Have a Laid-Back, Cheap Birthday Party for Your Kid

Why spend hundreds of dollars for an off-site birthday party for your child when you can do it yourself on the cheap?  This year, consider giving your kids the Ultimate Birthday Party, one where they can play, have fun and just be kids with the added bonus of you getting to keep your sanity and money.  Here’s how:

INVITE

E-vite or call family and friends.  Have them to your home or maybe even a park shelter.  Set the party for 1 p.m. so guests know lunch won’t be served (think of the cost and cleanup!), and let them know to pick up their kid(s) around 3 p.m.

BAKE

The night before the party, bake the cake (from a box, of course!) or cupcakes.  Feel free to get fancy on the cake if you have that talent.

FUNTIME

On party day, don’t worry about setting up a craft for the kids that they’ll just throw away later.  Just let them run around and be kids.  To kill some time, consider a piñata (filled with something quickly disposed of like candy instead of junky toys).

MEMORIES

Assign one person to take pictures and one person to videotape all the fun (including the opening of gifts and blowing out of candles) so you can concentrate on celebrating with your child.

BALLOONS

Rather than buy costly Mylar, blow up the balloons yourself and tape them to walls and doorways or leave them loose on the floor.

TO GOODY BAG OR NOT TO GOODY BAG?

Don’t give out goody bags!  They end up costing you a lot and most of the junk just ends up in the landfill anyway.  The kids get a temporary thrill receiving them, but the parents are cursing you behind your back!

HAVE A PLAN

Have a plan in place for the 2 hours of the party.  For instance, you could have the kids play for a while, then open gifts, then have the cake, then the piñata, then more play until the party’s over.

For more information, check out TheKerrieShow.com and "The Laid-Back Mom's Parenting Guidebook", available through Payloadz.com.