Birthday parties aren’t what they used to be years ago, and have more recently become expensive due to various factors. These rising expenses have made party planning more complicated. The average parent spends about $500 for their child’s party. If you want to give your child the birthday party they wish to have without breaking the bank, here are some tips to help keep costs manageable.
Throw the party at home
Renting a venue is one of the biggest expenses you will incur while planning your child’s party. Most venues usually charge for the space and amenities and don’t have flexible conditions, like bringing your own food. You might also be required to pay for damages if accidents occur, which can increase your bill.
If you want to save money and not be limited by restrictions, you can opt to have your party right in the comfort of your home. It may be easier to consider a home party if you have a bigger backyard that can accommodate the number of guests attending. If your home is too small, you can ask to use a friend’s or family’s home. Or, you can throw the party at a free venue such as a public park.
Photo by Natalie Chaney on Unsplash
Bake your child’s birthday cake or cupcakes
If you’re a great baker, you can save money by baking your child’s birthday cake or cupcakes. Your cake might not look like a professional baker’s, but it will not hurt your finances. Plus, you can ask a friend or family member for assistance if it’s too challenging. Try as much as possible to get all the ingredients ready weeks before the party, so you don’t have to scramble around wondering whether you will need ingredients such as salted or unsalted butter for baking a cake at the last minute. If baking a large cake might take up too much of your time, you can decide to bake cupcakes, which are much easier to prepare. Or you can get some pre-made cake mix to make things much easier.
Consider using some cute sprinkles and/or cupcake toppers to bring your desserts to another level, without spending much extra at all.
We used these cute plastic puppies for one of our parties, and they were a big hit!
Plan affordable entertainment
Getting a professional entertainer or another type of entertainment for your kid’s party can be very costly, so you will need to be creative with other forms of entertainment. You can set up a crafts station and provide cost-friendly projects to keep the kids amused and busy. Plus, they get to take their creations home. Other fun games include charades, freeze dancing, water balloons, tie-dye, musical chairs, and much more. You can also recruit some of the adults to help and even to get into the game, to create all-around fun.
Every parent wants to give their child the best birthday party possible. However, it would be unwise not to consider your finances when planning a birthday party. With these great tips, you can plan a party well within your financial boundaries.
A really good read and very thoughtful tips. I shall share this article. A must read for those with young children. Thank you!
I love all these suggestions. Hosting the party from home is always a great way of saving so much money that could have spent hiring off a venue and ample space for celebration of the birthday!
We love birthday parties in my home and always seem to go above and beyond, breaking the budget. I have learned some of these tricks to keep the cost down, such as making our own cupcakes (they are easier than cake) and planning games and such instead of hiring talent.
Thank You for this article. This is exactly what I’m going to do as I love birthday parties in my home!
The best thing I’ve done for birthdays was take the kids to an activity centre – like a video and play zone, lazer tags, or a movie, or whatever. They all get to do the activity for an hour or an hour and half, then they go for pizza. No mess in the house and they enjoy it so much!
This is cool, planning an affordable birthday party is nice for people trying to stay on budget and save money. Thank you for sharing!
I haven’t attended many kids’ parties lately, but it does seem that they’re more elaborate when I was a child. I guess you’re only young once so enjoy.