coconuts, and banana leaves; floral-print tablecloths.
Food:
Finger foods, fresh tropical fruits, veggies, sushi, BBQ ribs, fried chicken, egg rolls, chicken or beef teriyaki, macaroni and potato salads, white rice.
Music:
Latin, reggae, Hawaiian music, surf

3. Hollywood or American star theme

Time of the year:
Anytime! Especially great for during awards season, like in January for the Oscars, June for the ALMA Awards, September for the Emmys and the VMAs, or November for the Latin Grammys.
Your dress:
White, gold, silver — with sparkles!
Your court:
Girls — Sequin dresses with feather boas.
Guys — Tuxes with slicked-back hair and dark glasses. Vests should match the damas’ color.
Decoration:
Stars like the glow-in-the-dark kind you stick to the wall, disco ball, spotlights, movie cameras and reels, red carpet, directors chairs, and your picture everywhere!
Food:
Hollywood is as international as it gets. Anything goes. You can set it up with pictures of your favorite stars, with award statues in between plates.
Music:
Big band, swing, jazz, and all your karaoke favorites

4. Masquerade or Mardi Gras party

Time of the year:
Autumn, winter, Christmas, or February for Mardi Gras
Your dress:
White, purple, orange, red, brown, gold, or copper
Your court:
Girls — Long gowns in different but complementary colors, jazzed up with lace, pearls, gloves, fans, hair feathers, and masks.
Guys — Tuxes with tails, hair slicked back, masks, capes, and canes.
Decoration:
Lots of candles or candelabras, masks, pearls, and feathers on the tables. Fabric draped everywhere, over doorways and at different points in the room, balloons in the metallic/autumn color scheme.
Food:
Hors d'oeuvres, finger foods — these are better for this occasion because they’re easier to handle when you are wearing a costume.
Music:
New Orleans/Cajun, waltz, carnival-like music

5. Hippie or 60s theme

Time of the year:
Spring or summer
Your dress:
Cream or pastel colors
Your court:
Girls — Miniskirts with colorful leggings, big hair, round glasses, boots, bandannas, and daisies.
Guys — Afros, bell bottoms, and peace-sign necklaces
Decoration:
Love beads, peace signs, flower garlands, yellow smiley faces, lava lamps, strobe lights — anything psychedelic!
Food:
Foods that will be easy to serve: Chili; chips with guacamole and salsa; cocktail wieners, either plain or wrapped in a puff pastry; stuffed mushrooms; cherry tomatoes stuffed with tuna salad.
Music:
Go-go, British Invasion, Motown

Tell us what twist you would give these party themes at your own quinceañera! Comment below.

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Are you having a hard time picking out your damas? Here’s an idea for you: Would you consider making your court all guys? This is definitely not traditional, but sometimes you gotta dare to be different!

You’ll get more attention on you as the only girl. Guys are easier to dress and to coordinate. It’s so easy to take them all for a tuxedo fitting. You can dress your main chambelán all in white, while the other chambelanes wear black tuxes.

Your dance routines can be completely different. Part of the dance routine can be that the guys form a line and each one walks up to you to hand you a rose. Or, do a candle-lighting ceremony, where each one holds a candle that you light up as you walk by with a candle of your own. They can also stand in formation while they each wait to dance with you.

This should also make it easier to ask your crush to be your main chambelán, if that's what you really want. I didn’t have the guts to ask the guy who I had a crush on. To my surprise, I later found out that the guy I did ask to be my main chambelán (he was really cute!) had a crush on ME — who knew!?! Days later, he told me about his feelings when he extended his hand to me for the dance. He was looking at me as if he had seen me for the first time. Even though he was shy, he was a very sweet guy.

What about you? Have any chambelán stories to melt our hearts?

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