Parties on a Shoestring!

If you need to keep costs low but you still want a special birthday party for your child, there are a number of things you can do to stay ‘on budget’.

From start to finish, you CAN cut corners and still have a great party!

Here are some ideas for you:

1) Party location: Have the party at home.  If you have a big backyard and the weather is nice, you can plan activities in the yard.

If you need to go off-site, you can go to a local park or playground (check to see if the park will allow you to bring a grill, otherwise you can plan to serve sandwiches or other cold food OR order pizza and have it delivered to the park.

2) Themed Party: If you want to plan a themed party, stick to themes that lend themselves to easy decoration and inexpensive supplies. 

Consider themes that allow you to use pictures from magazines, or pictures and activities you can find. The Internet will be a best place for you to find themed pictures where you can print them out online.

3) Entertainment: For entertainment, you can take music from your child’s collection or find music clips online.  OR borrow a CD or DVD from a neighbor or friend. If you want to buy media, look in discount bins at your local dollar or discount stores, OR clearance items from online book and media stores.

Lastly, the Internet is still a great place to find music clips.

4) Hiring An Entertainer: Instead of hiring an entertainer, you can plan a tour of the local firehouse, or police station, and carry the theme back to the party at your house with plates, cups, decorations and games for the young fire fighters or police officers.

If you DO want an entertainer, but you can’t afford one, talk to a local high school student about bringing her ballet music and a couple of friends to perform for your children. As an alternative, ask a neighbor or family member to dress up like a clown and bring balloons.  You can rent a canister of helium from the local party store and make your own party.

Ask your neighbor’s son to dress in his Varsity baseball uniform and bring some of his baseball teammates to play catch and hit the ball around with your son and his friends.

Ask your older nephew or friend to put on a puppet play for your young guests.  They can make puppets out of socks or other materials and write their own script with liberal use of your child’s name and interests sprinkled through the dialogue. 

These entertainment ideas are relatively inexpensive and, if you play your cards right you might be able to get the service for the price of a good meal, a gift certificate to a local restaurant or a few dollars. 

Be sure your homeowner's property insurance policy covers injury in case the entertainer or others are injured on your property.

When it comes to entertainment, you can be creative! One very creative parent took a group of five girls to a local craft store and had each of the girls buy accessories to represent a costume or character.  She gave each of the girls $10.00 to spend.

They brought their items home and decorated or wore these items and for the balance of the party, they acted the role of that character or theme. One guest was a princess, one was a fashion designer, one was a mother…well, you get the idea.

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