You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a kid’s birthday party. In fact, you can throw an awesome party for less than $100.
In fact, there are ways you can still focus on showering your child in love and celebration without breaking the bank.
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7 ways to save money when hosting a birthday party
Does a kid’s birthday party really have to cost a small fortune? No. There are so many things you can do that will make a birthday party awesome, but won’t break the bank. Whether you get creative with the decorations or order a cake from a grocery store, you can host a kid’s birthday party for under $100.
Stay home or do a small gathering at a local park
While some parks have fees if you’re “hosting an event” if you keep it intimate enough, you can easily use a public park for a party and celebration. the best part is that because it’s not at your home, it’s easy to just buy all disposable items to scoop up and throw away when finished.
But of course, you can also have a home party. Whether you host it to play games, cook, do crafts, or whatever, this is a great option and still very customizable.
Great Creative with Decorations
The Dollar Tree has so many party decorations in a variety of fun themes. If you can’t find the theme you’re looking for, get the colors you need. You can then use stickers to turn those boring party decorations into themed decorations.
Hit the Dollar Tree And Bulk Buy on Amazon for Party Supplies
While you’re at the Dollar Tree, buy all the cups, plates, etc that you need. Again, you can dress up boring cups with stickers. Just have fun with it. The Dollar Tree has plates, napkins, and cups in a large variety of colors. This can save you so much money.
Make your own cake or order one From the Grocery Store Bakery
You don’t have to spend a fortune getting a custom cake from a local bakery. You can find themed cakes at your grocery store bakery for less than $20. This is a huge savings. If you’re used to paying for custom cakes, you’re going to love this price. Even if you need to buy a really large cake, this is still a much more affordable price.
Also, just like hosting a wedding, you can easily get a super custom cake that’s small and specifically for the birthday boy or girl and then have a plain white sheet cake for guests.
Host a birthday pot luck or serve pizza and homemade drinks
Especially if you’re planning on inviting families, just mention that this party is a low-key celebration and will be a pot luck to both serve the needs of individual families but also to provide enough food for everyone at the party.
You could say that this is in place of gifts or however you want to word it.
Send those invited this link if you plan on asking for no birthday gifts.
Almost every major pizza chain has an awesome deal on pizza. For example, Pizza Hut has the $5 Flavor Menu that lets you get $5 pizzas. Pizza is perfect for a kid’s birthday party. You can order pizzas with different toppings so that everyone gets something they like. Another great tip is to make lemonade, Kool-Aid, etc to save on the cost of drinks.
Save on or forgo treat bags with other creative options
You can find great little gifts to put in treat bags at the Dollar Tree. You can get stickers, small toys, art supplies, candy, etc. If you’re making a lot of treat bags, it pays to stop by the Dollar Tree to see what they have available.
Don’t worry about pinterest-perfect. Focus on you’re child’s needs.
It does have to be something you would see in a magazine or on the front page of pinterest. The best thing we can do for our kids is to make them feel special and like we have done what we can to make their day, just that: their day.
Feel encouraged by this wonderful post on not being the pinterest-perfect mom.
P.S. If you bought all of the party supplies & decorations shown in this post it comes out to around $80. Add in your cake and you have $100!
The best part is that many of the decorations could be reused for other kids and you could even start a birthday party decoration swap with other parents to save even more money in the future!
What have you done to save money on kids’ birthday parties?
Kara is the mother of 3 children living and working in Boston, MA. She hates to spend money and absolutely has to know that every penny is worth it before buying. Her educational focus both as a student and a teacher was research… she has put those skills to good use to make wise purchases.
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