Birthdays are so much fun, and birthday parties are always a great thing to look forward to. I don't know about you, but I've been seeing more and more online where parents are giving their babies and toddlers super duper uber fancy parties... and it's costing them more than graduation! When you have a few kids... that sort of coin does not come easily. However, we still want to give our children memorable birthdays! What to do? Enter... the frugal birthday party!
Growing up, my mom chose only a few years where we would actually get a birthday party with our friends. That was age 5, 10, 13, and 16. I am continuing that with my kids. However, each year I love to invite friends and family over to our house to partake in cake and snacks, and give the birthday girl/boy well wishes. Nothing fancy... although some years I have more fun with the décor and cake than others (depends on my energy level). The birthdays so far have all been memorable for my kids. They love the cakes, and have come to realize that those cakes are very much part of their birthday gift. Mom (aka, me, ha ha) becomes a bit unavailable for a few hours a day, a few days before the celebration, as I get to work on those works of art (that's what I'll call them, haha). And the kids love to watch them transform from a simple cake into a colorful piece of edible fun!
Making your own cake is much cheaper than buying a fancy one from a cake store, but you can get a simpler cake slab with some decorating on it from the grocery store for $30, and young kids will love it either way! Plus, sometimes you just don't have the time to decorate Minnie Mouse in tons of icing stars. Balloons are another cheap decorating option. And streamers. The dollar store is a great place to get some of the themed party decorations/plates/napkins. And if you want, you can go even cheaper. For my son's cars birthday, we had leftover black plates from both his Mickey party the year before, and my daughters Minnie party. Red napkins were perfect as well (Lightening McQueen is red, after all). So, we got a cars tablecloth for $2. You can get a basic tablecloth to use for multiple parties and themed cups, for example. You don't need it all! In fact, I like it better with only one or two themed items (my personal opinion of course). And have fun with the food! Make normal food items fit the theme and use cards to tell guests what they are... printed from your own computer. The options are as limitless as your imagination (and time, of course).
Get the kids involved, too! Ask them what they want in their party. Most of the time with young kids, all they want is cake and ice cream, and to watch a movie. Go with it! Kids really don't need a whole lot of fancy stuff to have a great time! For my son's 3rd birthday I did more with the theme than usual. He wanted Cars. You know... the Disney Cars. So, I used some of his Cars cars (sorry... confusing, I know) and made a giant '3' cake using a square and a round cake tin, cut to shape, and decorated with icing. I made a 'road' with fondant, and put his cars on top. Then I printed signs for the other party foods (stoplight crackers, Flos Fuel, etc) and printed 4 coloring images per paper (to save on paper) for the kids to color, with dollar store stickers nearby to decorate their sheets, and dollar store cars stamps. Really, the Dollar Store is the best place to buy party stuffs for kids. I had an art station, lots of food, and it was perfect for my boy. And it only cost $5 in decorations. You can make a lot of decorations yourself to fit your theme as well... and personalized to your guest of honor.
Oh, and check out Pinterest for lots of ideas. I easily get overwhelmed with Pinterest, but it is so much fun to see all the ideas. I like to pick a few things that I can easily replicate for minimal cost. You can really make an awesome party for little money. I've never spent more than $10 for a birthday party, and the gifts I've gotten for my kids were never pricey either... which brings me to another money saving point ... gifts. Wait for sales and buy items your kids will love on sale. Or, check second hand stores and garage sales! Toys clean up really well for the most part and can be brought to 'like new' condition more often than not!
The most important thing to remember about parties is this... it's not about the decorations, the games, the food, or even the cake and presents. It's about having fun with friends and celebrating together.
I know I didn't have a lot of 'specific' money saving points in this post, but since parties are all about the individual, it's hard for me to do. The best way to save on parties is to have fun with your imagination. That's what I love about parties!
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