Amanda posted on our FaceBook page:
“Do you have any suggestions for throwing birthday parties on a budget? My son’s 2nd birthday is coming up and I am currently on maternity leave so we are watching our pennies. I found some supplies on orientaltrading.com but I wanted to know if you had any other suggestions before I made any purchases. THANKS :)”
Here are some of my favorite tips for budget birthday parties:
1) Less is more! My sister threw an AWESOME birthday party for her son (my nephew) and the theme was “rockets”. There was actually very little “decor”. It was held in the backyard and the only real decor (that I can remember) were these AWESOME rockets that each kid got to wear! Each one was made of 2 empty bottles wrapped in silver posterboard and had streamers for the flames. They were AMAZING and not expensive. Guess what- months later that is what my kids remember- “flying” around in their rockets! And one of them even still has theirs!
Especially at a young age- streamers and matching plates are more for US than for them. So spend the money on the items that will be important to them instead of those items that will hang for a little while and then be thrown away. Kids won’t remember that there were streamers or matching plates- they want to have fun!
These rockets fulfilled (3) uses: decoration, activity AND “goodie bag”
credit: M. Gioeli Photography
2) Use what you have. Do you have cereal, nuts, dried fruit, etc? Make your own snack mixes. Do you have a ton of boxes of popcorn? Pop it and serve it. Think outside the box. You don’t have to serve an entire meal- just some little munchies and a cake/cupcakes.
3) Go Generic. Licensed character decor is pricy. Think generic. For example a Rocket Party- yellow and red and orange plates, napkins, cutlery was perfect. No need for Disney Princess or other pricy disposable items. They are just eating off of them & throwing them away!
4) Think dual use. Like the rockets that served as goody treats- think about an activity that they can do during the party that they can take home. Dollar Tree carries lots of craft items and you can find artsy inspiration all over the web (Pintrest is a great place to start). If you are doing a dinosaur party- what about making fossils? A little plaster of paris and some shells and leaves can be inexpensive and fun! (p.s. As a mom of three- those little bags of cheap toys just becomes clutter in the bottom of the toy box but a hand crafted take-away- priceless).
5)Cakes are EXPENSIVE. Even birthday cakes! Even a basic sheet cake at a grocery store can run over $25! Think about baking cupcakes and letting the kids (depending on age) decorate them themselves! Or you can ice them and allow them to add sprinkles, etc. Again- double duty- activity AND treat.
6) Think outside. Having a party outside in the backyard (or even a park) gives the kids room to roam and play. The best parties that my children have been to have been the simple, outdoor parties rather than the $300-$400 parties hosted at event locations (like children’s museums, bounce houses, etc).
7) Decorate with things about the Guest of Honor: pictures of them from birth forward. Hang them from a string with clothes pins (I found some at the dollar store). Kids love to see pictures of themselves. You can even make a coloring book page out a picture of your child! There is a free app from Crayola HERE . Instead of pin the tail on the donkey- maybe put the pirate patch on Little Johnnie (or the crown on Princess Jane). We get FREE 8×10 images from Walgreens pretty often.
8) Saving on ballons- helium filled balloons can get pricy. Instead of paying for bunches of latex balloons with helium- opt for 2 or 3 of the foil ones from a Dollar Store. Then attach a few non-helium ones to the string right at the base or even down the string. Or even hang balloons upside down from a tree branch (if outside) or the ceiling. It gives the same illusion without the price. My kids always have more fun with the NON-helium balloons so we blow up plenty of extra- they love tossing and catching them.
These are just a few of my ideas for lowering the cost of a birthday party without sacrificing any of the fun. Share your ideas for Birthdays on a Budget with us!
I just threw a party for my 8 year old niece and the food part was easy being a couponer. I had almost everything I needed to serve great snack foods for a low price. I had meatballs, nut mix, chips and dip, mini subs, veggie tray and fruit skewers and pasta salad. Everything was in my stockpile except the rolls for the subs (got a huge bag at Sam’s for 4.00) and the fruit and veggies at either aldi or a produce stand(which I purchased tomatoes, cucumbers, brocolli, strawberries, cantelope, watermelon and grapes). I spent about $30 total on food. I also had tons of 2 L beverages stocked up. We don’t drink 2 L around the house, only cans but I always buy them when on sale for holidays or parties. My nieces current obsession is “Hello Kitty”, however, you are right the character stuff can get crazy expensive! The only actual hello kitty stuff I purchased was a large wall banner (4.00 on ebay) but she hung it in her room so it was something she is still using and hello kitty favor bags (25 for around 4.00). I bought a red/white polka dot table cloth (plastic) at the party store for 1.00. I already had red solo cups (cheap with coupons) and white chinet plates. I did purchase hello kitty cake plates (4.00 for 30.. ebay does have good prices). I am fortunate to have a very talented family member who can make awesome cakes. I found a cake mold pan online for 9.99 and she decorated. I had the cake mix and icing in my stockpile (she just used her own icing dye and colored icing, she had that already since she does this as a hobby). The cake pan is something we will use again. I used toys she already had to add on to decoration.. stuffed animals etc. I did a “goody bar” as the favor. I decided to do this only because I had accumulated a ton of candy that we did not need. I purchased a little more with coupons but since I had quite a bit, I only spent about $10 more on candy and had a candy bar. There was only 6 (her included) kids so I purchased a few favors for the kids, erasers, pencils, lip balm etc for the goody table.. this cost about $10. I got lucky though because target had a bunch of hello kitty stuff on the dollar isle 50-75% off. I also got some of the hello kitty plastic rings from the sam’s bakery (i asked if I could purchase them and she just gave them to me). Overall, I spent about a little over $50 on this party.. had great food, a super cute candy/goody bar. For activities, we just did fun yard activities with things we already had. The kids wore swim suits and my niece already had a hello kitty sprinkler, a slip and slide and blow up pool that was set up. There was also her swing set, the kids were just glad to have each others company!!
You sound like my kind of party planners~