Gone are the days of jelly and ice cream, musical chairs and pass the parcel in the local community hall! With the birth of social media, and documenting every moment of our lives online, sometimes we feel pressure to compete in hosting the biggest and best kid’s birthday party.
But with the price of living increasing, it may not seem to make financial sense to spend all our time planning something that will only last one day. What if we told you there was a way that you could have a great celebration, whilst still sticking to a budget!
Follow our step-by-step guide, and ensure that you throw a party that will last in your memories, not break the bank, and leave you with enough spare change to treat yourself for a job well done.
1. Plan in Advance
Planning is the most crucial part of the process, and is potentially more important than the party itself. The earlier you start, the easier it will be to:
Narrow down details, such as where you’re going to host the party (more on that later)
Research what you need to know
Ensure you stick to your budget, without impulse buying
Spread out the expenses over a few months, rather than spending all at once
Start a few months early with a rough plan; when do you want the party? Can you be flexible with the date? How many guests do you want to invite? Do you want to book a venue, or use your garden?
And as early as you can, start to think about your hard limit on your budget. Figure out how much you can spend on each aspect of the party, and stick to it!
2. Timing Considerations
A huge plus of planning in advance is that the earlier you look at venues, the more you can narrow down the perfect one – and the more you can save. The later you leave it before you book, the higher the chance that venues will be booked up, leaving you stuck with the most expensive ones.
Consider the day of the week – weekends are always going to be more expensive than weekdays. You can plan the party for after school on a weekday if you need to save a bit of cash. (The party doesn’t need to be on your child’s actual birthday!)
But also think about the time of day. If you have a party at midday or in the evening, you may be expected to provide a full meal for the kids. If you plan your party between 2pm and 5pm, guests will have already eaten lunch, and won’t be ready for dinner. This means you won’t have to spend money on set meals, but instead can provide a few snacks, which keeps the costs down.
3. Prune the Guest List
The best way to prevent large spending is to limit the amount of guests you invite. Consider sticking to a core group of 10 or fewer friends, rather than the whole class. This will help you save on your food and drink budget, and also allow you to choose a smaller venue.
Make the drop off and pick up times very clear on the invitation, so that parents don’t stick around expecting to be fed. You may also need to say if siblings are or aren’t invited – you don’t want to prepare for 10 children only for 20+ to turn up.
If your guests are under 6, their parent will probably want to stay with them. Be aware of this, and invite fewer kids if you can’t afford to cater for the parents too.
4. Choose the Invitations
These days, it is becoming more common to send a text or email instead of physical invitations. It makes sense – how many times has your child received an invite only for them to have lost it minutes later? Part of the birthday fun, however, is handing out paper invitations to their friends! This is a tradition that you don’t want to lose.
You could make your own invitations. But if you don’t have the time, try a website like 123Print that offers professionally printed party invites at low cost. There are many fully customisable designs to choose from, and they won’t break the bank.
5. Pick the Right Venue
Planning a party on a budget is all about the location. The most obvious choice is to throw the party at home!
Not only does this cut costs – you don’t have to pay a fee to hire your own home – but you can also decorate it exactly how you want (some venues may not let you hang things up). You also know how many guests can fit into your home.
However, renting another location makes clean-up easier, and you don’t risk anything getting broken – some people can get overwhelmed at the idea of children rampaging through their house!
Consider a community hall. If booked early enough, they offer reasonable rates, and usually come with a small kitchen, chairs and tables.
If you have good weather, heading outside can be a simple yet still creative way to throw a party – either in your back garden, or in a local park, which may have the added bonus of play equipment for the children.
6. Theme Ideas
Coming up with a party theme can be as simple as thinking of your child’s favourite toy or TV show, and also means you could use their toys to decorate (you don’t have to buy decorations).
Unless your child wants something specific, consider a generic theme such as pirates, princesses, superheroes, or even the colours of the rainbow. These will be very easy to shop for, and you’ll probably be able to find everything you need a discount store or pound shop.
You could even ask guests to dress up for the party, which would add to the decor without extra spending.
7. Source Cheap Décor
You may have seen pictures of Pinterest-perfect parties, but with the average one costing £300, you shouldn’t be pressured into spending more than you have. You can do so much with just some balloons, streamers and bunting, all of which are cheap and widely available.
With the internet and some basic supplies, you could even make your own decorations, such as tissue pompoms, DIY confetti balloons, and simple but fancy banners. Injecting colour into your decor is a great way to take something simple and make it look fun and exciting.
If you do choose ready-made decorations, stay away from party shops that come with premium pricing, and order well in advance to get the cheapest prices possible.
8. Budget for Food
Let’s face it: children are more interested in playing at parties rather than stopping to eat food. Therefore, there’s no need to over-complicate things. This isn’t a grown-up dinner party, after all!
Stick with small bites of finger foods. Home-made sandwiches, pizza slices (made from frozen pizzas), and mini sausage rolls are all cheap and tasty ideas that are big hits with the little ones.
Consider portioning out the food in advance in party boxes so you don’t overspend, and cut down on food waste! It also means that the kids can take home leftovers, leaving minimal mess.
9. Entertainment Options
Don’t feel as though you have to hire a magician, a balloon artist or a clown. Cutting down on the expense of entertainment doesn’t mean cutting down on the fun.
The internet is full of great games and activities that take no planning, minimal set up, and will cost very little if anything at all. For example:
• Pass the parcel. You can use recycled newspaper or even left over wrapping paper, and a small bag of sweets to pop in each layer. The final present doesn’t have to be expensive – a toy from the pound shop will do!
• Musical chairs is always popular, but if you don’t have seating, instead try musical statues – you only need a smartphone and a playlist.
• Pin the tail on the donkey: an old favourite that only requires paper, scissors, and a pin (or blue-tack). You could alter this game to fit the theme – for example, pin the eye patch on the pirate.
• “Simon says” is completely free, and a great way to get children to calm down and pay attention – perfect when waiting for pickup.
If you’re hosting the party in your back garden or a park, you could have a scavenger hunt. The kids could find things from a list (such as leaves and rocks) or you could hide things for them to find.
10. Cut the Cost of Cake
Every kid’s birthday party has to have cake – but you don’t have to spend a bomb on it! The cheapest choice, of course, is to make the cake yourself. A simple Victoria sponge goes down a treat, and isn’t difficult to make.
But not everyone is a baker, and with trying to prepare everything else, you may not have the time to make your own from scratch. If you’re not a confident baker, cupcakes or fairy cakes are easier, and you could even incorporate cupcake decorating as one of the party activities.
Another option is to buy a basic cake from a supermarket, and jazz it up yourself with decorations – then you can make sure it fits in with your theme! Chocolate buttons, sweets and sprinkles are cheap and easy options.
11. Party Bags?
There is an ongoing debate about party bags, and whether to provide them or not. It is completely up to you whether you want to provide them. If you want to, making them yourself can be much cheaper than buying ready-made ones.
But if your budget just won’t cover it, try to think of party bags as a bonus, and not a necessity. Provided your little guests can take home a slice of cake, and as long as you send out thank you cards after the party, there will be no hard feelings!