All parents want their kids to have a good time on their birthdays. The best option is of course to celebrate the event with friends and family. If money is a concern, try some of these budget birthday party ideas for kids.
Hold Birthday Party at Home
Holding parties at entertainment venues and restaurants can be very expensive. So slash the cost by having a home birthday party. Get wild with the decorations and balloons. If there is a big backyard, make the best of it. The kids can also have some outdoor fun and games if the weather permits. Another option is to hold the party at the local park. Many parks have picnic tables, barbeque areas and playgrounds – just the perfect venue for a child’s birthday party.
Bake Birthday Cake and Prepare Finger Food
Home-prepared food is always a money saver. Bake a cake and decorate it yourself. Borrow a cake book from the library or look for birthday cake recipes online for ideas. Buy a few food dyes and mix any color desired. These can be used a few times for other occasions too. Also, start preparing some of the food the week before. Freeze home-made sausage rolls and mini quiches. Preparing the food yourself also means you can control the sugar, salt and oil content of the treats served.
Choose Cordial over Soft Drinks
Children can live without soft drinks, even on birthday parties. When they have so much fun, the last thing on their mind is whether the drink is fizzy enough or not. So a bottle of cordial will do just fine. Also, don’t forget to serve plain water. Kids can get dehydrated easily if they play too hard. Again, there is no need to buy bottled water. Cool boiled water or filtered tap water is excellent to quench the kids’ thirst.
Have Smaller Number of Guests
Be picky when it comes to choosing guests for the birthday party. Tell the child not to invite the whole school. Instead, keep the number small. There is no need to be apologetic if inviting all the child’s friends is beyond the family’s means.
Combine Birthday Parties
Families can share the costs by holding birthday parties together if their children share the same birth month. Close families will probably have the same circle of friends, as will the kids. So this is an ideal solution. One birthday party with two or three birthday stars will definitely cut down a lot of spending.
Provide Cheap Entertainment
Clowns and magicians at birthday parties are a big hit with kids. If there is no budget for it, get a relative or friend to dress up as a clown to entertain the kids. The newly recruited clown can learn some simple magic tricks to wow the crowd. Again, the local library and Internet are great resources of information. Alternatively, plan some fun and simple birthday party games. Musical chairs, mini treasure hunts and mystery gift passes are popular choices.
Don’t be overly concerned with planning a grand birthday party for your child if money is an issue. A party can still be fun if it is held at home; offers home-cooked treat; has fewer guests; is a joint-effort between families and provides cheap entertainment. What matters is that everyone has fun on that day.
Those who find this article useful may also would like to read about Backyard Birthday Parties for Kids and Children’s Role in Birthdays.
Reference:
Editorial Team. "Kids' Birthday Parties" in Money magazine. Australia: ACP Magazines, September 2008.
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