Fun Freetime: Saving on Parties (Guest Post)

10 Ways to Save Money on Your Kids’ Birthday Parties
As a parent, you’d probably spoil your kids any way they wanted on their birthdays. But in this economy, and on tight budgets, inflatable party jumpers, hundreds of presents and footing the bill for every one of their classmates to visit an amusement park just isn’t feasible. So how do you throw your children a birthday party they’ll always remember without going into debt? Follow these 10 tips to save money on your kids’ parties.
- Make a cake. Cakes, especially for large groups, can be incredibly expensive, even if you buy them from the regular grocery store. Stay up a little later the night before and bake one yourself for literally a fraction of the cost.
- Have the kids make their party favors. Buy supplies, and as a party activity, have kids make crafts that they can take home as party favors.
- Buy a piñata. Piñatas aren’t that expensive and can provide at least a half hour or hour of fun, depending on how many kids you have.
- Host a join party. Smaller kids won’t know the difference and will have fun celebrating in a big way with a friend or cousin with the same birthday.
- Pick the right games. Games like musical chairs or freeze tag don’t cost anything extra but are still a lot of fun.
- Don’t spend money on a venue. Host a party at your home, at a neighborhood park, or at a club or pool you already belong to instead of shelling out extra money just for the venue.
- Go easy on decorations. Enlist the birthday girl or boy, plus friends and siblings to help you blow up balloons and sprinkle confetti on your table. Buy solid colored paper cups and napkins, and buy only one or two specialty items, like a birthday chair balloon.
- Show a movie. Spend the $10 or $15 on a new DVD release all the kids are excited about and set aside a movie time that will keep them occupied for a couple of hours.
- Send e-invitations. Ask your child to help you design invitations on sites like Evite.com that are free.
- Buy in bulk. Big bags of assorted candy, balloons, party favors and supplies are cheaper when bought in bulk.
This post was contributed by Rose Jensen, who writes about the online degree programs. She welcomes your feedback at Rose.Jensen28@ yahoo.com