BIRTHDAY- budgeted
Two of my children share the birthday month August.. So we decided to give them a birthday party.
Party's can be very expensive so I started working on ways to make it very affordable while saving money for something special.
We hosted the party in the church- often times churches will make available their fellowship hall, social hall, or what ever they call it (often used for gatherings, dinner, etc) for free to members of their congregation. This gave us not only a place to use for a large amount of people but also a kitchen with supplies to use!
I designed the invitations myself on the computer and printed some to hand out...the rest I sent over the internet- email, messanger, however it could go out I sent it out. Easy, done, no stamps, postal office, or frustration needed- in one afternoon!
Next we shopped around for the cakes. I had planned on buying regular cakes at a basic grocery store- maybe touching it up a little- to save myself the baking stress and fear of ruining it. However I was given some great information that a mother of the children's friend, who is connected to the school the kids attend, actually make cakes/cupcakes and could give us a better deal. I was so grateful to find this to be true and ordered two sets of cupcakes decorated as a cake in each of the kids interest.
We had picked a time- 12-4pm. I was tired personally of parties that were between meals- because it usually ment in order to have time to get ready to go, packed in, drive, we needed to have a meal super early or incredibly late... making the day very long, and us adults very snacky/hungry and noshing on more junk then needed at the party. So I decided to 'bite the bullet' and pick a meal time that would be simple to provide but also a course of time that if parents couldn't stay they would have more then a mire hour or two (being that I have been blessed by others saying, "Just drop off the kids, it's ok")
Now the time was picked, we needed food! So party food... lots of small stuff? No that was stressful, what could we do? I had thought of a picnic type party outside and inside, my husband suggested something easy in large quantity- Pulled Pork- and a side of Mac-n-Cheese. Sides were easy to pick up- rolls, chips, dips (ranch, salsa) veggie platter (homemade) bagged salad, and pretzels. Drinks were easy too.. although we had two sodas (one for each birthday child) we wanted to give non soda options, homemade pink lemonade, punch (yummy sherbet) and water. I was able to make much and prepare a head of time and store in the fellowship hall refrigerator, freeing up the day of the party. Most of this haul came from our local Cash-n-Carry!
Decorations! YAHOO!! We knew ahead of time we would get most things at the Dollar Store- and during regular errands I found extras at our local Wal-mart on sale for $.97. Our kids picked a color that they liked and wanted... Pink/Purple for our daughter, and Gold, Blue for our son. Basic easy colors for table covers, two streamers, some puff balls for decorations. The church was able to supply some plates, and we added some colorful cups. We also picked up bubbles, side walk chalk, and other small activities.
Next came the three surprises... I had looked into activities for the children for the time (12-4!) and decided that renting a bounce house would work! Low and behold I learned a friend of mine OWNED one... one that had a water slide! She offered it FREE for the day and our one big ticket item was done! Next was balloons, the children asked for balloons, so I went searching- and found in Walmart a helium tank! It included balloons and ribbon! Finally the biggest was that our daughter asked for cotton candy! I checked different stores..looking at their bagged candy... that looked all squished and nasty. My husband checked on our local rental agency, made a phone call... and for $45 we rented a machine for the weekend, which included cones, sugar, and everything needed!
Finally we were all set. We had a bounce slide, cotton candy machine, balloons that floated to the ceiling, streamers all around, toys for outside play... finally my husband put a DVD projector against the wall of one of the rooms and we set up the children's two favorite movies to play throughout the party- Cars and Tangled, for those who wanted.
The party was planned and in budget! We had pulled aside a total of $150 to pull it off..and we did... maybe with an extra $20 when we realized we needed more balloons and more tape!
However the children had a great time! We fit it in our biweekly paycheck after all other bills were paid...and although we will not have anything until the next pay day.. it was worth it! That and everything food wise we got we made sure was- freezable- and we as a family could eat/continue to use over the next few weeks! Aside from the cotton candy machine that was returned, all the food has continued to supply us beyond the party reducing our actual grocery budget! (pulled pork, rolls, chips, salad, cut veggies!!)
How do you pull off a Birthday Party for 2 on a budget?
Party's can be very expensive so I started working on ways to make it very affordable while saving money for something special.
We hosted the party in the church- often times churches will make available their fellowship hall, social hall, or what ever they call it (often used for gatherings, dinner, etc) for free to members of their congregation. This gave us not only a place to use for a large amount of people but also a kitchen with supplies to use!
A cut out from the churches family day activities years before...Fun!
I designed the invitations myself on the computer and printed some to hand out...the rest I sent over the internet- email, messanger, however it could go out I sent it out. Easy, done, no stamps, postal office, or frustration needed- in one afternoon!
Next we shopped around for the cakes. I had planned on buying regular cakes at a basic grocery store- maybe touching it up a little- to save myself the baking stress and fear of ruining it. However I was given some great information that a mother of the children's friend, who is connected to the school the kids attend, actually make cakes/cupcakes and could give us a better deal. I was so grateful to find this to be true and ordered two sets of cupcakes decorated as a cake in each of the kids interest.
Don't mind the smudge at the unicorns mouth...someone wanted to taste the icing!
We had picked a time- 12-4pm. I was tired personally of parties that were between meals- because it usually ment in order to have time to get ready to go, packed in, drive, we needed to have a meal super early or incredibly late... making the day very long, and us adults very snacky/hungry and noshing on more junk then needed at the party. So I decided to 'bite the bullet' and pick a meal time that would be simple to provide but also a course of time that if parents couldn't stay they would have more then a mire hour or two (being that I have been blessed by others saying, "Just drop off the kids, it's ok")
Now the time was picked, we needed food! So party food... lots of small stuff? No that was stressful, what could we do? I had thought of a picnic type party outside and inside, my husband suggested something easy in large quantity- Pulled Pork- and a side of Mac-n-Cheese. Sides were easy to pick up- rolls, chips, dips (ranch, salsa) veggie platter (homemade) bagged salad, and pretzels. Drinks were easy too.. although we had two sodas (one for each birthday child) we wanted to give non soda options, homemade pink lemonade, punch (yummy sherbet) and water. I was able to make much and prepare a head of time and store in the fellowship hall refrigerator, freeing up the day of the party. Most of this haul came from our local Cash-n-Carry!
Decorations! YAHOO!! We knew ahead of time we would get most things at the Dollar Store- and during regular errands I found extras at our local Wal-mart on sale for $.97. Our kids picked a color that they liked and wanted... Pink/Purple for our daughter, and Gold, Blue for our son. Basic easy colors for table covers, two streamers, some puff balls for decorations. The church was able to supply some plates, and we added some colorful cups. We also picked up bubbles, side walk chalk, and other small activities.
Next came the three surprises... I had looked into activities for the children for the time (12-4!) and decided that renting a bounce house would work! Low and behold I learned a friend of mine OWNED one... one that had a water slide! She offered it FREE for the day and our one big ticket item was done! Next was balloons, the children asked for balloons, so I went searching- and found in Walmart a helium tank! It included balloons and ribbon! Finally the biggest was that our daughter asked for cotton candy! I checked different stores..looking at their bagged candy... that looked all squished and nasty. My husband checked on our local rental agency, made a phone call... and for $45 we rented a machine for the weekend, which included cones, sugar, and everything needed!
Mr. handing out the cotton candy
Finally we were all set. We had a bounce slide, cotton candy machine, balloons that floated to the ceiling, streamers all around, toys for outside play... finally my husband put a DVD projector against the wall of one of the rooms and we set up the children's two favorite movies to play throughout the party- Cars and Tangled, for those who wanted.
The party was planned and in budget! We had pulled aside a total of $150 to pull it off..and we did... maybe with an extra $20 when we realized we needed more balloons and more tape!
However the children had a great time! We fit it in our biweekly paycheck after all other bills were paid...and although we will not have anything until the next pay day.. it was worth it! That and everything food wise we got we made sure was- freezable- and we as a family could eat/continue to use over the next few weeks! Aside from the cotton candy machine that was returned, all the food has continued to supply us beyond the party reducing our actual grocery budget! (pulled pork, rolls, chips, salad, cut veggies!!)
How do you pull off a Birthday Party for 2 on a budget?
Comments
Post a Comment