Save on Kids Birthday Parties with a Little Creativity!

Tip Hero serves up fresh money-saving tips daily,
with over 2,000 tips shared to date.

GET FREE UPDATES:

Tips by Category:

Babies & Kids

Home > Babies & Kids > Topics: Crafts & Activities

-----------------------------------------

Save on Kids Birthday Parties with a Little Creativity!

Submitted by: christyp 10/13/2008 5:30 PM

I am in this mommy set, where everyone goes overboard on birthday parties for their young children. Renting inflatable castles, renting out museums, hiring dj's, catering, inviting far more people than necessary. I have been trying to avoid spending loads of money on birthday parties. With three children, it really adds up!

So I am taking a page out of my mother's book and reverting back to having birthday parties for kids. I limit the invite list to 10 kids and ask a couple of close friends to help out.

I offer a kid friendly menu as I know my 5 year old is happier with hot dogs and popsicles than a gourmet dish and a tiered cake! And for entertainment, I plan out 3-4 games, like relay races, scavenger hunts and pin the tale on the donkey. A little creativity goes a long way and I don't have to worry about wasting money on a pony rental.

Honestly, these parties have become more about the parents and less about the birthday honoree.....

Related Searches

baby money saving tips discount toys baby food

save money on diapers inexpensive kids clothing

---
sponsored: Find Money Budgeting Tips.

---
Tip Hero serves up new money-saving tips daily.
Get free updates via Email , RSS or Twitter.

More Money-Saving Tips:

12 Ways to Make Extra Money

18 Money-Saving Grocery Shopping Tips

A Quick Guide to Debt Settlement

Want To Save Money On Auto Insurance?

Sponsored Searches:

Make Money From Home

Money Saving Tips

Online Sweepstakes

Comments:

.................................

I am soooooo with you! I just had my daughter's 5th bday party and saved so much money by having it at home. We invited 9 guests and only 4 showed. It was a princess party. I made cute invites on the computer that were in scroll style like they were going to a ball. The girls brought their royal dresses, and we had a few extras in case someone didn't have any. I layed out red paper for a red carpet when they got here. They made magic wands that I had pre cut the stars for. I served chicken nuggets,fries, & cool-aide.Treats were pretzel rod "wands", dipped in white chocolate and rolled in sprinkles, & candy jewelry. Then I sprinkled "fairy dust" (glitter)on each of their heads and said dreams really do come true...they went to change into their gowns. They LOVED this! Cake and ice cream was served, then presents. Then they watched a short princess video they hadn't seen and then danced to princess music until we made a stroke of midnight sound. That's when they had to change out of their gowns. We gave them a small pumpkin and it was time to go home. Everyone had a blast and it didn't cost very much at all!

Posted by Franci Davis on October 13, 2008 10:04 PM

.................................

My daughter-in-law had a scrapbooking party for my grandaughter's birthday party. She took pictures through out the beginning of the party and then printed them from her computer. Papers,stickers, markers, paper punches etc.,all bought at the dollar store, were spread out on the table and the girls went to work. Each girl took home four pages in a small photo album that was also bought at the dollar store. The girls had a BALL!!!!!

Posted by sue on October 15, 2008 7:02 PM

.................................

GreAT tipz thancs.

Posted by anonymous on October 15, 2008 8:36 PM

.................................

Don't forget about your city parks in warmer weather. We had my 5-year-old's birthday at a park with a playground and a duck pond. No planned activities at all. Playground time, a pinata (Go to a Carnival or Fiesta for these) and colorful bags full of cracker crumbs filled the hours the kids were together. IMO, kids don't needs all the structured play or gimmicks. Heck, our group ended up spontaneously playing tug-of-war with the pinata rope (and some of the adults joined in as well)

Posted by shannon3d on October 18, 2008 11:04 PM

.................................

Don't forget musical chairs!...We also used two roles of unused crepe paper for two teams to race wrapping two daddies...they then became "mummies'..ha! The 5 year olds also used stickers to decorate "sparkley" boxes to hold candy and prizes from a pinata! So much fun and cupcakes that the birthday girl got to decorate herself...lots of different sprinkles on each! And of course a silly string race...on your mark, run to your can, whoever has the least on them at the end is the winner!!Everyone had a great time and we didn't spend much...almost everything came from the dollar store..Dollar Tree is wonderful!...they even have mylar ballons that they will inflate and all for $1.00!!

Posted by C's Mom on October 24, 2008 2:48 AM

.................................

We are lucky enough to live in a town with a beach. My daughter's birthday is in August, so what a great party venue! The girls are only 7 so I asked a few moms to please come to help me make sure nobody went too far into the water - there were 6 moms and 12 girls that showed up. We had lots of bottled waters, juice box drinks, & popcorn & granola bars for snacks. We had a cupcake "cake"($9.99 for 14 cupcakes) delivered by the birthday girls' dad towards the end of the party (Icing & sunshine & sand do not mix well) No decorations required of course, but we did take helium balloons to tie to our cooler to spot our location on the beach for arriving guests. (The balloons were free from my office helium tank) I had NO planned activities but even if I would have planned something it would have been difficult to corral them all to do it b/c as soon as they arrived, they took off for the water, the waters edge, and the sand. I took lots of sand toys, buckets, shovels, sculpting shapes, etc. They spent 2+ hrs making sand castles & sand sculptures, hunting for shells, and in general having a super time. They all had so much fun, my daughter said she wants to make it a birthday "tradition" to have her party at the beach every year! And its a great idea, that will grow with them as they get older. The entire party, food, treat bags for the guests, etc., cost me only $40!!! As compared to her previous yrs $400 party at a $200 venue rental, plus pizza, ice cream, cake & decorations & treat bags all to the tune of an add'l $200!

Posted by Maggi's Mom on October 26, 2008 11:00 PM

.................................

Hi. I am all for kids parties. We just got a 3 yr old foster grandchild and he never had a kid party so I invited 3 small kids from my church to help him have a party. We have a large concrete driveway so we used chalk from the dollar store, our old golf clubs to play golf and we colored pictures and just had a very good time. He is still saying I have my new friends and they came to my party. It is quality, not quantity! Thanks :)

Posted by sherri on November 03, 2008 5:22 PM

.................................

I couldn't agree more regarding kids parties, they are so out of control. Last summer my daughter had a birthday party for her 7th birthday at home. She invited 7 friends. We bought canvas bags and flip flops at the dollar store and they decorated them with gems, stickers, and fabric markers. They all left with a new beach bag and fancy flip flops. They played some party games also. They had so much fun.

Posted by Karen on November 06, 2008 9:59 AM

.................................

My niece had a "spa" birthday party for her 8 year old daughter and a few friends. They all brought their pajamas, and my niece and sis-in-law gave them manicures and pedicures, then they all put on facial masks and cucumber slices on their eyes and "relaxed". It was great!

Posted by anonymous on November 17, 2008 9:12 PM

.................................

FOR MY DAUGHTERS 6YEAR PARTY WE DID AN AT HOME MAKEOVER PARTY. I GOT 3 OLDER TEENAGE GIRLS TO COME AND DO HAIR AND MAKE UP THE LITTLE GIRLS AND THE BIG GIRLS HAD A BLAST AND THE HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS VOLUNTEERED THEIR TIME.

Posted by HOLLY on November 19, 2008 11:41 AM

.................................

Help!! Everyone has great ideas for girls birthday parties but does any one have ideas for boys b'day parties on a budget? My kids are 8 thru 11 yrs of age.

Thanks
Nimmi

Posted by anonymous on December 03, 2008 10:05 AM

.................................

I was lucky because my boys were all born in the summertime, so easy to have outdoor parties and let the boys be boys. One year I organized a field day of sorts that involved two teams and several different games: a 3 legged race relay race (all you need is rope), a wheel barrow race, a silly relay race (had them do silly things like the crab walk to the fence and backwards running back to the line, a water balloon toss (they loved this one and all you need is a bag of water balloons, of course it ended it a water balloon fight...)standing long jump, baseball throw and ended with a simple scavenger hunt--I wrote out clues and sent them off to find the prize - a cooler filled with ice cream treats. The kids loved it. And awarded each of them with a chocolate gold medal.

Posted by grammaj on December 04, 2008 10:27 AM

.................................

My husband coaches the high school baseball team, so we always have plenty of helmets, bats and baseballs lying around the house. For my son's birthday we go down to the field and have a kids vs. the parents baseball game. Always a lot of fun. All I really do is supply drinks and orange wedges for each team and make sure there is an empty field to play on. When my son was younger we would play kickball.

Posted by lesleycrane on December 04, 2008 9:08 PM

.................................

Just a note for those of us with very small houses. Sometime it is nice to rent out a spot. So far we have done no party at all or rented out a nature center. Really I find it best to not compare and do what we believe is fun for the child.

Posted by Tara on December 26, 2008 6:08 PM

.................................

One of my most memorable birhtday parties as a kid was when my parents took me, my cousins and a few friends to the playground. Still one of my favorite pictures of us kids, all hanging upside down onthe monkey bars. It is the little things.

Posted by ktkat on January 02, 2009 11:34 AM

.................................

this seems expensive but in the long run it pays off. For Christmas the only thing I buy my family is some kind of Pass. I bought Theme park passes for the seven members of my family that live near me, the younger children are free. I bought them by Halloween because they are nearly half the price of the pass at any other time of the year. They were $80.00 each.
To get into the theme park is $40.00 a visit. We will go way more than twice so this pays for itself. In August/September most of these people have a birthday. They love to go to the theme park to ride the rides and play at the extensive water park. I found a bed and breakfast that can house the ten of us for $200.00 a night/breakfast and snacks included. So what I am doing for the birthday people is to take them all to the Theme park, spend 2 nights at the bed and breakfast and bring frozen meals to cook for our other meals while we are there, we will be allowed use of a stove and refrigerator while we are there.
I am going to get a Costco cake and we will party. We will also search out a few letterboxes. I think that considering the fact that we will be using our Christmas gifts, I will actually be spending less money on all of their birthdays and we will be having a very memorable time, than if we did it some other way.

Posted by Granny Cynth on January 02, 2009 3:55 PM

.................................

To Nimmi,
We have two boys and have done pretty cool BD's for under $20 total. What we do have is lead time. Here are a few ideas that might work with your kid's ages. Mad scientists (Dollar tree eye glasses as party favors). We had the boys come dressed as "geeks", we did science experiments outdoors (from household stuff like baking soda and vinegar), invented a lego creation and ate a "mutant" birthday cake. Another was a pirate birthday with costumes made from thrift store fabric (sashes, headbands and eyepatches) and lathe (for swords), a scavenger hunt ending with treasure map pointing to a buried tupperware container filled with small cloth drawstring bags containing goodies for each boy. A prince and princess birthday with costumes cut down from thrift store 50c bin prom dresses (pullover fluffy skirted "dresses" for the girls and capes for the boys), gold spraypainted cardboard crowns, a refrigerator box castle and a home written play narrated by my husband, dragon played by bigger brother, that the kids acted out. The food and homemade invitations were appropriate for each occasion and the kids had fun. As the boys got older we dropped formal themes and emphasized more physical activity. 3-4 games are not enough. We don't have alot of space but cleared the living room for a sort of obstacle course relay wih stations numbered on the wall for our winter child. This included dressing in old clothes running back and forth, then giving the clothes to the next guy. Ballons containing slips of paper describing an odd thing they were to do. One ballon might tell him to burp the alphabet, another might say "sing the Barney theme song" (these are ten year olds, so that drew alot of laughs), etc. A milk jug that the boys were to drop clothes pins into from a certain height, and more that I can't remember off hand. We've done obstacle courses outside for our spring child. And homemade pinatas often as boys like to whack at things. Hope these ideas help you a bit.

Posted by oddfox1 on January 02, 2009 5:07 PM

.................................

Kid's parties have gotten out of control! For my 5 year old's last party we put two blow up pools in the backyard along with water guns, sidewalk chalk and bubbles. We already had this stuff, but we did buy more chalk. We invited about 10 kids. I bought some postcard type invitations and told them to bring swimsuits and towels. I made his cake using the same cake pan as last year (turning the fire truck into a dump truck full of presents) and we had ice cream. No other food. We also gave out cheapy goody bags full of stickers, pencils, and erasers.

Posted by Michelle on January 02, 2009 9:13 PM

.................................

I've got a friend who takes her son and some of his friends to a local sporting event for his birthday. The boys are young, 8-10, so any high school game is exciting for them and doesn't cost her a fortune. Afterward they do pizza at her house.

Boys also like things like roller skating and bowling. Not too terribly expensive and they still get to burn that energy that boys seem to get when they get together. :)

Posted by FunFrugalMom on January 15, 2009 6:36 PM

.................................

To Nimmi
I have an 8 year old that wanted a "scouting" party for his last birthday. I used camping & hiking stickers/clip art to make invitations for his "Super Scout Party". He was only allowed to have 2 boys because they were sleeping over. I told them to bring sleeping bags, pjs, etc. I bought 4 ft. long dowels (1+ in. diameter) and the little rubber cups you put on chair feet and let them decorate them with markers to make "walking sticks". I also got small canvas pouches from Hobby Lobby for them to decorate--scout bags to carry "scout supplies". I bought small whistle/mirror/compass combos from the $1.00 bin at Target, mini flashlights for playing flashlight tag in the yard, small carabiners, and a few pieces of candy to put in their scout/treat bags. We had pizza & rootbeer floats. They put on pjs, got on their sleeping bags, ate popcorn & watched the Apple Dumpling Gang (one of my favorite movies from when I was little & perfect for young boys). They all loved this and the moms said they couldn't stop talking about it.

Posted by Cindy on February 04, 2009 4:51 PM

.................................

I'm a grandma of seven and always had home parties for my girls--one was a backwards party -- we had cupcakes baked ice cream cones and ice cream pressed into an angel food cake pan. We cleared the dining room and they the tablecloth was put on the floor.

Guests arrived with their clothes on backwards and wrapped presents with the paper inside out, etc. One game was played, with players having a partner, facing back to back. Each was given several cutouts of shapes. One gave the other directions and they compared their creations.

Lots of the games were played changing rules around. My oldest daughter, who will soon be 41, just reconnected with a classmate and she commented on this party. Guess it was memorable. Oh--yes--my daughter was "ten," but when asked she said she was "net."

Posted by E. Faith Spence on February 20, 2009 5:07 PM

.................................

Does anybody have ideas for inexpensive parties for teens. I am having a party for my 14 year old daughter. Would love to have some great ideas. Help!

Editor's Note: We thought this was a great question, so we pulled it out and posted it on its own. To share ideas for teen parties, click here: http://www.tiphero.com/tips_1115_got-any-inexpensive-party-ideas-for-teens.html

Posted by Rebecca on March 14, 2009 7:23 AM

.................................

We recently hosted an in home party for my son's 8th Birthday. I was able to keep the cost down by doing most of the work myself. Here's ten tips to keep the party under control and under budget!

http://frugalfrontporch.blogspot.com/2009/02/10-tips-to-keep-party-under-control.html

Posted by JennatFFP on March 20, 2009 12:54 PM

.................................

I have a 12 year old daughter, and the cheapest and best party I've done was last year at a hotel suite! The hotel caters to business travelers, so they were willing to give me the largest suite they had at a very, very cheap price (b/c it's usually empty during the weekends anyway!). We swam in the indoor pool (I took pool toys, goggles and floats), soaked in the hot tub, slept in sleeping bags on the floor. The room had a small kitchen, so I took drinks, birthday cake and ice cream, and snacks. The hotel offered a free, made to order breakfast for every guest, so you can't beat that. We hooked up the kareoke machine to the in-room TV and had a blast! $5.00 pizzas provided dinner

Posted by Debra on March 30, 2009 12:14 PM

.................................

Boys' Party

About 60 years ago my mother did a "Hobo" party for my brother. The guests dressed in their old clothes to look like a hobo. Mother packed a lunch for each and put it into a red or blue neckerchief (at a dollar store now?) and tied each lunch to a stick found in the yard. My uncle lived on a farm so we went there and they ate by the barn. I suppose it was his 6,7, or 8th birthday.

The kids had a good time and being outside on a farm could be noisy and run around. Can't remember if we played any games but you could certainly find a few using a ball.

Posted by Carol, in Ohio on April 19, 2009 6:13 PM

.................................

I put together a scavenger hunt birthday party for my 14 year old daughter and a group of her friends (one other girl and 10 boys). I created a list of about 50 not-too-easy-yet-free tasks from around the city and assigned point values to each.

Examples:
A photo of your team sitting in a convertable car =10 points. If it is a red VW Beetle =20.
Collect 3 peanuts wrapped in a Texas Roadhouse napkin =10.
Take a photo of a team member sitting on the Texas Roadhouse 'birthday' saddle =20.
A free paint stirring stick from Home Depot =10.
A paint swatch card exactly matching your team color =15.
A red helium balloon (one team actually went to a car dealership and asked for one).

Coming up with the list was the hardest part - I needed enough tasks that they couldn't possibly finish in the time allowed, and I wanted tasks that were going to make them a bit uncomfortable to do - like having to ask adults/business owners for things while looking goofy.

I involved my daughter in all the prep except for the list. We bought team t-shirts $2 ea. at AC Moore, and some goofy hats and did iron-on transfers with her name and "Extreme Scavenger Hunt" on the Ts.

I bought 2 disposable cameras and printed 2 lists and rules out on ancient-looking scroll-like paper.

My husband drove one team in our minivan, and I drove the other in a minivan borrowed from a neighbor. We were not allowed to help them any other way.

They had a 2 hour time limit which included dropping their cameras off at the local CVS for 1 hour development. They met back at the house for snacks & cake.

Once the pictures were developed, we all sat down and tallied points. The team with the most points won 1st place ribbons and bragging rights. They had sooo many stories to share it was hilarious!

My daughter used the photos, task list, and some collected items to make a scrap book. The thank you notes included a group photo.

The whole party cost about $60, but it was ten times more fun than going to one of those restaurant places with tokens. It was a bit of prep work, but well worth it!

Posted by anonymous on April 21, 2009 9:16 AM

.................................

I did a few billion birthdays before I got tricky. If I didn't have much time to prepare, I devised ways for the guests to actually help prepare for the party... amazing how kids fall for this.

For example, instead of laboring over a birthday cake, I made cupcakes, and frosted them white. Then I made up frosting bags with various colors and tips, and allowed guests to decorate their own cupcakes. One kid finished decorating, licked the frosting off and started all over again.

In another case we had a sleepover birthday with girls of about age ten. We worked around a night theme. In advance of the party I cut out scores of paper stars. I gave kids glow-in-the-dark paint (just happened to have a supply) and had guests help paint all the stars. We put a string on each, and the kids helped me hang them in the room where they would be sleeping. So I combined a party activity with help decorating.

Posted by anonymous on May 02, 2009 8:18 PM

.................................

Keep the number of children to the child's age. Five years old- five friends. Great ideas. Not crazy about promoting the "geek" stereo type though. Keep it simple. They don't usually eat much, in my experience.

Posted by anonymous on July 30, 2009 7:05 AM

.................................

For our son for his 10th birthday he was really into football. So we got permission from our local high school - to have a party on the football field. It was an easy and cheap party. I invited parents (dad's) who wanted to play a short game - then we laid out blankets in the field and had cake and gatoraid after the game! I had a football jersey made for my son that had his name and lucky number on it!! Could do the same for basketball, soccer or baseball!!

Posted by Kim on August 24, 2009 10:13 AM

.................................

Use what you have or what's given to you and coupons. My daughter is turning 9 and really wanted to go to Build-A-Bear. I wasn't going to pay for a "party" as the distance is approximately 50 miles from my home and I felt it would be tricky for the other parents to get there. Therefore, this is what I am doing. I recently received a small box of Build-A-Bear outfits from a coworker. I am always willing to accept hand me downs from my coworkers and because they are aware of this give me anything and everything. I recycle or pass on those items I cannot use. Therefore, I told my daughter she may have two friend spend the night and they can "shop" in the box of hand me down Build-A-Bear outfits. Then they are each able to choose one animal priced at $10 at Build-A-Bear. I am taking the girls so I don't have to worry about them not "showing up". I will then combine a coupon which I received in the mail (I signed up for Build-A-Bear online and receive frequent booklets with coupons on them). The coupon is good for $10 off any $30.00 purchase. The three bears should cost $30. Therefore, her birthday party will cost me about $25.00 and the girls will get a new stuffed animal and an outfit for their bears. Since I talked with my daughter about this well in advance she felt like she had some choices and is still getting what she wants without breaking the family budget. I feel like I'm coming out ahead.

Posted by anonymous on January 28, 2010 4:51 PM

.................................

We had recently moved to a new town around six months before my daughters 10th birthday. When I looked to a place to get helium balloons, I thought it was weird that it was hard to get them here. Anyway, I found a place and ordered some.

We played a few games etc. kinda boring. Then I noticed one of the girls was using a pen to draw a face on a balloon. She was drawing the mouth and I laughed and said, "that girl needs some color" and tossed her a lipstick. It was amazing. I ran and grabbed all the old makeup I could find, and each girl made their own "helium doll"! We were all shrieking laughing. And of course they got to take their creation home!

I bought one of those WAY marked down makeup sets at CVS for this years party!

At a little over a buck each, these double as a fun activity and a take home goodie!

Posted by anonymous on February 04, 2010 8:34 PM

.................................

-----------------------------------------

Share Your Comments:

Comments may need to be approved before they are displayed.

Comments:

Name (leave blank if you want to be anonymous):

Email Address (your email address will not be displayed):

Website URL (not required; please do not include "http://"):