Need help with 18th birthday party ideas?

it's my 18th birthday in July and I'm having a garden party :) Mines going to be loosely based on alice and wonderland but I'm not doing the full fancy dress and crazy decorations thing because a lot of my friends are boys and won't bother! I was also thinking of a marquee to start with but thought that I would rather have the money to spend else where but if I had a lot of people coming and spare cash then I would go with one without walls ( like this a href="http://heartofengland.bouncycastlenetwork.co.uk/thumbs.ashx?img=jousting%20tent%20marquees.jpg&s=l" rel="nofollow"http://heartofengland.bouncycastlenetwor…/a ) or it could get a bit claustrophobic and you won't be taking advantage of the summer weather! You can get lots of inspiration from photos of garden parties online. I like the idea of paper lanterns ( like this a href="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lfmwm33XNP1qb1ua7.jpg" rel="nofollow"http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lfmwm33XN…/a or this a href="http://www.jessicaclaire.net/images/content/01tablewide.jpg" rel="nofollow"http://www.jessicaclaire.net/images/cont…/a ). you could do shots or small tails/punch in bottles like this a href="http://1.bp.blo.com/_yeGTlXynb7E/TLZ0W-z78VI/AAAAAAAAB3g/TMl5nqCs5ds/s1600/gwendolyngracephoto.jpg" rel="nofollow"http://1.bp.blo.com/_yeGTlXynb7E/TL…/a ) and make little tags like these ( a href="http://countrydays.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/alice-party-picks.jpg?w=450&h=450" rel="nofollow"http://countrydays.files.wordpress.com/2…/a ) to put in sandwiches/cupcakes etc. I'm going to fill big silver buckets with ice and dot them around with bottles of beer etc. then I'm choosing some nice tail recipes and having a table with liqueurs on for people to make their own (i'll print the instructions out and leave them on the table). Buy lots of things like candles/lanterns/paper doilies/pretty plates and cups/flamingos for outside/fairy lights etc. to make it feel like a proper alice in wonderland party and you could even set up a game of croquet (the game the queen of hearts plays in the film if you didn't know) and turn it into a drinking game or something somehow! another idea is to dot playing cards round the table with markers and have a box so that guests can write messages on them and leave them for you to keep. that way you could make a kind of scrapbook to keep afterwards with photos and the playing cards etc :) i wouldn't worry about the venue. it's fun to organize an event from scratch and you can keep a lot of the things you buy to use again. you also have the benefit that people can arrive and leave when they like whereas a venue might throw you out early. A spa day is a nice idea but it can be a bit pricey. I'm going to get my hair and nails etc. done with friends on the day and going out for afternoon tea afterwards :) My local bar has a 'mad hatters tea party' where you get a teapot filled with tail and little cups and saucers to drink from so thats another idea. Be creative, have fun, take lots of photos and don't worry if you aren't in a glitzy venue. You can always go out for a night in town either after the party if it's early evening or another night soon after. As long as you are surrounded by close friends, a nice atmosphere and drinks you'll have the best time! hope this helps and sorry for the essay haha :)