Birthday Party Planning Tips

Gone are the days of elaborate birthday parties where no expense is spared. Today’s families are watching every penny and everyone’s in the same boat. If you have a birthday party to plan, consider it a challenge to do it in the most cost-effective and least chaotic way. If you’re calm, everyone else will be, too. And if you’re confident in the party you have planned, everyone will have fun.

Start with a theme. Ask your child what he or she likes. You may already know because you know them so well, but you may be surprised at how children’s tastes can change overnight. Ask what colors are his/her favorite and what animal they like best. If it’s orange and tigers, throw a jungle themed party. If it’s blue and sea horses, throw an undersea adventure. If you'd rather not ask for themes, you can get an idea by asking what they'd like for birthday gifts - it might give you some clues.

Once you have your theme, think about a budget. How much can you realistically handle spending without it blowing the money for the month’s bills? If you’ve got $100 to spend, stick with that figure. Your budget will help guide your guest list. Maybe you can’t have 16 of Bobby’s closest friends, but you can have eight. Explain to your child that there’s a limit to the amount of kids he can have.

Decide, based on your budget, where you will have the party. Is it going to be at your house? Can you afford a restaurant? If you are worried about costs, see if you can rent an area at a museum or children’s play place for two hours. If that’s still too costly, grab some picnic tables at the local park or head to an outdoor space in the community like a field or nature preserve. These places are open to the public for free and they often have picnic space.

If you’re having the party at home, don’t feel like you have to clean your entire house from top to bottom.

Just clean the main room that the party will be in and the bathroom the guests will use.

Tidy up the other areas and close the doors. You’re not required to give a whole tour of your home or make it accessible to everyone.

Plan for fun. Go light on the licensed character goods. The more popular the cartoon character, the more you’re going to pay for items in the set.

They know they have you and that you’ll want the cake plates, napkins and all the matching cups and accessories. Stick to just the plates and maybe the napkins and then go with a coordinating solid color for everything else. It’s much cheaper to go with the Scooby Doo plates and napkins and then get the rest of the stuff in blue from the dollar store.

You can even bring in a Scooby balloon to help carry the theme through without breaking the bank.

Don’t feel you have to buy costly favors to give out. In fact, you don’t have to have birthday party favors at all.

One cute (and cheap) idea if you want to do favors is to send home a cupcake with each guest.  Individual cupcake boxes are cheap at the craft store baking aisle.

You can have them all set out on the table looking pretty during the party and then guests can take them home.

Above all, remember that it’s a party for someone you love. If they have fun, everyone will have fun. You don’t have to go out and buy an expensive Xbox so the kids will have something to do. Send them outside to play soccer or have them play charades if they can’t go outside. Turn on the radio and have an impromptu dance party. Kids will follow each other’s leads, so if one starts dancing, they all will.

Your party can be festive with handwritten invitations, favors that you gather from the dollar store, and a cake you bake yourself. Never feel pressured to do more than you can comfortably afford.