A colleague was sharing pictures of his son’s birthday party and lamenting at the same time that a decent birthday party costs as much as $500.
I get it. Birthdays are special for every kid. And as a parent, we want to make it the most memorable for our child. However, there are cheaper ways to celebrate your child’s birthday without dolling out tons of money and be stressed about it.
Also Read: 3 f’s for stress free birthday parties for kids
If you follow my 3 f’s – Food, Fun, and Favor – You can plan awesome birthday parties for just about $100 and without feeling stressed.
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Fun:
You may choose to hand over birthday prep to YMCA or some Gym or Kids Salon but that comes with a huge price tag.
For kids to have fun, you do not need to go that far. Your home or if you have good size backyard that will suffice to host the birthday party.
If you prefer not to have party at your own space, you can rent a little pavilion in county park at a nominal cost as well and have a picnic party.
Think of backyard water fun party, indoor art or craft party, backyard carnival games party etc.
Food:
Why spend over $100 getting Dr. Seuss or Unicorn themed birthday cake from a fancy bakery or why sweat for hours making one by yourself. Someone I know spent $150 on a small Yoda cake for 12 kids !!
Go with simple moist cake either homemade or from local bakery and kids will enjoy it equally.
Same for main dish – kids care less for themed food. Keep it simple.
I usually keep 3 simple items:
- Salty snack like chips, trail mix etc with dip/salsa
- Juicy fruits like watermelon, grapes etc
- Main dish like pizza, pasta, noodles etc along with juice/water
Favor:
I prefer to combine birthday activity with Favor to reduce the work and cost for myself.
Here are some examples:
Backyard Water Fun Party – Kids use water guns to shoot down water bottles and take same water guns home along with bubble bottles as birthday favors.
Backyard Carnival Game Party – Kids play scavenger hunt and take home items they find as return gift.
Indoor Art/Craft Party – Kids make a piece of art or craft and take that home as a favor. eg. wood frame decoration ($1 per piece at Michael’s !)
I hope these tips will help you plan a fun birthday without spending fortune and at the same time without stressing out yourself.
Hosting a stress free fun birthday party without spending a fortune is also good way to teach your child some life lessons. Fun doesn’t have to be expensive!
Quote for the thought:
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