Thrifty Birthday Party Ideas

I'm still recovering from my five-year-old daughter's birthday party last weekend, so I thought I'd share some ideas about how to throw a memorable yet inexpensive child's birthday party.

Last year, my daughter went to a friend's birthday party.  It was held at a specialized party place - a storefront with rooms decorated by theme.  There was a pirate area complete with boat, a TV studio area, and a princess area with a castle, which is where we were.  The kids dressed up, did crafts, and played games with the teenage employees, while all the parents chatted in an outdoor area.  It was so nice, I thought maybe my daughter would like her party there, too.

So, I went to get a price sheet.  And would you believe, for 12 children, the place was asking $440?  And $18 more for each extra child?  And that didn't include everything you'd need for a party, like goody bags or food for the adults.  Oh, and I just looked online at the place, and there's a list of upgrades, including (you won't believe this) limousine service.

Well, not all parties are quite this expensive.  But you can have a great party for not a lot of money!  Here are some ideas I used.

Have it at home.

It seems like most parties my daughter is invited to are at places like bowling alleys or paint your own pottery places.  Though they may be fun, these places can be quite expensive - so have it at home!  I like home parties better because the kids can play together and socialize more - they're not so distracted by the event.  If your place is really too small for a party, then consider reserving a shelter at a local park and hope for good weather.

Use what you have.

Before deciding the theme or activities, look through the things you already have to see if they can be repurposed for a party.  My daughter vacillated between a princess theme and a Dora the Explorer theme, so we decided to do a Princess Dora theme.  Since I have a lot of arts and crafts supplies, we decided to do an arts and crafts party, where I could use some items (like beads and string for necklaces) that I already had.

Look online.

There is loads and loads of birthday party ideas on the Web.  Do a search and see what you can find!  Since we were doing a Dora theme, I used a lot of printables that I found at the Nick Jr. website.  I found a pattern for a crown there; I had the children cut and color them, and an adult helped put them together for the kids.  The children loved them!

Spend on what will make a big impression.

One of the projects we made at the party were T-shirts.  I found coloring pages on Dora and of Swiper the Fox on the Web.  I used my printer to print the coloring pages onto Wilton Easy Image iron-on transfer paper, which I had purchased at the crafts store.  (The office supply store also carries that type of paper, but at a much higher cost.)  I put a piece of cardboard inside the shirt, and the kids colored the shirts using fabric markers from the crafts store.

The whole project cost about $40, but it made a huge impression on the kids.  They loved it!  Some of them spent 20-30 minutes coloring in their masterpiece.  Plus, the shirts served as take-home items, so that I could spend modestly on goody bags with a pencil, small notebook, container of play dough, and some candy purchased cheaply at CVS.

Spend on things you can reuse.

Another project we did was to decorate cookie magic wands.  I purchased a star-shaped lollipop pan at the crafts store and used my stockpiled baking ingredients to make cookie dough.  I put a lollipop stick in each cookie and baked them. The children then decorated them with icing that I had from previous birthdays and projects.  The project cost about $10, but I got a new cookie pan out of it that I can use for future birthdays and projects.

Purchase things ahead of time.

When I was at the Albertsons closing sale back in February, I bought items I ended up using for the cake.  I made a boxed mix sheet cake (25¢) and decorated it with frosting (25¢), three colors of sprinkles (15¢ each) and the icing I mentioned above.  Total cake cost (not counting the eggs and oil): 95¢.

I didn't spend a lot on the party, but all the kids had a great time, and it was a lot of fun for me to plan.

Got any other great birthday party tips?  Leave a comment below!

Check these sites for more great tips:

• Frugal Friday @ Life as MOM 
• Frugal Friday @ Stockpiling Mom 
• Tuesday's Tip Jar @ BlogMommas
• Making Dollars out of Change @ Madame Deals 
• Tuesday's Tips @ Couponomic Stimulus Package 
• Penny Pinching Party @ The Thrifty Home 
• Works For Me Wednesday @ We Are That Family
• Thrifty Tip Tuesday @ I Am a Money Magnet 
• Tightwad Tuesday @ Raising 4 Godly Men
• Thrifty Thursday @ Melissa's Bargain Blog
• Thrifty Thursday @ Coupon Teacher