The Quinceañera, in Latin American culture, is a coming of age ceremony held on a girl's fifteenth birthday. Like many other coming-of-age ceremonies, the Quinceañera celebrates a young Latina "becoming a lady". This is definitely a time for a special party!

The Quinceañera ritual is believed to be started in the ancient culture Aztecs. Fifteen was the age when many young women were considered to be ready for motherhood so they left their family home to become wives and then mothers.  The young Latina woman was expected to face the new responsibilities that came with becoming an adult.

Today the Quinceañera has become a time to celebrate and almost takes on the likeness of a wedding. The Quinceañera celebration traditionally begins with a religious ceremony in a church where the Godparents of the Quinceañera play an important part, followed by a reception in a home or an event venue, like a hall.

Festivities include food and music, and in most, a choreographed waltz or dance performed by the Quinceañera and her Court. It is a very formal affair and the Quinceañera traditionally wears a ball gown, with her Court dressed in gowns and tuxedos.  Many traditions are respected including the very symbolic tradition of the father changing the girl’s shoes from flats to high heels to indicate her becoming a young woman.

However, a Quinceañera celebration still takes some basic planning.

• Determine a date.  You should try to get the date of the young girl’s birthday, of course, but if that is not possible try for a date as close as possible.

• Set your budget! This will help when you are looking for a venue and looking at the menu you would like to serve.

• Find the location!   If you are lucky enough to have your celebration at someone’s house you can spend your budget on decorations.  You can really spruce up a backyard with nice linens, candles and lights. Remember you will need space for the traditional dancing.

• Set your guest list. Family is such an important part of this celebration, you will not want to leave anyone out.  And the Quinceañera will certainly ask her siblings and closest friends to be part of her “Court”.

• Have the birthday girl help in the selection of invitations.  Most stores that have Wedding Invitations also have samples of Quinceañera invitations.  But also search on the internet.  There are many sites that now offer invitations and ideas expressly for the Quinceañera celebration.  The invitations should be mailed out 3-4 weeks in advance. If you have relatives or friends living in other countries, you may want to send them an invitation 6-8 weeks in advance to allow then to make travel arrangements.

• Choose your menu.  No matter if you are using a caterer, a restaurant or the family is providing the food, keep in mind that you will need food to satisfy different tastes.  For instance there may be vegetarians on the menu.  Most importantly set your food budget and try to stay with it. 

• As with a wedding, you should have party favors for the guests to thank them for coming.  Perhaps the favor could be something that is part of your young woman’s life or interests.  Or maybe a special cookie or candy wrapped in a pretty net bag.  No matter what you choose, make sure the birthday girl’s name and birth date are displayed on a ribbon or a card attached.

It is important to include your young woman in the decisions made in the planning of the Quinceañera Celebration.  It is a very festive time of her life with  many cultural traditions and a new sense of responsibility as she comes into womanhood.   With a little planning, the Quinceañera can be a very special celebration.