Do You Have a "Hip" Birthday Party Idea?!
It may seem strange to post about birthday parties since many of you have just wrapped up big Christmas celebrations. However, I think it is very appropriate to discuss birthday party ideas and savings tips now as you can often snag some amazing bargains on toys and more by shopping the after-Christmas sales. Besides snatching up some awesome deals on birthday gifts, reader, Sallie shares other ways that she makes birthdays unique and memorable for her own kiddos.
Check out Sallie’s email and picture below…
A few years ago, my daughter started getting invited to birthday parties for her little friends. I wasn’t sure of the protocol on gifts as we do something different (I will explain in a second). Anyway, after a few parties, I realized that the average gift is about $10. Well as I have three kids now, that can add up in a HURRY.
So this week every year, I put aside $50-$75 and hit all the awesome clearance deals. Yesterday at CVS, all the toys were 50% off so I bought five remote control cars that were normally $10 for a total of $25. I’ll keep my eyes open at other stores as well and usually get 10-15 toys for my budget.
That way, the morning of the party, I let my kids pick out which gift they want to give and wrap it. No last minute shopping or overpaying because it snuck up on us! Last year, I had three gifts left over and donated them to Toys for Tots.
For the birthday parties we throw, at first we just put “no gifts please, your presence is present enough!” However, I found that in our culture, people just NEED to bring something. So, here’s what we did instead:
For one party, we collected cash donations in a fish bowl for PEERS. They are a non-profit at Camp Lejeune that offers free babysitting for military that I used when my husband was deployed. We collected $300 and they were able to take up the carpet in one room and redo the hardwood floors with our gift!
For one party in April, we collected peanut butter and jelly for the local food pantry. The manager there told me that in the summer, they can’t keep enough of it on the shelf because it’s a meal kids can prepare on their own while the parents are at work. Most qualify for free lunch at school, but summer months are tough. (see picture above of all that was collected). Then I took my kids with me when we donated it and the food shelter gave my daughter a thank you certificate that we put in her scrapbook along with her pictures from her party!
For my son’s one year party in October, we asked people to bring size 1 or 2 diapers for the local crisis pregnancy center. We collected over 500 diapers. They were STUNNED.
I personally think Sallie’s ideas are awesome! So….how about you? Do you set a yearly budget for birthday gifts? Do you buy birthday gifts way in advance? Have you ever hosted a no-gifts birthday party? Was it a success? Let us know!
To add another idea to Sallie’s…I haven’t done this but I’ve heard of it… charity:water is another charity that suggests “donating” your birthday by asking guests to give your age in dollars. It’s a great cause and a really well-run organization… http://www.charitywater.org
“charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects.”
Buy Halloween goodies such as pencils and bubbles for treat bags for party guests. I can often find plain treat bags after Halloween or Christmas too.
My daughter age 11 has chosen Ronald McDonald House as her charity. So when she had a Birthday Party,she asked for donations. She received donations and gifts. I do buy gifts in advance and let my kids shop from my store.
That is awesome! My family lived in an RMH for 6 months. It’s really as great of an organization as it seems!
I have to agree. RMH is amazing. They have housed me, my husband and my daughter many times during her 7 years. She has had multiple surgeries in a location that is 10 hours away and we stay at the RMH! She loves it and never wants to leave.
i have a gift closet…literally. My sons closet is always filled with gifts for kids of all ages tha ti pick up throughout the yr on major discounts thanks to you and your site. I was planning on donating hte extras to toys for tots this christmas but we donated the last of them to our Military Special Needs Support group Christmas Party. They loved getting them and it helped make some kids christmas very special since i know how hard it is to work with special needs kids (i have 2 of my own) and mooney gets tight when one cant work but needs too.
Thanks for all you do.
I love the ideas and wish we could get away with 10.00 gifts. Here the going gift is at least 40.00-50.00 for these parties as theyre all held at expensive kid centers where you know the parents are paying at least 25.00 per attendee. What happened to parties at home where kids entertained each other with pin the tail on the donkey?
I bargain shop all year long for gifts as I know most of the parties that we will be invited to. Some always sneak up but I usually have a few goodies left. I love the target 75% off summer sale and post christmas sales for that stuff!
I hope people around here read this and can get ideas on truly sharing like you offered.
Kuddo’s!!
I’m sorry but that’s crazy that people would spend $40-50 on a Child’s birthday gift. And $25 per child there! No way would I spend that!
I have to agree, I was usually spending between $25-$40 on gifts. These places where they host the kids party are so expensive per person, I never felt comfortable (the old Monica pre-coupon savings) sending my son’s with gifts that were less than $20.00 at least. Of course now…the much smarter thrifty Monica knows that a great deal can be had on a toy and no one need know that I may have only paid $8.00 on!!!
Same here – no one holds an old fashioned birthday birthday anymore. It’s more like a competition to see who can host the most over-the-top one out there. Plus the going gift for kids grades 3 and above seems to be gift cards – guess Swag Bucks can come in handy to help with that.
Not only that, but I have seen parents including in the invitations what to get their child and where to buy it.
I one got one where the kid had a registry at Toys R Us! I am not kidding!!
Yes many of those, I feel its rude to ask for specific items.
I got an invite that asked that we only bring cash (not gifts) to cover the cost of the present that the child was getting.
Jo – I agree with you! Kids’ birthday parties have gotten out of hand! The day of at home birthday parties seems to be over. And if there is one at a house, there are bounce houses, characters, popcorn machines, cotton candy machines, etc. I did it a couple of years – having parties that broke the bank. Its hard for young kids to understand why they are unable to have the same type of party as little “Joey” down the street. Its really unfair to the parents out there that simply can’t do it! We live in Florida, so with not having to pay for airfare and taking advantage of the Florida resident deals, we are opting to go to Disney instead for my son’s 5th birthday. And to be very honest, it is costing us about the same as many of these parents are spending on 2 hour parties!
Those are the parties I usually don’t let my kids attend. Unless it’s their best friend we are “busy.”
As a mom to 5 little boys, I can’t do huge birthdays for each child every year. Therefore, we have certain birthdays that I go all out for. Their 1st, 5th, 10th, 13th, and 16th. The other years, they get to pick the supper menu for the night of their birthday and also get to pick the cake/ice cream. It makes them feel really special, and has made for some interesting combinations of food. 🙂 We celebrate with them here at home and they can invite friends, but it’s a no gift party….I usually just call and invite them over at the last minute.
My oldest, when he turned 13 last year had a “football” party. He and his friends played football in the yard and then watched the Alabama/Auburn game which is a huge game for us Bama fans. I fixed typical football watching food and they had a blast.
I love a movie night party. Let them pick a movie they love, (I know the Twilight saga is super popular) and then have their friends over to watch it. Make popcorn and have movie theater candy and sodas.
Another idea I love is to let the kids do the cooking. Get pizza ingredients (on the cheap with coupons) and then set them out. Let them make their own mini pizzas and then help them bake them.
You don’t have to spend a ton of money to have a great party. Most of the time simple food and drinks and the company of their friends is what they’re after anyway.
I also love to stock up on birthday gifts when they’re on clearance. As well as Christmas, teacher, bus driver, mail lady, etc. Just one more reason to love Hip2Save. 🙂 It helps a lot!!
This is what my mom has us do growing up and i loved it too! Now that i have kids I have been doing the same and they don’t mind either. I think as long as you make them feel special on their birthday that is what matters.
I have done it where you go out (ie bounce house place). One trick is to have it when they have a deal like on a Friday night and start the party at 6:30 – 7pm. This way it is late enough that you don’t have to serve dinner/food just dessert. I put a note in the invitation that says dessert will be served. This way I only have to bring dessert and drinks in. It still runs around $220-250 for 2 1/2 hours of fun but sometimes its worth it and it helps keep my sanity!
I have too done this idea of collecting for others. My family hosts an annual X-mas Party (santa comes to take pics with all the little ones) and parents always ask what they can bring…so this year we changed it up and asked them to bring a bag of coffee. We donated 10-15 bags to our favorite local firestation. They were very honored and Surprised!
I used to run a domestic violence shelter and our local girl scouts once donated gift bags for kids coming in to our shelter. They had things like combs, toothbrushes, soap and small toys. We got alot of donations of travel sized toiletries (enough that we shared with other programs!) but things like toothbrushes, socks and underwear were always nice to have on hand since many coming in to the program come in without them.
Whoops – meant to add, look in the phone book under Domestic Violence or Crisis Center, or call 1-800-799-SAFE to find the number of a program near you. Funding has been cut drastically in many programs so they probably would be happy with any donations they can get!
I think having a party with donations as the gift is a great idea. However, I have found that all it does is put an extra burdon on the guests because now they feel they need to bring a gift and a donation. It may work better with parties for older children whose attendies are friends. Our children are 3 and 2 and most of the people at their parties are family and close friends. They bring gifts for our kids because they want to give them gifts not because they feel obligated. So this just leads to people feeling like they need to bring two gifts now instead of one.
Andrea, I had the same problem when my kids were that young. My family still give gifts no matter what, so I explained I was doing those ideas for others, not them. Those ideas are mostly for the ‘big’ parties where they invite classmates or neighborhood kids! Let your family do what they want these early years and kick into charity mode when they get older! 🙂
I have always been known for my “gift closet.” I NEVER EVER EVER am caught running out to buy something last minute. It has saved me so much money, time, and stress over the years. I can’t recommend it enough.
Awesome idea but how do you know what/how much to stock so you don’t run out or have tons of unpopular or outgrown extras?
We have done book exchanges before. Everyone brings a wrapped book and exchanges it. Every child goes home with a little something, and books are always affordable.
Not really sure what the fuss is with birthdays nowadays. I personally prefer more home-spun parties with smaller groups over the HUGE gatherings at Chuck E Cheese or children’s gyms or whatnot. Then I feel like the kids have a better experience and aren’t as overwhelmed, and as the host, I feel like I have a better handle on the chaos. We just hosted a small gathering for my daughter today… NO gifts…. a small craft for all of the children to participate in, and lunch before everyone went home! It was a blast.
I know for my family, personally, my daughter’s birthday is at the end of January when it’s COLD and WET. We live in WA state and it’s wet here during the winter. My house isn’t very big and the thought of more than three toddlers in the house is enough to drive me insane. So I rent a place where they do the work. I’m not trying to show anyone up, I’m just trying to preserve my house.
For my kids Christmas party, we collected dog food from the kids and donated to a local rescue. They are so appreciative and the kids can really relate to animals.
This is really true. Kids love animals and you could even take some pictures from the shelter so the kids can see the animals they are helping.
We did the charity donation for my twins 2nd birthday. It was so nice to give to a charity rather then get more toys that we don’t need. One thing I do is stock up on candy for goodie bags. After halloween I stocked up on skittles and other hard candy that won’t spoil. My oldest daughter’s birthday is right after Valentines day so I hit the sales on V-day candy too!
we have a february 19th birthday…i love getting the valentines treats/ plates/cups/ pinatas and toys on clearance for her party
A few ears ago, once our family started growing and having lots of in-laws, grandkids, etc. which are hard to shop far, especially spread apart and dealing with shipping, we agreed to do a birthday/christmas fund. Gifts for each other (except immediate family) were not expected, but we would all put the money we would normally spend on them into a joint fund and then use it to go on a vacation. Well, just 2 months ago we finally got enough money gathered to take us 11 adults (my parents, sisters, their husbands, and my brother) to Hawaii for 10 days! It was awesome. This was great because we didn’t stress over gifts to get for people who are hard to shop for, we enjoyed just being together and calling or sending cards, we didn’t have to haul gifts back and forth while traveling, we didn’t have to deal with shipping, and we had a great time together! We all put what money we could in, so it wasn’t always equal but those family members who couldn’t put as much in were made up for by those who could put in extra, and we all got to appreciate it equally. I think with more grandkids on the way we’ll need to go on a smaller trip next time, but this was definitely an awesoem idea and we will continue to do the same. Love it! This has also encouraged us and given us more time to do more homemade gifts for each other which have really turned out very nicely. And I love giving away gift baskets of my coupon products.
My daughter is only 2, but the stories that I hear about elaborate birthday parties amaze me. Reminds me of an episode of Dick Van Dyke where the parents were trying to top each other with expensive parties for their kids. When I was little, we just had the grandparents over and then a couple of years, I had my friends over. That was more special than having a party each year.
That being said, I think the charity idea is a great one to teach your children and their friends to help others.
For Christmas, my husband’s family and my family both play “Dirty Santa’ and then some people buy gifts for all the kids. Our family has grown this year and on my side there were 5 kids to buy for,not including my daughter. I planned to purchase something small ( like from the Target dollar spot) for each to unwrap. However, I went to Goodwill and got nice gifts for all of them, plus a jacket and toy for my daughter for $7 total. Everything was in like-new condition and I even got a Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Puppy which retails for about $20. I sanitized everything just like I do for my own child and the kids and parents were thrilled!
I check the clearance sales whenever I shop throughout the year so that we don’t break the bank at birthday time. It is a must for us since our birthdays are clumped together. (Four birthdays from Sept. to Dec. and two in March and April.
Our birthdays seem to be clumped together as well. They come in 2’s or 3’s in a months time (or less) and usually have a holiday thrown in there too! I have 2 kids that have or will have their birthday on Easter.
I purchase gifts all year long and put them away for different things, one being Birthday Partys. I have board games that I scored for $2-3 with my coupons and rebates along with toys I found on clearance. As for having a birthday party of our own, this year will be a first. 🙂 I was trying to think of things I could put in goodie bags for the kids and then I remembered all the lip balm (Nivia and other varieties) I have received for free with Rite Aid Deals. I was going to match them up with some back to school goodies (pencils, scissors, erasers and so on) that I purchased from Staples for next to nothing. Then add a few coloring pages printed off from my computer and we will have nice gift to give but something that they will all be able to use.
My son is turning 1 in a couple of months. I didn’t want to spend a fortune and go crazy like i did for my daughters 1st. We are having his party at the fire station. We are keeping things really simply. The kids get a tour of the fire house and the firetrucks and then i will donate to the firehouse. I have a $200 budget ( which i got from selling my sons outgrown clothes at a local consignment store). I’m going to buy some juice boxes (hopefully a good sale comes up soon) and make some cute dalmation cupcakes and the rest of the budget is going to be donated to the firehouse. I have a couple of gifts i have stockpiled from really cheap deals i’ve gotten so no need to buy any gifts for him.
When my son was smaller, we had a outdoor party where all the games had to do with water. Water balloon fights, water gun wars, Mr. Freeze, slip n slide. We cranked up the music, fired up the grill and the kids AND adults had a super time. Each kid left with a small bag of water toys (which I had bought on clearance the previous year) and I had very little out of pocket expense, other than the food and paper products.
That sounds like a great party to me! 🙂
I can’t really knock parents who throw elaborate parties for their children. I don’t think it’s necessary, but parents these days get caught up in making their kids happy, and some kids just aren’t happy staying at home, picking whats for dinner or hanging out with the family. Some people have the money to go that far, and some people do not.
I don’t yet have children, but growing up my brother and I had HUGE birthday parties. Not always expensive, but our birthdays were the time of year that were our special day and my family went all out. It’s been like that for over 25 years. Christmas, and other gift giving holidays were much smaller, as we gave our Thanks, and realized the true meaning of Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc and were taught it had nothing to do with gifts. Our family never got caught up on giving gifts for Christmas, our birthday was time for that. Christmas was about celebrating Jesus and his life/ death, and Thanksgiving was time to give Thanks and spend time with family. I think people/ families get more ridiculous over Christmas gifts and parties than they do for birthdays. Same for Halloween, July 1st, New Years, and Lord have mercy.. Valentines Day….
Anyways, on to the point, our neighbor does the charity and low budget parties for her kids. This year in the summer, everyone brought an old T-shirt and they Tie dyed them for each kid. Her son that turned 11 this year asked for all his friends to help him volunteer at the local homeless shelter for 4 hours on a Saturday as his gift. From what I hear, they had a blast! My friends ( we are in our mid to late 20’s) we do recipe exchanges as gifts, or everyone brings their favorite photos and we go around the circle and talk about our best memory from the time that picture was taken. Then they all go in a photo book and the birthday boy or girl gets to keep them 🙂 It’s always put a smile on my face! I love the idea on here about donating dog food to the local animal shelters! I’ll have to remember that one! 🙂
So glad someone agrees with me about Valentine’s Day… My favorite saying is “Cupid is stupid & Valentine’s Day sucks”.. My husband loves me everyday of the year (not just Feb14) and we show it to each other and the kids everyday of the year….
Most people tell me I’m a scrooge for feeling that way..
I guess it all depends on how you interpret the holiday. While I found the movie “Valentine’s Day” hilarious for it’s over-the-top stereotypical portrayal, I have always clung to the biblical notion of love with regard to Valentine’s Day, regarding the day as a time to remember the love for many people in my life, my kids, my closest friends, etc. It’s a great monotony breaker in the bleak winter time and is a good excuse just to have a little fun.
It’s impossible to fully exhibit our level of love for every special person in our lives every day. Not to mention that this upcoming Valentine’s will be the 24th anniversary of mine and DH’s first date and the birthday of my youngest daughter.
Now, on the other hand, insanely elaborate birthday parties are crass. I have witnessed more than one Mom who wanted her child to react with much more vehemence to the party/gifts/experience, etc. It’s as if the party was for the parents and not the child. Children are somewhat simple by nature and enjoy having fun. There are loads and loads of ways to have fun without spending lots of money. It really doesn’t matter how wealthy one is. Wouldn’t the money be better spent in an alternate manner? If a birthday party is a large expense because a child has a huge, loving extended family, perhaps it’s worth it, but I have such a family and in my experience, they would never hear of having a get together without pitching in financially, not matter how much I insist I want to take care of everything.
The thing is, the novelty of these “birthday party factories” quickly fades after one or two trips to the same attraction and kids are no longer impressed. My kids have overwhelmingly enjoyed either family birthday outings to a place they rarely get to see, or taking one or two friends with them.
Indeed, I feel like people are starting to regain their consciousness, as in recent years I have seen a sharp downturn in the number of parents who feel the need to throw an extravaganza as opposed to a celebration.
I can understand your view on Valentine’s Day and can agree that it can have a much deeper meaning on loving those close to you, but I think the emphasis that get’s put on that day, like other holidays is silly. I mean really, I need gifts, candy, and cards to show someone that I love them on a certain day, when all through out the year we express our love in many different ways. Like Becky said above… it does give us a “scrooge” like appearance to feel this way, and I by no means mean to be scrooge like, but I find Holidays in general to be inflated and commercialized to the point most people have no idea the real meaning behind it anymore.
Congrats on 24 years!!! That is definitely something to celebrate! 🙂 I’m only working on 5 years and I feel like that is forever ( in a good way!)
As for the “larger than life” birthdays, I think like anything else, it depends on the family, the kid and the priorities. I too know families where the parents seem to be more wrapped up in the ” ohhh’s and ahh’s ” of the party and the kid could really care less one way or another. However, like in my original post, there are kids that are no so simple minded and crave the over the top parties. That in my opinion is the fault of the parent, but for those with the finances to do so, don’t see a problem with it. Some families see birthdays as the biggest ” holiday’ of the year, so that is there time to go all out… at any expense. When I was younger, every birthday I was able to pick a place within driving distance that I wanted to go visit. Since we live on the eat coast, I was able to see the lighthouses at Nag’s Head, Niagara Falls, NYC, Hershey Park, Disney World, Biltmore Estate, the Mall in DC, I was able to cross the Canadian border and visit many other places to celebrate my birthday. I had my family with me, and occasionally I was able to have a friend tag along, but to me… those were the most amazing birthdays. I’m sure the trips weren’t cheap, and I never got tired of traveling to see new places. Now that I’m older, I’m thankful that my parents splurged and I’m able to say I’ve been to certain places on this side of the US. Now of course that I’m older, the places I want to go are much farther than driving distance! 🙂
I too have been called scrooge like names because of my lack of enthusiasm when is comes to Valentines day. I may have to write down your little saying and try that one this year in February. 🙂
My son has had donation parties the past 2 years. I gave him some ideas and he chose one or came up with his own. The first year he chose a nature center that runs entirely on donations. We sent the wish list out with the invites. Instead of having a themed party, we al went to the center to give our donations and visit the animals. The second year we donated items to the local animal shelter. Back @ home my son & his friends have Wii competitions (this year it will be Minute to Win It) & winners get iron on badges for their birthday t-shirt (bought inexpensively @ craft stores with coupons). The iron ons are from the craft store and run right through my printer. We also make up other badges like grossest cupcake (cupcakes made @ home then decorated with icing & candy). We have never had trouble with people giving my son gifts as well as donations….everyone is usually happy to give to a charity instead of filling up my son with things he really doesn’t need (sometimes even things he doesn’t want!)
We started doing “no gift” parties for our kids last year and I love it. We also choose a charity to collect items for. I love teaching the kids to “think of others as better than themselves”. It’s also so nice to not have to deal with the inevitable squirmy group of party-goers watching the birthday girl/boy open their gifts or all the unwanted toys they receive.
Those are all really nice ideas, Sallie. What a great mom to teach your children service!
*kelly
Today is actually my son’s 2nd birthday!! Happy Birthday, Collin! (My son’s name 🙂
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE COLLIN!!!
Thanks! 🙂 He had a great birthday. We kept it simple and had a family get together at my in-laws house.
I turned 50 in October and hosted a “no presents” partyl I just wanted to enjoy the evening with a my friends and family. I included a note on the invitation that in lieu of gifts, I would appreciate donations to the American Cancer Society. My very generous friends contributed over $1000 to the organization. So, not only did we have a good time celebrating my birthday, their donations helped create a world with more birthdays!
I have a gift closet too! With 2 daughters (8 & 12) 99% of the parties are for girls so I get nail polish, etc and fill makeup bags. Also little stuffed animal (beanies, webkinz)
However, for parties for my girls we do mani-pedis at the local beauty college. It’s about $7 ea and my girls friends really love it. Only every other year, however. The odd years it’s just family.
What kills me is the money people waste on stuff for goodie bags and the junk usually in them. Here’s what I did when my son turned seven – we have a small party of 6 boys invited over to our house on a summer afternoon. I went on eBay and was able to get 8 identical small Lego kits of a robot (from the Mars Mission series, one for each guest and one for each of my boys) for $24 total. It went with the Lego/Space theme of the party, and then we divided up the pieces and placed them in ziploc bags around our wooded property in a scavenger hunt. The boys had to follow clues and work together to locate all the pieces, then bring them back to the house and assemble them, and they each went home with their own Lego robot. The boys loved it, and I loved giving each boy ONE quality item for a party favor instead of a bag of junk. The Legos and some water balloons were the only “birthday expenses”, all the food and cake were from our regular pantry stockpiles….
For parties my children are invited to, I stockpile board games and small Lego kits at bargain/coupon prices ($2-$6) to give as gifts to avoid the last minute expenses. I refuse to fall into the $20+ price range I see many others giving – they are usually more trendy items and don’t have the quality or longevity of the items I select.
The scaveger hunt is a great idea and you are right about the junk in those goody bags! haha! 🙂
I took a few minutes on Christmas to create my 2011 Birthday Gift List on my phone. I will now have a list of who I buy gifts for and can plug in ideas as I get them and also write down what I have purchased for them and check them off my list as the year goes along. I hunt for gifts all year long on clearance or for free with my coupon deals. Keeping my list with me also keeps me from over buying or forgetting that I already purchased a gift for someone on my list. I also do this with the coming year’s Christmas Gift List. I already have several gifts checked off for next year!
nice idea! even though i buy gifts on clearance, it seems i tend to overbuy because i can’t remember everything i already bought.
Jennifer-
That is such a great idea for Birthdays and Christmas!! No that I am a coupon girl and thrift…I hope to do something like this… Cuts down on the pressure and stress and I will be much less likely to over spend!!
That is awesome, Sallie! Great ideas!
Wow, I can’t believe the prices of some of the gifts people are expecting for kids! I put on my son’s 1st bday party invitations that gifts were optional as their presence was present enough. Some people brought gifts and some did not. His 2nd bday party, I didn’t specify but I think people knew and again, some people gave gifts, some did not. We have nice parties but they are at home parties – we spend the $ on food and drink so our guests are comfortable and enjoy themselves. I think showing our children to be gracious hosts is also an important life lesson! This past year, my 2 yo got a lot of duplicate gifts. Everyone was fussing about gift receipts, etc. I told them no – the duplicates (and some age inappropriate gifts) were held onto until 2 weeks ago when I donated them to Toys for Tots. Granted my 2 yo didn’t entirely understand but he will get the concept over time.
We have decided that all the fuss over birthday parties is over-rated, and choose now to do a family mini-vacation for each child’s birthday instead. Whether it be a weekend to the beach 6 hrs away, or a camping weekend. We feel that money well-spent on something the kids will remember is more exciting rather than a bunch of money blown on party, favors, balloons, etc for friends . We really only buy presents for Christmas that last throughout the year. Our oldest boy (4) loves the vacations, and we always do them to new exciting places. 🙂
I really do think that parents are the ones that need to get over the idea of not bringing a gift. My son is 7 and goes to a private school and we have come into our own little groove that works for us. Kids within say a 3 month time period gather together and have a joint party. The last one was at a rollar rink so it was VERY cheap when divided among the 4 families. Then instead of everyone bringing gifts we dontated money to the charity of the childs choosing. Think of it this way… would you rather your money go to a toy that gets tossed out or given to good will or just be good with the donation that the child asked for in the first place? Its such a relief as a parent and so much more fun to have these types of partys as there isnt a party every other weekend to attend and all the kids get to celebrate ther Bday with all thier friends.
My son turned 4 in September and we had a no-gifts party. He had SO much fun playing with his friends that he never even asked about the gifts. He did get one at the party from mom and dad, but that was it. We knew he would get MORE than enough when we got together as a family with grandmas and grandpas!
We did not take up a collection at that party, but I LOVE Sallie’s ideas and think we may try that next year at his party, because I think there is a LOT to learn about the value of GIVING, instead of just always receiving.
Thanks for the wonderful ideas!!!
I always stock up on gifts that are on a killer sale. I just get gifts that are age appropriate for my kids and the types of things that they like, since most of their friends are into the same types of things. I stocked up on Mr Potato heads a while ago when they were on a BOGO free sale and I had $5 off coupons making them $5 for a $20 toy. I also like to stock up on the huge candy bars when they are on sale around this time and give them along with the gifts.
Unfortunately because they have gotten so out of hand I turn down the majority of invitations my kids get. They attend a private school (thanks to help from great grandma) and I have seen the gifts that are given at the parties. They are way out of our league. I do try to stockpile when I see good deals but those are used for the family members birthdays usually. I also have quit doing parties for my kids because it got too hard to do one the kids thought were cool. We now do a family party only. Then we do something as a family, the zoo, skating, circus, amusement park, etc. Occasionally we get to do big things like The Great Wolf Lodge or this year (after 12 years of saving) we are going to Disney World which will be for all of our birthdays. This works for us, it encourages family time and everyone gets enjoyment from it. I actually like when my kids get invitations asking for donations because then everyone can give what they can afford.
For my daughters thirteenth birthday last year she decided she didn’t want a party but to spend most of her birthday party money on donating items to the local pet shelter. I had only been cpning for about 5 months but started stockpiling pet cpns and when my local grocery store had dbl cpns we were able to get alot of items almost for free. On the day of her birthday we were able to go to the shelter with over 4 huge bags filled with cat treats, cat and dog food etc. The shelter was overjoyed and it was a great learning experience for her.
I’m already starting to plan for my sweetie’s big 4-0 party next year. It’ll be in January of 2012. So I’m spending this year stocking up on things for the party…especially looking forward to scooping up 4th of July items this summer because the party will have a patriotic theme (he’s a 2x veteran and now restores antique military vehicles as a hobby…the big centerpiece is going to be a cake made to look like the truck he restored this past year 🙂
That sounds like such a cool idea for the centerpiece!!
We’ve done something interesting in the past few years and kids seems to love it. We get 10 new $1 bills from the bank and tape end to end to create “6 feet of money!” The we roll it tightly and place in a small gift box, like the kind you use for jewelry. Cut a slit in the top wide enough for the “money roll” to come out of and leaving just a small slip of money exposed, wrap it up. It never fails to be entertaining and exciting to see the child pull, pull, pull that money out. It’s usually the most talked about gift! We have 5 kids and $10 is our limit on party gifts. HTH!
Because I am a teacher I purchase $1 books out of the book order throughout the year and give each kid a book instead of a treat bag. The kids love it…and my son loves giving books to his friends too!
LOVE IT!!!! books books books. awesome
I stopped doing the goody bags a few years ago. Now I buy plain t-shirts on sale from a craft store, and buy fabric paints through out the year (since they usually don’t go on sale). Then whatever the theme is for the boys party (we have 3 boys 5, 3, & 2) then I make stencils or buy them if I can find them. Then come party day the kiddos make a shirt to take home! They can either go free style & paint whatever they want or they can use a stencil in the party theme (Pirates, Mickey Mouse & Superheros just to name a few.)
Now, to further cut costs (the most costly thing we do is rent a bounce house) we are combining all the boys parties into one. Since the boys birthdays are in February, March & April we are doing a party in the middle of March. They got so many toys for Christmas that I was thinking of asking everyone to bring a item to donate as well, but I wasn’t sure what kind of charity would be good.Since my oldest will be 6 maybe I can give him a few choices & let him decide.
My youngest will be fully potty trained soon & I’m throwing a “No more diapers!” Diaper party when he’s completely trained (b/c we have changing diapers non-stop since April of 2005). I’m asking everyone to bring a package of diapers & wipes (in whatever size). We will swap potty training tips (there are plenty of my friends who are going through potty training now or will be soon!), play games, eat, and have a good time. Then I will donate all the diapers/wipes to a local pregnancy crisis center. This is one of my best ideas ever & everyone of my friends that I tell it too are all about it & think it’s great! I encourage everyone else to do the same, b/c most of us want to give & help our fellow man we just don’t know how. This my Hip2Save friends is a super easy way to give back to our community (not too mention put those diapers & wipes coupons to use). You could always send out the invite to the party with coupons & a deal scenario inside!
a great way to make stencils is by using cookie cutters. you can either use the cutter itself as the stencil or use it to trace the shape to make your own stencil on cardstock. HTH
We stock up on boy and girl pajamas that are on sale at carter’s. We get various sizes and keep them in the closet for parties. Usually cost $5 or less and are a great alternative to the thousands of toys.
Last year for my boys birthday party we did no gifts/donations for their friends and collected tons of items for our church’s mission trip to Haiti. This was a great experience for my kids and their friends. Family members still brought gifts.
I always thought our home parties were great – we had a plant party one year where the 2-3 year olds all painted their little pots and then planted flowers in them to take home; we did a firefighter party where the kids visited the local station, we brought lunch for the entire crew and they got a tour and photos with the firemen. We tried to make our parties fun and hands on, where the activity was also the party favor.
One year we did a bedtime story theme – I bought 8 white pillow cases, some fabric paints and used my own stamps, and the girls made their own pillowcases to take. Our neighbor dressed like Snow White and came and read stories before the girls went home for the night. We’ve done an ice cream social, where the guests made their own ice cream and took home a container of it with the recipes. All it takes is some thought and some help from your friends :-)…maybe a lot of help from your friends!
We limit the # of guests to the age of the child, and have noticed as they have gotten older that they invite fewer and fewer friends. We always put on the invitation that we are blessed by their friendship and if they would still like to bring a gift, please bless another child by bringing a book or toy for the kids at the children’s hospital. We have had great success with this and it gives everyone a good feeling. Rarely do we have kids bringing more than just that gift (and we always leave the donation box out front, so it’s not noticeable if someone doesn’t wish to donate).
As for presents for parties, for girls we give bath and body works lotions/lip gloss, etc. wrapped up very pretty (we get them for next to nothing all year long). For boys (who are now teens), we have opted for $10-15 Itunes or amazon gift cards (that we get from our school scrip office=$$ back to us at the end of the year). It’s harder when the kids get older because their lives are more digitally connected. We order (for free) 100 vistaprint postcards that say Oh Happy Day, and the kids personalize them for each friend. The celebration is about the person, not the gift – at least in our house!
I don’t do goody bags either anymore. Two years ago I decided to just hand out the big S’more size Hershey bars with a “thank you for coming to my party’ label on them (done on computer). My boys birthdays are in late spring and early summer so Hershey bars are always on sale $2.50 for a 6-pack.
Also older boys (8 and up) seem to love a simple backyard campout birthday party with just a few friends. Everyone brings their Nerf guns, squirt guns or light sabers and they run around the yard playing. Very inexpensive and loads of fun. Friends always tell me months later how much fun they had at my son’s campout party.
I like having a “present closet” – I pick up deals all year long through tips from this site, daily deals at kidswoot.com, books that I buy through Scholastic, and random clearance prices I stumble upon at TRU and Target. My kids love going to the basement to “shop” for presents for their friends.
As far as the party hoopla, I find having a party at at a center is just easier than hosting one at home – the cost is totally worth it for us. We had parties for my 4 year old and 2 year old this year at Monkey Joe’s (a chain of indoor inflatable bounce structures/slides). I have chosen My Gym, Gymboree, and Monkey Joe’s for parties and it’s never to impress others, it’s to give my children a fun party that I wouldn’t be able to run/organize at home. I work full time and just getting the invitations out and picking up the cake is about all I can handle!
I tried the “no presents” route for my 4 year old’s birthday in November and that didn’t work at all. What I did was let him pick his 4 favorite gifts (he had 24 guests, so we had an overabundance of presents), and we donated the rest to Toys 4 Tots. He placed the toys in the donation bin himself and I felt very proud of him.
As far as an “amount” for presents, I try to stick to a budget of $20. We’ve received gifts from others at parties ranging from a puzzle from the Dollar Store to $40+ super action figures. I’m not trying to “top” anyone, so I try to give the same regardless of where the party is – I think the whole concept of matching your gift to how much the host is spending is ridiculous. (I always hated when people would talk about the “per plate” cost at a wedding and write a check accordingly.)
My children have more toys than anyone could possibly need… For my son’s 4th birthday (in our back yard) we asked his preschool schoolmates to bring a small donation for our local Shriner’s Hospital for Children. They provide wonderful care for children with burns and ortho issues FREE OF CHARGE! We sent along group photo of the children at the party. Shriners was thrilled. It was wonderful.
This year at his school party we collected donations to purchase books for his class to read in reading groups. It was a big deal… the principal came to accept the donation from the kids. I think small acts like this can change a community for the better.
– And the goodie bags are getting over the top as well.
Thanks for the info on Birthday parties! My 3 yr old has a birthday on Monday and thanks to your blog, we’ve already bought her presents. Now, I will have to head out to CVS and stock up on birthday gifts for others and Toys for Tots. Awesome idea! Thanks!!!
My daughter is homeschooled and there is no need for a classroom friend party. Thank goodness! LOL!
However, my cousin writes on the friend’s invitations to bring a food donation to the local charity. Then she takes her kids to drop the items off. I think it’s a great idea.
For my daughter, we have a party here at home. It’s just family and cousins, so I try to do a favor bag or treat for each child. Last year, I made “6” cookies for everyone to take home. The year before was very cheap bubbles packaged with a LPS sticker on top. I already bought this year’s favor…$1 light up wands from the dollar store. They loved these on the 4th of July, so I went and bought 12 of them to hold onto until May.
I agree that parties can get out of hand. I looked up BAB parties and was shocked at how fast that would add up. I see huge groups of kids at the mall doing those parties. How do they afford it?!
so glad birthdays came up…. my daughter will be 3 the end of Jan and wants a pink party. I just love theme parties and i love to do as many cute things as i can myself in the most frugal way possible. 🙂 any cute ideas for our “pink” party?
can you sew? make some tu-tu’s out of pink netting and ribbon. or even check out foam tiaras at hobby lobby or michaels. pink jello jigglers-hobby lobby has aweome cookie cutters to use, and there is always a 40% off copuon to use. they are good prices. also look for necklaces. you can score em a target or hobby lobby. boy am i a supporter of hobby lobby! hee! hee!
Here are instructions for no-sew tu-tus. I haven’t tried them yet (always gets bumped until “tomorrow”) but it sounds easy: https://www.goodhappenings.com/?p=798#comments
$1 light up wands from the dollar store or tiaras. even if they aren’t totally pink, you could add pink streamers on the end of the wand or glue on pink fake jewels from the craft store.
My daughter had a “pink party” in October, and we used pink tissue paper to make the paper flowers. I picked up tissue paper at the dollar store and green pipe cleaner for the stem. They decorated cake with pink sprinkles, and we had pink lemonade. It was easy and super cheap!
I have a pink girl too!! We did a pink piggy party last year, and all of the decorations were pink. This year we’re doing a Pinkalicious party based on the book. Pink cupcakes (the kids could decorate those themsleves if your’e brave!) are on the list. You can also decorate with jars of things like pink marshmallows, pink jellybeans, pink m&m’s etc. Pink ballons also take up a lot of space and aren’t too expensive. You can also make “fancy” pink punch with sherbert and sprite. PInk tissue paper flowers would also be cute and inexpensive decorations.
I am a Girl Scout leader and we do a Princess Party for the new little Girl Scouts. We take pink party hats(dollar store has solid plain colors) and a roll of tule that is usually about $2 at Wal-Mart. The girls staple 1 or 2 pieces of long tule to the tip. They decorate the rest of the hat with the sticker foam shapes you can get at Michaels on sale or with a coupon for like $2 for the smaller box. When they are all done with their hat we then read a story about a pincess and when certain words are read they have to do things. Like “Princess” they stand up and turn around, “Ogre” they roar..ect. These are always a hit and 3 years old they can handle this craft you will have to staple it for them.
Ask all the guests to wear pink.
Target will probably have their Valentine’s day stuff out by the end of January and their Dollar Spot usually has lots of cute things that could work for decorations, prizes, favors, etc.
Micheal’s craft stores have cute foam wands for $1. They have a plastic stick, a foam star on top and 4 streaming ribbons and they’re available in pink. You could start buying a few every weeks with the 40% off coupons and the girls could decorate them with stickers and whatnot. The girls could also string pink beads (maybe those big foam ones?) to make necklaces. You’d save even more money since the activities are doubling as favors.
For games, you could do Hot Potato with a pink ball. You could do a pink variation of musical chairs – maybe use cushions or construction paper to designate certain chairs as pink and the child in the plain chair is out (instead of removing a chair you un-pink it) ?
I think 7-Up makes a cherry version that looks pink. Pink cupcakes with pink frosting and pink sprinkles. You could make a cute centerpiece with a container from the dollar store filled with pink lollipops. If you’re providing lunch type food, you could make bread (homemade or using Pillsbury dough) that’s completely or swirled with pink and use it to make a variety of finger sandwiches in kid friendly combinations and cut them into cute shapes (hearts, flowers, etc.) with cookie cutters. What about strawberries to dip in strawberry cream cheese or strawberry Cool Whip?
my daughter turned 5 in october. she is my litte bargain diva, so instead of treat bags for her 4th b-day, we had a home party -as usual- we picked out coloring books (they are great quality at dollar tree) – 1 per child and wrote inside thanks for making my birthday special. love, then she signed each one. not just that but we put them all inside a box then inside another and another then wrapped it and had everyone help open it when she was opening her gifts. it was special. yeah the gift thing is tricky but i like to install that even if she is excited about getting, giving is so much fun too! this year, was dr. seuss theme. and target dollar section had socks -cat in the hat, one fish, two fish. her 3 friends all got a pair of socks and a cat in the hat pencil(from a multi pak from the dollar section as well) we are currently stocking up on juvenille word searches for her 6th b-day. dollar tree gets cars, princesses, etc. in but only a few at a time. now with a son -12-23-09. i am glad that we hadn’t made a huge deal of birthday bashes. we have stuck to art supplies and necessities as what we give and will swing into a hotel stay/ little getaway in november for both. at christmas, we pick 2-3 kids to buy for and viv, my 5 year old, loves to help. we emphasize she is taken care of all year and we want to show these children extra love. she loves it and so do we.