10 Tips for Throwing a Birthday Party on a Budget

Is your child’s birthday party coming up? With picture perfect images on facebook, Instagram and Pinterest it is easy to feel overwhelmed and like you need to throw an over-the-top Instagram worthy birthday party. But party costs add up quickly and dropping a pile of money on a first, or 10th birthday party isn’t practical, or most times in your budget. Here are 10 ways to throw a child’s birthday party on a budget without breaking the bank!

Choose a Free or Inexpensive Location – The location is probably the majority of your budget. Renting out a bowling alley, movie theater or rec center takes a lot of the work off of your plate because you’re paying someone else to take care of it, but it comes at a huge price tag. Instead, you can try and find a free or very inexpensive space to host the party. If the birthday is in the spring or summer – backyard parties are awesome – also having it at a local park, or rec center, or even a family or friends space if they offer. For older kids, a great option is to have a spa night and sleepover over – you can do manis, pedis, and watch movies. Or for the boys – have a nerf gun or laser tag war at the house with a small number of kids. Everyone is guaranteed to have a good time and no one will care that you didn’t drop $500 on a rental space.
Plan Ahead – Leaving a party to the last minute definitely inflates the cost. Think of planning the party about 3 months ahead – how many people? what will you serve? where? theme? Planning ahead helps you have the time to find the best options within your budget.
Budget – In order to keep the costs low develop a budget of what you are able to spend and stick to it! Write down everything that you will need to buy and allot a cost for each of those things. Keep receipts and tally of everything you buy so that you know you are staying on budget. I use an envelope system and have an envelope specifically for birthdays that I add cash to every time I get paid – that way when we have a birthday in the family I am not struggling to figure out where I am pulling money from.
Use Free Evites/Apps for Birthday Invitations – I like to use Punch Bowl to make my daughter’s invitations for kids in her class or family. I have everyone’s cell phone numbers and can text or email the invitations to whoever I like and the app keeps track of everything. I can even upload contacts from my phone into the app which makes it super easy. The app is free and saves money on buying invitations that can be lost.
Schedule Outside of Meal Times – What time of day the party is hosted will be a huge factor in how much you will be spending on food for your guests. If you keep the party to the 1-4pm range, it is outside of meal times and budget friendly appetizers and snacks can be served.
Make Your Own Food/Cake – DIY as much as possible, especially when it comes to food. Cakes and cupcakes can be pricey – save yourself $50+ dollars and make your own – engage the birthday boy/girl in helping make it for a win/win. Making your own appetizers (cutting up veggies, making a dip, cutting up fruit, making little sandwiches, mini pizzas – all can help keep the cost of the food for the party down.
Shop Deals All Year Long – Gather supplies all year long so you don’t have to splurge for supplies right before the big day. I am big on using back to school specials to stock up on crayons, paints, and other crafting supplies that I can use as favors, in stockings for Christmas, Easter baskets – you name it.
Dollar Store to the Rescue – I love going to the Dollar Tree for cups, napkins, plates, table clothes, balloons, and general party décor. You can’t beat the prices and if you stick to a solid color – the items can be reused in the future!
Ask Family for Help – I have a friend that has a huge family and they always get together to help out with birthdays, baby showers etc. They all pitch in making food, buying décor and helping to decorate the space. I personally do not have a huge family and all of my family is spread out over the U.S. but if you have a big family willing to help – let them!
Buy in Bulk Online – Avoid party supply stores like Party City that can cost you a pretty penny. Instead buy from Online Retailers like Oriental Trading Company – they have entire themes like pirates, princesses, sports that come without the mega price tag of a major retail store.