How to Have a Cheap Kids Birthday Party

mommymommymommy | Jan 1, 2012 |

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If you utilize the following strategies, you can have a cheap kids birthday party. For many years, birthday parties for children have gotten way out of hand. Glamour parties at salons for girls, indoor bounce parties, and taking children to concerts are just some of the ways parents tried to one up each other in the birthday party department.

With the declining economy, many parents are putting the breaks on excessive spending for a two hour bash. Instead, they are opting to celebrate their son or daughter’s birthday in a less expensive way.

If your child’s birthday is fast upon you and money is tight, use these ideas to have a cheap kids birthday party.

Have the Party at Home

If you want to save at least two hundred dollars on your child’s party, have it at home. Put away any breakables and let the kids come on over. If your child’s birthday falls during a temperate time, you can have the party outdoors and keep the mess there. Always have a Plan B if it rains!

Cheap Invitations

One way to have a cheap kids birthday party is to not spend a ton of money on the invitations. If you have access to everyone’s email, send an Evite to them. This won’t cost you a cent.

Another inexpensive invitation option is to send a post card. All of the important information can fit onto a card, which is less expensive than putting a regular postage stamp on a standard invitation.

Some people may think that handing out invitations is another way to save money on a kids birthday party. Unless everyone in the class is invited, do not use this method to save money. It will lead to hurt feelings if someone not on the guest list sees party invitations being handed out.

Cheap Party Help

Depending on how many guests you have, as well as the age of the birthday child, one way to save money and have a cheap kids birthday party is to recruit help. If grandparents, aunt or uncles live nearby, solicit their help. Your friends can stay and help at the party to lend you a hand, and you can always reciprocate the favor for them.

Guest List

One of the easiest ways to save money on a child’s birthday party is to limit the guest list. The fewer children you invite, the less you have to spend on all party related costs.

Cheap Paper Goods

You really do not need to go all out on a theme for an at home birthday party for your child. If you can find deeply discounted party goods online or at your local party store, then buy it. Otherwise, look for online printable coupons and combine them with supermarket sales. Companies like Solo and Dixie, as well as store brands, have very pretty paper goods.

If you have a really small guest list, then the Dollar Store is also good for cheap paper goods. Many of the items they sell com in packs of eight, and if you want extras or have more than eight kids, then you can definitely do better with supermarket sales. You get more product for the same price.

If there will be older kids, you can use your regular dishes to serve cake and snacks!

Cheap Birthday Party Food

One of the best tips to save money on birthday parties is to have it between lunch and dinner. Any ninety minute time slot between one o’clock and four o’clock means snacks. You can always put on the invitation “cake and snacks will be served”. Having lunch or dinner significantly increases the cost of the celebration.

Snack food can be bought on sale at the supermarket. Kid are very happy with chips and pretzels! A make your own sundae bar is also a hit with kids of all ages. Just buy the toppings and ice cream as they go on sale.

Cheap Birthday Party Games

Again, there is no need to go an spend a fortune hiring a balloon artist, a clown, or a character to entertain the guests. To have a cheap kids birthday party, you can play some simple games like:

Relay races

Hot Potato

Freeze Dance

Twister (borrow the game if you do not have one)

Some easy games to make are:

Balloon Paddle Ball

Make paddles out of a large popsicle stick and a cheap paper plate. Blow up a balloon and the kids can paddle it to each other. Make one paddle per child.

Marshmallow Toss

Tie a string ribbon a marshmallow. One child launches it to the other, who tries to catch it in his or her mouth. When it is caught, it is the other child’s turn to catch their own marshmallow. Make a bag of these ahead of time and then watch the kids giggle!

Draw on Your Head

You will need a stack of cheap, plain paper plates and pens for this game. Give each child a clean plate and a pen. Have them hold the plate on their head and tell them to draw a picture of a certain item on the plate. For example, tell them all to draw a snowman. The results are hilarious!

Cheap Birthday Cake

It goes without saying that baking your own birthday cake is one of the best tips for having a cheap birthday party for kids.   Professionally made cakes can cost over thirty dollars for a simple half sheet cake. That is a big budget blower.

Bake your own cake, either from scratch or from a mix and make your own icing. You can also make cupcakes and let the kids decorate them as a party activity.   Kids love to create their own food to eat.

Cheap Goody Bags

The last tip for saving money on a kids birthday party pertains to the goody bags. It is traditional to give the party guests a bag of goodies as a “thank you” for their attendance. These bags need not be elaborate.

Use colored lunch bags to put in your goodies. You can write “Thank you” on the front in glitter glue or use stampers to decorate it.   Cheap cellophane bags are another vessel that can be utilized.

You can use the day after the holiday sales to get cheap candy. Many brands do not have holiday decorations on them, so they can be used anytime.

Parents of children who have post Halloween parties have been known to use their children’s trick or treat bounty for snacks and goody bags!

If you are looking for something other than food to put into the goody bag, then look at buying something cute in bulk and having it shipped to your house.

Using these tips to have a cheap kids birthday party will have both parents and the birthday child smiling.