Fifteen Years and One Day: What To Do After Your Quinceañera

By: Michael Kabel

We hope your Quinceañera comes off as perfectly as you deserve, and that everything goes just right for your celebration. You'll probably have the time of your life - or at least the best time of your life so far!

After everything is finished and the last of the guests have gone home, remember there are a few loose ends to tie up and a few little details to put "just so" before your quince is completely and truly over. You'll probably have someone offer to do them for you, too. That's your choice, but remember that taking care of all the details is a woman's prerogative. 

Make sure the quince fiesta venue is emptied.

Cleaning up the little details means no decoration left behind at the quince fiesta venue. You might want to hold onto everything for future celebrations or to sort out what you'd like to keep as souvenirs later. The venue may charge you for leaving things behind, as well.

Come prepared to clean and pack with a group of your friends who won't mind breaking everything down. Don't worry about the time. With several of you working it'll go by much quicker than when all the decorations were put up.

Return everything that was rented.

This is definitely not something to put off, since you can lose money returning party supplies and equipment later than you agreed. You'll need transportation, so a parent or padrino will have to help you. But get everything back to where it came from so that you're not spending money on your quince anos after your quince anos has ended.

When you return each item, get an invoice or receipt showing that it was returned safely and in good condition. This will be your proof that you held up your part of the rental agreement.

Decide what to do with the leftovers.

You may have some leftover wine, food and other beverages left over from the fiesta. Basically, there are three choices for yourself. You can throw it away outright, keep it for your family, or give it to friends or to charity. If you have prepared food that's untouched, a local church mission or other food drive will gladly receive it to feed the needy.

Take back the presents you don't want, already have, et cetera.

Putting this off immediately sometimes drags out into putting it off forever. It's not uncommon to get more than one kind of gift, so why not get everything in order right away? This task can probably wait a couple of days, but it's still a priority for getting your life straight after the Quinceañera hustle.

Start writing your thank you notes.

Ideally, the first thank you notes should be to your padrinos. And it's not a time to cut corners, either – the notes should be handwritten and neatly addressed. Think of them as written proof of your appreciation. Once those are finished, you should also write thank you notes to your older guests for their presence at the fiesta. Of course, any gifts you receive should also be recognized.