Budget Parties

We are throwing yet another birthday party this weekend. From previous posts I'm sure you've realized that we host many get togethers of various sizes over the course of the year. Food and decorations can get pretty pricey so here are some tips for saving money.

1. Plan far, far ahead. The more time you have the easier it is to find what you need cheap.

2. Watch for party favors all year. When the dollar spot at Target goes to 75% off is my very favorite time to get party favors. Very often they will have packs of pencils or other favors, so for $0.25 you might get 4-6 favors. Even if you buy individual items $0.25 a piece isn't too bad. I try to keep my treat bags to $1 or less.

A while ago I got a bunch of sets of Crayola Pirate Giant Coloring pages with markers and crayons included for $1 a piece after rebate. I gave those out as the party favors at one party. It was great to give out a $10 item and know it wasn't just little junk that was going to get tossed at the end of the week. Keep an eye out for deals like that. The parents will thank you :)

3. Plan for the occassion. Having a summer party? Grill out. Picnic foods are often on sale in the summer. Provide some water balloons or squirt guns for the kid's entertainment. Consider having it at the park and you won't even have to clean your house :) Winter party? Buy a turkey at the Thanksgiving sales. Serve it whole or cook and debone it. Add some turkey gravy (I use the envelope mixes) and serve it on buns. Kids party? Serve hot dogs or corn dogs. Very cheap and kids love them.

4. If you are having children's games make your own. Can't draw a donkey? Play pin the nose on the snowman. Roll balls across the floor with your nose. Play musical chairs. Do relay races. You don't need an expensive pinata or something to keep the kids busy.

5. Accept help. If someone offers to bring a dish SAY YES! If you think it is appropriate have a potluck.

6. Don't buy a cake. I know, they are beautiful. I'm often tempted to buy something pretty but they are just too expensive. Try to make your own. Familyfun.com has some cool cakes you can make. If you aren't feeling to handy cupcakes are great too. Frost them in colors to go with your theme.

7. Consider making your own invitations. I usually make postcard invitations on my print shop program. Stamps are cheaper and you still get your invitations out.

8. Be creative.

We had a fishing themed party and I cut out fish shapes from construction paper and let my kids decorate them. We used the $1 plastic tableclothes from the dollar store in blue and stuck the fish on them and hung some from the ceiling. It looked great and the kids were really excited about it.

When we had a firefighting theme I picked up some plastic fire trucks and plastic fire hats from the thrift store for $0.25 (I didn't want to pay the $1 at the dollar store for them). I set those out on the table and made the firetruck cake from familyfun.com. After lunch I let the kids have the hats and trucks.

For our mother/daughter tea party I used a white table cloth and bought some fake roses in fuchsia. I pulled the flowers off the stems and lay them all over the table. I also got fuchsia paper plates and used the white tea cups I had. It looked gorgeous. The girls were so impressed and it only cost about $4.

If anyone else has some great ideas we'd love to hear about them in the comment section.