Planning a birthday party for a teenager can be tough, especially if you want the party to be memorable – in a good way. A good party can boost your teen's self-esteem and carry them all the way through an entire school year. A great party is high-energy and filled with endless excitement.

If you're still stuck for ideas, you should consider a backyard paintball party. If you're concerned about providing paintball guns for all the guests, you don't have to. Simply make the party BYOPBG – bring your own paint ball gun. When sending out the invitations, be sure to include a list of sporting goods stores in the area that sell or rent paintball equipment.  Here's a list of everything else you'll need to plan the perfect paintball party.

Barricades

No paintball party is complete without the right amount of barricades. The barricades allow participants to take cover while they're lining up their next shot. You can design your own play zone using bales of hay. Most feed stores will deliver hay right to your home.

To create your play zone, decide what portions of your yard you want to use.  Set bales of hay up in random places around the yard. For the best protection, each barricade should be two bales high.

Protective Gear

When planning a paintball party, it's important that you plan for the safety of your guests. Paintball is a fun sport. However, it does require a certain amount of protective gear. Participants should have a pair of protective goggles and a helmet. If your guests don't have their own paintball helmets, they can use their bicycle helmets instead. You can hand out protective goggles as part of the party favors.

Ammunition

Your kids are going to go through a lot of paintballs at the party. Paintballs are stored in a hopper that's attached to the paintball gun. Each hopper can hold about 200 paintballs, which will last for one round of play. To make sure the paintballs don't run out, you should have several cases on hand.

CO2 Tanks

Paintball guns are powered by individual CO2 cartridges. Most cartridges are refillable, which makes them last longer. You can have a CO2 tank delivered to your home so you can refill the cartridges as many times as you need to. You can rent portable CO2 tanks from most party supply companies like Arizona Air Boutique Inc.

You want your teenager's party to be memorable. A paintball play zone will make it a party they won't forget. Use this simple list to make sure you get everything you'll need to make it the perfect party.