Birthday Parties on Severely Tight Budget

Have you thought about having it at the park? We have some parks near us that have covered shelters near the play areas and if you time it right you can just provide cake and juice boxes or something similar. You might also want to plan a few inexpensive crafts- good luck and hang in there- people totally understand that times are getting more lean. If you feel you have to provide a meal of some sore spagetti is always a very inexpensive option as well.

We are in the same boat. We have 3 kids. We decide to celebrate the big ones(5,10,13,16) with a party. The in betweens the get to pick one freind and go so something they want to do with in reason. Last year my son wanted to go fishing with his Uncle and my daughter choose Chick fil a with a freind. They have been alright with not always having a party.

What I have done since my boys were little,their birthdays are a week apart, is let them decide what they would like to do either together/combined birthdays or seperately..movie/dinner out,ice skating,bowling..what ever with 1 friend only.That way they get to do something with a friend..have fun..and you can afford it too..good luck
S. B

L.,
Now it is my turn to help you. I didn't realize that you had such young kids in your house. Did your husband not have any luck with the job interview he had not long ago?
Let me tell you. I don't see anything wrong with explaining to the boys that money is tight and birthday parties are kind of out this year. Can you not make him a promise of doing something or taking him somewhere as soon as your husband gets a job and gets back on his feet? Also, would he like to have a few boys over for a spend the night get together like the older one? I sure wish I could win the lottery and share with you. Bless your heart! I wish my house was big enough also... I would let you do it here.
If there is anything that I can do for you, let me know.
M.

I just read an article about doing a theme pajama party in Parents magazine. Your 6 year old could invite just like 3 or 4 friends over. They all wear their PJ's. They could maybe watch a movie for the party and that be it. There is a foundation that donates pj's to the homeless and you could ask for that for gifts, while teaching a great lesson about people that have less than you do. Then they can play musical 'pillows' instead of chairs too.

Good luck and blessings,
Amanda

L.,

Try your local park district. A lot of times they will have buildings that you can have small parties in for nothing as long as you bring your own food and clean up. Or even see if the school your son goes to may let you have a small party for his class or something. Or do you have a freind that has a larger house that they would let you use? There are tons of games out there for 6 year olds. You can even research some on the internet and make them your self.

I hope you find something.

E.

At age 6, the parents can drop off the kids and pick them up after the party. Just put a P.S. on the invite that says, "Please drop off your child at Xpm and pick him up at Xpm!"

And I think home parties are the most fun. What if you go off the same sleep-over idea but instead have an "Almost Sleepover Party?" The kids come in the evening in their PJs and do things that you would do at a sleep-over (but parents pick up at 8 or 9p). Make pancakes and let them put all kinds of good stuff on them. Just serve the cakes and they can add butter, syrup, chocolate chips, sprinkles at the table. Watch a movie and have popcorn, tell a "scary" story, play follow the leader around the house (doesn't matter if it's a small house - the boys will never notice), decorate cookies or cupcakes, get small Nerf balls and let them go nuts on each other in one room (then the ball is their party favor), get a basketball hoop that hangs on a door and let them shoot one at a time. I promise, the kids will have a GREAT time and it will be way more memorable than some bounce house place.

And I see that you have older boys. Assign them a job at the party, like one in charge of the Nerf ball fight and basketball and one in charge of reading a "scary" story. Or setting up the movie (my boys really like Sky High). The younger kids always think the older boys are so cool.

Good luck! It'll be a blast whatever you do!

Have you tried talking to him about what he would like? He might even just like to do something with just the family. Kids are smart and if you explain it can't be a big party this year but you want to make is special he might just surprise you about what he would like to do.

An inexpensive and easy way to do it would be to have a party at a McDonald's playland. Let him pick his 2 or 3 best friends and buy them happy meals and let them play. The kids will probably bring presents. If you feel weird about bringing cupcakes there, buy everyone an apple pie for 2 for a dollar and sing over those. It could be a fun memory of singing over apple pies. (And you can have a cake at home with just your family.) He'll feel loved, have fun, and it'll cost you about what the pizza for your daughter's party will cost.

If you belong to a church, you could have it there for free! Or you could ask a local church. Other suggestion: the local volunteer fire department. The 6 year old, you can still have a pajama party and watch a movie like kung fu panda or Wall-E!

You might want to take the kids to the children's museum, since it's getting colder outside. Also, I would just do a cake (homemade/out of a box) and let the birthday boy decorate it.

I would agree that the day just needs to be spent with him doing what he wants to do. My son is only 4, but his birthday consists of colored pancakes for breakfast, usually with strawberries, because they're his favorite. Then we usually invite one family over to celebrate with us and have a cake that I bake. This year, we got a helium tank ($20 at Walmart) and gave him balloons, which he thought was awesome! Of course, you can get balloons from Dollar Tree, and the mylar helium ones stay up for months!

If it's a nice day, take them to the park, or hiking on a local nature trail. Your local visitor's bureau will have maps and information.

Oneyear for my son I rented a baseball field at the local park and he and his friends played ball. I ordered pizza and had cake. They had a blast! It cost $25 to reserve the field, although this time of year I would imagine you would't even need a reservation. Also, if you or anyone you know belongs to the YMCA ours has a skate park they rent out and kids can ride bikes, skaterboards, etc. Y ou can have as many as you want and it is not expensive (if a member is reserving it).

Last year when my daughter's sixth birthday rolled around we were in the process of trying to sell our house and buy another house--life was hectic and having a full blown birthday party was not an option. Instead I took her and 2 of her friends to the movies and out for ice cream afterwards. You can easily do this inexpensively if you go to the dollar movies. She had a blast (going to the movies is a huge treat) and didn't feel slighted at all of not having a big party.

I have just opened a place for birthday paries in Morrisville called The Studio. Please visit my website and contact me and we can work something out to suit your budget. V.
www.studiopartyspace.com

Hi L.,
First I'd just like to say that I loved the suggestion one mom gave about the pajama theme party with just a few friends, especially the part about giving to the needy! Great idea to share with the kids, and they're at an age for that notion to really sink in.
Like one of the other moms, my idea was to have a party at a park. You can usually find a little pavilion with a picnic table under it, and you could attach little bundles of balloons up high on the pavilion posts or dangle them from the rafters for festive decorations at very little cost... getting a bag of balloons from the dollar store and blowing them up yourself is certainly much cheaper than the cost of buying helium balloons! You can also go to the Dollar Tree (or similar store) and get a whole pack of colored paper plates (napkins, cups) for $1. A lot of pizza places these days have deals like 3 pizzas for $5 each... you could do something like that and use some of the pizza for the party and some for dinner for your family that night. (Not the most nutritious day for the birthday boy, but one day without vegetables won't hurt him.) Or you could skip the "lunch" altogether and just make a cake or cupcakes. There are TONS of games you can play at the party that won't cost anything. I did a Google search for children's party games for my son's last birthday, and was amazed at how many great ideas I found... all kinds of creative relay races and things that just brought howls of laughter from everybody involved... and all FREE! Have a great time... I know you'll make some special memories for your son and it won't have to break the bank!

I think that sometimes we think children will be more disappointed and heart broken than they really are in the end. Children are very resilient and your son will be fine without a big party. How about treating both boys to their "own" day on their bday with family. For example, make their favorite meal, have some cake and ice cream, let them pick a movie to rent, play games they want to play, just have a really nice family day that is all about them. I know it is hard to not have a party, since it seems like the norm nowadays to celebrate each year with a party, but think about when kids didn't have parties every year, those kids turned out fine (they are most likely most of us and our parents) and so will yours. Do not let others make you feel bad about not having a party, sometimes money is tight and sometimes your children have to learn that lesson. I have a friend who takes her kids to Disney quite often and this year she had to sit them down and tell them they couldn't go because money is tight. Her kids were very understanding and not as disappointed as she thought they'd be. They are 6 and 8!Like I said sometimes we are the more disappointed of the bunch. :) Take care and I wish you the best!

Ask your son what HE might want to do and get him involved in the planning and what is doable and what is not (and explain why not).

He may be interested in having a family day, going to a museum, for example, maybe with one or two of his friends along, or just as a family. Make sandwiches and have a picnic. Even if it is cold it can be fun to sit at a picnic shelter on the museum grounds, have a picnic lunch, and maybe toss a ball around or lay tag to warm up again and to get some of that energy released.

At home: you do have a table that you eat family meals at? How many does it seat? Invite two - six (depending on the total number of seats available, to include him)of his friends (and yes, at 6 years they can be dropped off and picked up again by their parents) and have a fund afternoon of playing board and/or card games. Have some cupcakes prepared, and the last activity can be that they each frost and decorate their own cup cake, then they all are put together to form a 'cake', you all sing Happy Birthday, and then they can eat their own creations.
If the timing is so that you would need to feed them lunch or dinner: get a bag of small pita breads, tomato sauce, cheese and a few topping selections. Again, they can make their own mini pizzas, play a game while they're on the oven, and then eat them. It is cheaper than ordered out pizza, probably healthier, definitely more fun, and it is a party activity at the same time.

My boys at that age liked treasure hunts or scavenger hunts (actually, they still do, as teenagers! LOL). That could be done in a park, but it can also be done in your own neighborhood. Get the older son and Dad involved, they can think of a neat trail through the neighborhood, mark it (with sidewalk chalk), leave little notes that give additional clues as to where to go (and they could involve puzzles, riddles, math problems, etc. There can be a treasure hidden at the end (e.g. a blow pop for every kid, or a mini notebook for their future detective adventures, or whatever is small, cheap and neat, just find an imaginative name or description for it) - or it can lead right back to your home (Dad and brother will accompany them, to supervise and to make sure they don't get lost, and to help if they're having problems with any clues) and you will be ready with the cup cake activity for them and will have had a breather.

There is one game that is played around a table that has been played at pretty much every birthday party my kids have ever had, they enjoy it so much.
You will need a chocolate bar (big enough so that there will be at least a couple of pieces for each player), well and tightly wrapped in multiple layers of newspaper; a die; a pair of mittens, a hat and a scarf; a (sturdy) plastic fork and knife (i like to use some from a play picnic set, those are blunt and very hard to break).
All players sit around the table, all items are stacked in the middle, the birthday kid gets to start. He rolls the die and passes it on immediately to the player to his left. If it was any of the numbers 1 - 5, nothing happens, if he had trolled a six, he shouts "six" and gets to put on the hat, wrap the scarf around his neck, put on the mittens, pick up the for and knife and then may start trying to unwrap the chocolate. Meanwhile the die keeps going around the table, every kid rolling it and passing it on. As soon as the next player rolls a six, the kid who was working on the chocolate (who was getting ready to do so) needs to pass all the items to the player who rolled the six, who in turn gets to gear up and work on the chocolate, until the next six is rolled. As you can imagine they will get very exciting (and loud), there will be a lot of back and forth, and it will take quite a while until they get to the actual chocolate, get through the original wrapping and actually touch chocolate. Now, while you could let the game continue and have the objective it continue until all the chocolate is eaten (with fork and knife, of course) I usually call a stop once they hit the chocolate. I usually break the chocolate to pieces then and distribute it to them evenly (or put their pieces into little plastic snack bags, which hey then can take home). Playing it to the end often gets messy, chocolate crumbs fall to the floor, and usually it gets shared very unevenly with some kid not getting any, and lots of it that needs to be thrown away. A waste in my eyes.
The better wrapped the chocolate is, with many, many individual layers of newspaper wrappings, the more fun it is and the longer it can go.

I'm not a big fan of them just watching a movie, I'd rather they interact with each other. For that same reason I always had a rule that they get to invite as many friends as they are turning years old. When my kids ere at parties with many kids they often came home disappointed because they felt they did not really get to spend time with their friend whom they were going to visit for his birthday.
But there are so many games that you could play around a kitchen table. If you don't own any suitable board games, check out the library at your sons school as well as the public library, they often have some games, and you could also check at your church if you could borrow a couple of board games, they may have some, too. Or you can mention on the invitation that the guest may bring a favorite board game to share at the party.

Most of all, get your son involved in the planning, find out what he is dreaming of and then work with him to try to make it a reality within your constraints.

L.,
I understand your dilema and I have a couple of suggestions. I have planned a lot of parties (kids and adults on a tight budget. A lot of my friends call me to plan their kids parties and to ask me to plan and DJ their parties. Some day, when I retire, I hope to run my own catering, party, entertainment business. Well enough about me, lets see if I can't help some. Call me at ###-###-#### if these ideas don't work. I have a few more that are not as popular.
Mr. Gatti's in Oak Ridge is a great place and inexpensive. Call to reserve the room with the big screen (it shouldn't cost you anything). Have your son narrow down his guest list to three or four close friends. Only order pizza for the kids and tell the adults they can order their own. It is not rude and everyone will understand. Bring a kids DVD for the kids to watch (Mr. Gatti's will play any G or PG movies for you). Bake the birthday cake at home or go to Food Lion. If you order the cake on Thursday it is cheaper (I think it is half off). Use plain paper plates and napkins from the Dollar store.
Okay, my second idea is to ask your children if they want to wait and have a swim party in the summer. More and more parents of kids with winter birthdays are postponing the celebration until summer. It is the new fad I guess. I went to two February birthday kids' parties in the middle of June (one at the lake and one at the city pool). Both can be inexpensive and fun. Don't do full food, just snacks, cake, and drinks. Plan the party in between meals. This way parents know the meal is not provided. Parents love this party, because after swimming their kids are worn out. All your children might enjoy the swimming party. It is a hit with most kids. Well good luck to you.

Could you do a sleep over for the six year old? Maybe just his "best" friend. Then plan some fun food and a video. Just do SOMETHING or he will be very upset and disappointed!

dont know about where you are but mcdonalds here has a playland indoors and lots of people bring there own cake and buy ice cream cones there and bring there own decorations and balloons and just let them play for a couple hours saterday they had 2 partys and a full playland

I say you should try to put something together at a church. They generally have at least one large room for general gatherings like baby showers, wedding receptions etc... and it is free, particularly if you are a member and probably even if you aren't. Go to the dollar tree and get a few things like streamers, candy, games and you have yourself and inexpensive birthday party. If you know any of the mothers personally, I wouldn't think it would be rude to ask if there was any way they could bring a drink or chips or whatever.

Do you go to a church that has a multi-purpose room or anything like that? Maybe they would let you use that for a birthday party. Or do you have any friends that have a bigger house that would let you use it for a party? Either way, you can also find great ideas for party activities (that you can prepare yourself) at www.familyfun.com. Hope it works out for you. God bless.

Hi L.,

With multiple children, or even one child, I think its fine to alternate birthday party years. Each year only one child would have an actual party. Maybe this year since the youngest will only be 6 it could be his year. Since money is tight and space is an issue, maybe you could just take your son, the rest of your family, and one of his closest friends out for pizza night. Then maybe you could all go to a $2.00 movie or something. You can definitely celebrate his birthday without a party. Parties are priveleges, not rights.

A sleep over for the 12 yr old would be a good fix, but how about a pajama party for the younger? They could come in PJs, watch a movie, eat, then leave before bedtime (6 might be a little young for a sleepover). This helps b/c you would only invite the boys. My favorite parties were our 'cheap' ones. I was a winter-baby, too, so outdoor activities were not practical, but 2 of my FAVORITE b-day memories were roasting hotdogs in the fireplace and build your own sundaes. This might be good for the 12 yr old.

You also might just have a family dinner on the weekend and invite the adults (g'parents, etc), but on the day of his b-day, take him and one friend to a place like 'Chucky-Cheese'.

God Bless.

I think it's okay for your 6 year old to know that you can't afford as much this year. That said, are there some ways you can still make it special without having a big production? Fix his favorite meal? Let him invite a couple of his closest friends over (instead of several)? Maybe even ask him what he would like, and if it's too much, see how you can modify it. I do think it's good for kids to learn that limited funds call for changes to be made (rather than paying for everything with plastic).

LoAnn,
Have you thought of asking a relative with a bigger home if you could use if for a birthday party - maybe grandmother or an aunt. My house is small too and there isn't alot of space for entertaining people. We too are on a budget but we had a nice birthday party at my sister's house. Only family and one or two close friends were invited. It was a cowboy party. The invitations asked guests to dress as cowboys. I bought my son a little straw hat, a red bandana, and put jeans and a flannel shirt on him. Then I made chocolate cup cakes and decorated them like horses. I used a box cake mix and and iced them with chocolate icing. To make the eyes I used the brown mini m&m's. To make the mane I took what was left of the chocolate frosting and mixed a little bit of white frosting to lightening the color up and piped mane down. For the nose I used some type of flat chocolate candy. Then for food I made sloppy joes and had chips and made a pitcher of kool-aid. The boys loved the sloppy joes. This made a lot for the money and there was plenty for the adults tood. For a game or two - we set up an area for pin the tail on the "horse", which you can find at any dollar store most of the time. But if you can't find one. you can be creative and print one off of the computer and cut tails for everyone to have. The blind fold is easy - use the bandana that you gave the birthday boy and voila! You have a nice birthday party. Also, if no one will volunteer your house you can make this a fun birthday party outside. If my sister wouldn't have let me use her house we were going to start a campfire, have the boys roast weenies and do smores. We were still going to do pin the tail on the horse and open gifts inside. Just be creative. I've learned that as long as it isn't snowing or raining, kids pretty much don't care if it's too hot or cold as long as they stay busy, and trust me the campfire will keep them extremely busy. Time will fly and your little one will think it's one of the best birthday's he's had. My son actually liked this party better than the ones somewhere else (pizza place, skating rink, etc.). He still talks about having another party just like it. Hope you get lots of good ideas.

I didn't see a idea for a pirate party. Use old bandanas to make head scarves. Get a skull pattern and cut out of white construction paper. tape on to head scarf. Make treasure maps with clues. Go to a park with a lake and make little sail boat out of paper and sail on the Lake. Make lots of pirate noises. Have a pirate eating contest do not use foks or spoons with cupcakes,oranges. Maybe do a bobbing for apples type game. End with a capture the flag game. Have fun!!
Get the birthday boy to plan and help out with the clues and other stuff and use older brother as a guide. Teens are like super heroes to the elementary school kids.

do you have a church fellowship hall you could use for free? Some churches will allow that for their members. maybe you could take them to a museum. A lot of them have cool things to do that don't cost anything. Then all you would have to do would be pick up some napkins and stuff at the dollar store.

I bet you could also google "parties on a budget". there are all kinds of frugal (?) ideas out there. Good luck!!!

Using the church is a good suggestion. I also like the mcdonald's thing. When I was a kid I actually had a birthday at McDonald's. It was planned with the location though. Ronald McDonald was there and we got a tour of the kitchen area. My parents had very little money when I was little so I don't think it must of cost very much. I don't know if they do anything like this now but its worth calling. Or just go with 3-4 guests and let them play. For birthday during nice outdoor weather a park is always free and available. You have to call and reserve the pavilion or other building if you want to use them but the picnic tables and play ground not require anything. I did this a few times as a kid too and my best friend just did it the past October for her Turning-7 year old.