Frugal Birthday Party Tips

photo credit: tim eschatonOur oldest son will be turning five this December! While we have had birthday parties for him in the past, this will be the first party that includes a large group of children his age. All the other parties included one or two of his friends and the rest was family. Needless to say, he is very excited and can’t wait for the day to come. A few weeks ago, my wife and I asked him what kind of party he wanted? We wanted to make sure we planned out the party accordingly so we were not hit with any unexpected costs. After asking him, our son immediately told us he wanted a pirate themed party. This was the information we needed to begin our preparation for his party, so we could limit our expenses while giving him a party he will remember forever!

Being frugal parents, we want to throw our son a great party but also want to consider the cost of the party. Over the past several months, our son has been invited to several other birthday parties held at fun centers or indoor play centers. While these parties have been very nice and the children love them, we couldn’t grasp spending $20+ per child just to hold a 2-hour birthday party. We also wanted to be creative and different than the other parties. Not to say that our son’s party will be better, just different from the rest. Knowing that we were not going to have his party at one of these places and the fact that he picked a pirate theme, we figured we could use the upcoming Halloween holiday to our advantage. If you haven’t noticed, a lot of Halloween decorations include pirates or skull and crossbones. These decorations are perfect for a pirate themed birthday party!

In preparation for planning his party, my wife and I put together a list of ways to throw an excellent party while keeping our spending down. I thought I would post these frugal tips and see if anyone has anything else to add.

• Location - We have decided to have our son’s party in our home. We have a large enough home to accommodate several children and their parents, so it only makes sense to have it there. As previously mentioned, the cost of having his party at one of the many indoor play centers is way too costly. On the downside, we will have more cleaning to do before and after the party, but that is the price to pay for being frugal!
• Food - With so many kids birthday party ideas and choices to make, sometimes people forget about the food. If you are going to throw a kids party in your home, then you need to plan ahead for food. Most kids love chicken nuggets, as does our son, so we thought of have having a lot of finger foods (chicken nuggets) available for the children. Staying with the theme, we found that Banquet makes chicken nuggets in the shape of sea creatures, which will go well for little pirates. The cost of a few bags of chicken nuggets is far less than having the party catered. We will throw in some other munchies and snacks for the party, monitoring the weekly sales to stock up on the rest of the food. You could also buy several cardboard pizza’s as a cheap and effective way to feed kids at a party.
• Cake - One of the positive things (there are not too many) of having a child with food allergies (milk, eggs, and peanuts) is that you always have an excuse for not going out to eat somewhere and spending a lot on prepared food. The same can be said about purchasing a birthday cake. We don’t have to worry about spending a lot of money for a fancy cake because there isn’t one that I know of that doesn’t have milk or eggs in it. You may be able to find one at a specialty shop, but the price of that would be unbearable. Instead, my wife has an allergen free cookie cake recipe that costs a few dollars. Regardless if your child has food allergies, baking his/her cake will save you several dollars. You could even bake cupcakes and have one for each child instead of baking a cake.
• Theme - As previously mentioned, our son has chose to have a pirate birthday party theme. With a little brainstorming and a lot of pre-planning, you can spend a few dollars and have a great themed party. As I mentioned previously, Halloween is coming up and the stores are stocked with decorations. We have been scouting out all of the cool pirate themed Halloween decorations. Just before the holiday, or immediately after, we will head out and buy what is left over. We are hoping to get great discounts at 75% - 90% off the original price. Given the amount of inventory still in the stores, I don’t think we have to worry about not getting any decorations. If you have enough time to plan ahead for a party or occasion, you typically can get great deals once seasonal merchandise is put on clearance at local retailers. After last Christmas, my wife and I stocked up on Christmas themed Play Doe at 90% off. The only seasonal thing about the Play Doe was the packaging. We plan on using this to hand out for Halloween this year!
• Party Supplies - As stated above, we plan on purchasing a lot of the party supplies just after Halloween to save on costs. We can use plain Halloween invitations in place of birthday invitations. When picking out birthday decorations at a discount, you have to be patient and flexible. We may be shut out at a store or two, but if we are flexible, we can limit our costs and get a lot of great deals.
• Guests - When throwing a kids birthday party, you also must consider the parents of the children. As a parent, I think it is important to include the parents on the invite. I don’t feel comfortable sending my child to a party with adults that I don’t know. While we won’t have any different types of food for the parents, we will make sure we have plenty of food for all the parents and the kids. This is another reason why it is nice to have the party in your home.
• Gifts - If you are looking for frugal birthday gift ideas for your kids, try shopping the clearance deals throughout the season. Planning ahead and being patient can help you save a lot of money. My wife and I have been picking up incredible deals on summer and fall toys that were put on clearance. There is nothing wrong with these toys, but the retailers need to make room for all the Holiday items and mark these items way down. Another alternative to think about is using some homemade gifts. This can be a little difficult with children who expect toys, but one that you could consider.

What other frugal ideas can you provide when throwing a kids birthday party or any other type of party?

Tagged as: birthday party, Children, gifts