I love a good Pinterest worthy party; I really do! But that just wasn’t in the cards for me this year. You see my son’s 4th birthday just so happens to fall right smack dab in the middle of us closing on our house and looking for a new one. If you’ve never done either, let me just tell you there is a good chunk of change coming out of your pocket between closing costs and inspections, and so on.. but I digress. Back to party planning! If you’re looking for the over the top, Pinterest perfect theme: keep looking! (Ha) because I’ve gone into total MOTHER HUSTLE MODE and I’m going to share with you how to Birthday on a Budget!

1. Find some extra cash: Like I said, we are in the middle of moving, so I went through my kids toys (that they forgot they even own 🤫) and took them to a store called Kid to Kid. It’s a second hand store for kids where you can buy and sell clothes and toys. I made 60 bucks between my two trips, so I made that my budget 👍🏽.

• 2. Find a venue: I decided the best place to have the party this year was a FREE place. Very friendly on the budget. We picked a local park that had a splash pad to beat the heat! You could always throw it at your house, too, to save on venue cost.
• 3. Timing is everything: food is another big cost when throwing a party, so if you pick a time isn’t a typical meal time, you can cut back on cost, and only serve cake and drinks 🎂🥤.
• 4. GO Digital: Skip on printing invitations, and make a Facebook group or send out a group text! Gets the same message across and it can’t be lost or thrown in the trash.
• 5. Theme / decorations: hit up the dollar store! They will have what you need. And I mean why pay more than a dollar for something people are just going to throw away. Like table clothes, plates, cups, napkins, and you can even get party favors if you choice to go that route. I decided not to do party favors this year. I mean, what parent doesn’t want more junk in their cars? Am I right?(you’re welcome 😉). However, I did make my own 4 dollar piñata!! So that will have fun little surprise in it. That way the kids won’t feel totally cheated (lol).
• 6. Entertainment: I got the kids to have a big water balloon fight or you could do a water gun fight. (you can get water balloons & water guns from the dollar store. )
• 7. Make your own cake: another way to save some money is to make your own cake. I typically pay anywhere from $60-$120 for custom cakes, so needless to say I saved a lot of money this year by making my own. (shout out to my sister for all her help. Stand-by: how to on this super hero cake coming soon) Then Just Invite people you want to share your moment with! It can sometimes be stressful trying to make sure you haven’t left anyone out when celebrating kids birthdays. But make it simple just ask your child who they want to come, and do your best to make sure they can come. After all it is all about them. Share that day with people who love and support your child, not just any and everyone you can think of. I think when your kids are younger, keeping it small is best. You don’t want to overwhelm them with too many people, and if too many kids show up, someone ends up getting left out. So my suggestion would be to keep it simple & small. Quality over quantity!

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Those are the tips and tricks I have for your next birthday on a budget! What I loved most was that it was simple and easy. I’ve always heard of parents who only celebrate mile stone birthdays with a party and that’s a great money saver idea. I personally get too excited planning my kids’ birthdays to be able to pull that one off, but I do love that idea. Also if you’re more into the over the top Pinterest party I was referring to earlier, don’t you worry! Sarabeth will be having a party soon enough and she always knocks her party’s out of the park!! We will have another birthday blog for you party planners soon!