Comments on: Contest #3: Birthdays on a Budget

By: Kathy

Kathy — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 01:36:34 +0000

Our parties were getting a little “out of hand” so we had her last party at home at 3pm with just cake and ice cream. Our decorations came from Dollar Tree and for activities, we just let the kids play outside. My sister-in-law improved on the idea by having a few snacks, and ice cream sundae bar and cake. Simple and sweet.

By: stop smoking

stop smoking — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:42:41 +0000

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By: kissytina

kissytina — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 13:37:55 +0000

The Dollar Store is the best place to shop for all your party suppies! I've thrown a Bday party for my daughter with just $20
Made the cake, and made the invites on my computer…My daugther loved it and you wouldn't of known that I bought everything at the dollar store

By: Renee Campbell

Renee Campbell — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:36:19 +0000

When my now 19 y/o son was 3, I was able to buy the birthday gifts but was totally broke after and had little left for a party. This of course is the main event of any little one, they really look forward to it. So I had to put my creative thinking cap on. He was big into Firemen and Firetrucks then which gave me my idea. I called my local fire
department and said my son is turning 3 and he loves firemen do you all have any of those plastic firemen hats? They were very happy to hear from me and replied, come on down and we will hook you up. Not only did I get the fire hats, they gave me coloring fire safety books with a sm. box of crayons for each book, along with a treat bag to put them in and some other little goodies. All I had to do was tell them how many children were attending. I then called the printers of the local newspaper and asked for a roll of unprinted newspaper which they will give away for free. They come in giant sized rolls and I covered my tables with it. I made a home made cake w/ red icing and stuck a plastic firetruck on it. I had my party hats, and favors, and accessories for well under $20. The childrens response? They all loved it. The news paper without print was used for them to color on and be creative with their crayons. The only thing that could have topped it would have been the firetruck pulling up in the driveway and giving them all free rides – no they wouldn't do it, not even for this bitch

By: Margaret

Margaret — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:59:28 +0000

Just threw my daughter’s 15th birthday party, so we’ve quite a few experiences to share. This one was at an indoor karting place, but so far, her favorite – and most budget-friendly – was actually a shopping mall scavenger hunt!

I went ahead of time to scope out the mall, and came up with a list of ten things each team (of two or three, depending on the guest list) to find or do. Re-order the lists for each team so that they aren’t all hitting the same place at the same time! Each team got $5, and could not go over budget, but had to find something from the dollar store, something without black on it from Hot Topic (really hard), the time a particular movie started, how much was that doggie in the window, take a team pic at the photo booth for the birthday child, etc. The team that finished first got prizes. We had a “cookie cake” and drinks together, then the girls went off to “shop,” while I hung out in the center court ’til it was time to go home. They had a blast!

By: angie williams

angie williams — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:24:30 +0000

around the world b-day party..we started off by making passports as invitations. In America we had hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill, and we played baseball. In Mexico we had chips and salsa and we had a pinata and ..In Egypt we tore a sheet up and wrapped a kid up like a mummy and had a tomb we went through..In China we made clay rats for the … See Moreyear of the rat..In Frace we had a runway and all the girls got to dress up with dresses we bought from the goodwill. The goodie bags had things from each country, and we took pictures for the passports in each country.. It was a great party and very thrifty..For the runway we used Christmas lights and put up lots of pictures of models from magazines..For the clay rats, I bought all the supplies from hobby Lobby, and we had paper lanterns that we hung.It was a huge success!!

By: Erin from Long Island

Erin from Long Island — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:13:40 +0000

When I wa a kid, my Mom would buy plain white t-shirts for all the people coming to my bday parties and a bunch of crafting paints and stencils and stuff ike that and we all would decorate them. I didn’t realize what a hit it was until recently, when at a mini-reunion of sorts when my friends said they still remmeber my sleepovers were the best cuz of the cool things we did, like the shirts!

By: Bethany Davis

Bethany Davis — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:06:17 +0000

When my son was getting ready to turn 3 years old, he was very into fire trucks. So in planning for his 3rd birthday party, I called the fire station that was closest to our neighborhood and asked for their assitance. I explained that I was planning a birthday party for my son with a “firetruck” theme asked if they would be willing to let us tour the firestation. They offered to let us tour the firestation and have his birthday party at the firestation/house as well. On the day of his birthday, all the kids arrived (boys and girls, ages 1-6) and the firemen took over. They started the tour and showed us (kids and parents too) every part of the firestation. They even showed us their living quarters, kitchen and recreation area. Along the way of the tour, they told us interesting stories about the firestation and educational information for all of us. Before going into the “garage” where the fire trucks were, they spent about 5-10 minutes talking to the kids about fire safety and gave out coloring books and stickers about fire safety (freebies/party favors). The kids (and parents) were very engaged in all parts of this party. Once we got to the trucks, we were able to get in the trucks, sit where they sit, ring the bell, sound the sirens and turn on the lights, put on the helmets and the kids were able to talk on the walkie/talkies that were in the helmets, etc. The firemen also displayed for us how quickly they can get into their uniforms when called out. They even had us time them and they had a competition to see which firefighter was the fastest. My son was even able to get in a uniform, with the boots, helmet and all. The firemen were very accomodating and answered all the questions that we had for them. This was a win win for everyone. For me as a parent, it was cheap! It cost nothing for us to go to the firestation and all I paid for was the cake and drinks that we had after the tour in the eating area. I also had pizza delivered to the firestation that evening as a thank you to the firemen who gave so graciously of their time. For the kids, it was very engaging activity, they learned about fire safety and still talk about the party to this day. They were learning and having fun!!! For the firemen, it gave them an opportunity to meet some of the kids in their neighborhood as well as the parents and it gave them an opportunity to educate as well. This party was a hit! We have pictures to prove it!

By: Alexis Richardson

Alexis Richardson — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:22:11 +0000

Last year was my daughters second birthday, and the first “big bash” with friends invited. For the first birthday, it was more of an adult party, but I was terrified when I knew I had to come up with a banging party for not just my daughter, but all of the kids she knows, while keeping it fun for the adults, and not breaking the bank. Decorating was the easy part. We kept it simple, an OUTDOORS. Even with her party being in November, the weather was still nice enough to do an outdoor party. The balloons we not expensive. I went to party city and got a helium tank for $25 that came with balloons and string to tie them up. This couldn’t have been a better idea. Although there were lots of balloons, I still didn’t come close to using all the helium or balloons, so now I give them to my terrible toddler when she gets fussy. I also hung a pinata from the tree, and filled it with penny candy from the grocery store. I tried to keep it “nick jr themed” so for activities I had face painting. The kids LOVED it and it cost me next to nothing. Use one baby wipe to remove the paint. All the kids parents were loving it too, as they were able to relax and have a drink, care free. The kids enjoyed the activities, outdoors, and it wore them out for the night too. The birthday cake was a sheet cake from the grocery store. I had a case of beer, and a bottle of vodka. Perfect ingredients to a relaxing fall day. We had small munchies, like chips and dip, and vegie trays. Nothing too heavy. I’m a bitch on a budget so naturally I didn’t supply lunch or dinner for the whole party. I gave the kids Dora the Explorer bags with Dora, and Diago party favors. Such as a small amount of candy (i am a mom who wouldn’t give all that sugar to someone elses kid), and dollar store figurines and other cute goodies. They all liked them much. At the end of the day, looking back at it now, it was probably one of the best memories thus far in mine, and my daughters life span.

By: Sue Birchfield

Sue Birchfield — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:08:11 +0000

For one of my daughters’ birthdays right after the Beverly Hills Chihuahua movie came out we were able to have a fun party on a budget. We made the cake (better anyways!) and put chihuahua figurines on it. We printed coloring pages from online websites and did a coloring contest. For the best game, I printed out a list of dog facts and made a list of true/false questions. Then we had a “true” side of the room and “false” side of the room. I shouted out a true or false statement and the kids had to run to the side they thought was the correct answer. All the kids on the correct side were given a paw print. At the end of the game the children with the most paw prints won. They loved it! I think if you’re creative, you can come up with fun, inexpensive things to do around any theme.