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!
I typically shop from several months in advance to my kids birthdays and if I find great deals I snag them for their presents, especially if woot.com or another site has a killer deal on something. For our oldest son’s birthday parties we have always let him accept gifts, but this year we decided to do something different since he gets an overwhelming amount of gifts that he doesn’t even play with for longer than a few weeks. He chose to ask for donations this year for a military troop overseas, he thought it would be awesome to help support the soldiers and learn a little about where they are at in the world at the same time. He’s so super excited, now we just need to find a troop we can send items to. Any suggestions????
Go to any soldier dot com you can read about them and pick one I have 2 troops I send to monthly.
I maintained a gift closet with board games for a long time, until I went to someone’s house and realized that they already had all of the board games I had given them. Games are hard to give because everyone already has them. I need a new gift closet staple. I’m thinking art stuff?
I don’t think many kids over the age of 10 appreciate board games. My kids play video games and card games only. The puzzles and board games are in the attic waiting for the yard sale.
Aw, I disagree. I LOVE board games and I am in my 20s. I know a lot of college students love having game nights!
There are more games than just Monopoly and Scrabble. Check out games like Carcassone, Dominion, Settlers of Catan, and Betrayal at the House on the Hill. These are very popular with college students, and Carcassone should be able to be played from about age 8-9+. If you are interested check out https://www.boardgamegeek.com/
I used to do the at home parties with goody bags full of junk. Now we invite close family over for a taco dinner with all the fixings’ and the birthday child also gets to pick something to do with a few close friends. We have painted pottery, been to bounce houses, hosted a movie theme party, went to the movies, and visited corn mazes. My older daughters know what the birthday budget is. They can go out and do something costly but they know that what is left is what I will use to buy presents. Regardless of what they decide, the birthday budget does not change. The youngest is happy with her cousins over to play, so currently all we do for her is the family dinner.
The biggest complaint that I have is that more people are either requesting gift cards and money or choose to only give them as gifts. My 11 year old daughter has 12 gift cards in her wallet. Some from last year!! Don’t get we wrong, some gift cards are acceptable if they match the person. My 13 yr old loves music and her ipod. An itunes gc is a decent gift. I am the type of person that finds pleasure in “trying” to find the perfect gift. Gift cards can very impersonal and sometimes becomes more about the giver than the receiver.
I live in a pretty low key area so there are really no big frills birthday parties. We were invited to one at McDonalds, and a couple at the park, and I think the rest were just at someones house. The price point for gifts is about $10, but some people just do $5. I used to always have my daughters birthday parties at my house until my mother in law starting inviting who ever she wanted with out asking my permission (or telling me she did it). Last birthday party I had at my house I ended up with 35 people (20 whom I did not invite or know they were coming) all crammed into my tiny house (winter time) with not near enough cake or food. I told my husband never again. Next month she is turning 5 so I am giving her a pretty good party at a children’s gym that has bouncy houses, trampolines, etc. It’s going to cost $175 for 30 kids which isn’t to horribly bad. Not something I would do every year, but I figured 5 is a special age so we can do a little more. Last year I just rented the community building for $60 and had games for the kids.
If you like to wrap (I do) I look for Christmas wrapping that I can use for Birthdays or other events. Usually the plain wrapping paper lasts until the 75%-90% off range because it’s not cute, but it works great for other holidays. I also look for party toys, gift sets, and such that can be used year around. These work great for incentives or even for class room incentives. Halloween I got lots of bubbles and since the sun is still shining here…we’ve been playing outside with bubbles.
When my son was in 2nd grade we ended the traditional birthday party. My son and many of his friends are avid readers. We started having a book swap and make your own sundae party. When I invited a child the invitation included anyone they wanted to bring, siblings or other friends. Each guest was asked to bring at least one book that was held together enough for at least one more read – & no gifts. By the time of his last party in 7th grade seasoned guests would show up with cases of used books.
I would spend the prior year at garage and library sales and had over 300 books every year. I was getting books for .05 to .20 each. Not a big investment at all. I would get many different reading levels so everyone, even the little siblings, went home with a new read.
The kids sat in a circle and I would give each child some of my extras I had purchased so everyone started out with about the same number of books. I usually then started the swap and then would leave the circle. The kids LOVED it. The parents could stay at the park & watch the kids play or spend time with the younger siblings instead of feeling like they had to leave.
The last year I had 20 Star Wars novels that I got for .05 from the library. Not one kid was interested… but one of the dads was a huge fan. He went home with all the Star Wars novels and a huge grin on his face. Every parent thanked me and always asked if I would be sure to invite their child the next year.
The last two years were really huge parties and my son worked with the manager of a Scholastic Book warehouse. Scholastic sponsored him. They donated books, movies a few games and a bunch of heavy plastic bags to carry home the loot. I made a huge card and all the children signed it. My son then delivered it back to Scholastic.
Every book went out with an address label inside the front cover. They all said ” I got this book at Evan’s Book Swap Party.” I labeled all my books beforehand and got the books the children would bring done as they ate ice cream.
My son is a senior now. Many times when the kids all get together and talk about “the old days” someone mentions Evan’s book swap parties.
When the new Catholic school opened three years ago the funding was tight. My son donated several hundred books to the school, many went right into the library. It is so awesome to go to the library, pull a boook off the shelf and see my son’s book swap label inside.
For us book swap parties created memories that will last forever & they were budget friendly.
awesome, you made me cry! book are so important and if you instill a love of them early on, children enver forget that!
This is an absolutey awsome idea! My son and friend are readers and truely aren’t real thrilled with the traditional “party” idea. I think I’ll run this idea past him!
I love this idea! My girls are 2 & 4 and love to “read”. We are definitely going to use this for their birthdays.
I love this book swap idea. I think I’ll use it for my son’s 3rd birthday this coming year! None of our friends have THAT MUCH money but I know they all have used books that they might be willing to swap for a new-to-them book.
Sally’s ideas are incredible, and she is instilling a lifetime of doing for others in her children. I do hope she remembers they are children and they at least get some gifts:) I’m sure she does! Also, very lucky that in her circle average gifts are around 10 as here people spend 40 plus and it makes you feel as if you have to do the same for their children…i have 4 pretty darn popular kids and that makes a lot of bdays in one year. Thank goodness for couponing and after clearance christmas shopping. Our favorite birthday is actually 2 hours at the local pool, 30 kids can swim for 2 hours for 100 bucks…can’t be that in my opinion.
My daughter’s favorite birthday is also a pool party. However, since we are members of the YMCA, our parties are free! So, I take some extra money and buy some great loot bags…usually some type of water toys that I can buy at the dollar store or Oriental Trading. The kids LOVE getting their water guns and the like!
I have 2 girls with birthday’s 2 weeks after Christmas, so we definitely do not need any more toys. Last year we asked the guests (a few select friends) to bring a doll that we could donate to the local Children’s Home. They would then have some dolls to give to a little girl who probably came into foster care with very few personal belongings. We were becoming foster parents at the time and wanted to do something that would impact the children who we would ultimately be helping as a family. It was a wonderful opportunity to show the girls a way that they could help others. This year we will let them decide what to collect and where to donate it.
WOW! I am impressed with Sallie’s ideas and her (and her children’s) generosity! 😀 I would love to do that one year, but my son might not appreciate the idea! We dont splurge on toys year round, so he definetly enjoys getting spoiled @ his birthday parties! 🙂
I always check out the Target dollar spot when they are 50 – 75% off and stock up! Then I create theme presents with the loot. For example, (1) a pretty bag, lotion, nail polish, bracelet and ring (2) dr suess bag, puzzle, notebook and stickers with a fuzzy pen (3) dragon figurine, chinese notebook, chopsticks and silk scarf (4) popcorn containers, movie, theatre candy in a big plastic tub (5) cookie cutters, mini rolling pin and playdoh.
I often have to buy one or two items somewhere else but the 25 cent start really makes the budget stretch! And kids LOVE to have lots of little things to dig through and check out. It is always the first thing they check out since I just add lots of curling ribbon – easy access is so important!
Collin, could you please tell me more about PEERs. I wonder if they have it in Nebraska, I would love to be able to use it. DH is deployed and we have three kids 5 and under. Thank you.
Ooops, sorry forgot that it was Sallie’s letter. Sallie or anyone who is aware of the program will you please let me know. I am sorry to hijack the thread.
I might be wrong, but I think this program is in Canada…
Someone feel free to correct me.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Halifax-Region-Military-Family-Resource-Centre/270295390134?v=wall
For my daughter’s 4th birthday we did an arts and crafts party. I covered the table in white craft paper (newspaper would work well too) wrote all the kids names on the table where they were supposed to sit. We made crayons, just by melting old ones and using an old muffin pan. (FREE), then once they cooled the kids got to color on the table, and bring the crayon home as part of their gift bag. Then I found washable watercolor paints at hobby lobby for 1.00 each, I had then paint pictures, then cut out frames using black foam (also from Hobby Lobby) and they got to take the paint set and picture home. For the cake, I just made cupcakes, I think I got the mix and frosting for under 3.00, and I had some bright colored sprinkles and they got to “decorate” their cupcake. Then I had punch, which was sprite and fruit punch. I think I spent less than 20.00 to have this party, and the kids loved it!
This is probably a silly question, but how do you get the crayons to slide out of the muffin tin? Is the wax naturally non-stick or do you have to spray/coat it with something?
When I’ve made crayons, I use the silicone muffin pans, then the crayons just pop right out.
a little cooking spray
I love this! My daughter’s birthday is 5 days before Christmas and we haven’t planned her “friend” party yet since I knew everyone would be too busy with the holidays. She LOVES crafts, so I am thinking I might just plan a crafty party for her. What do you melt the crayons in…just a coking pot?
Last year, I got some good deals for toys at Amazon year end sale. I got a learning lap desk for my daughter for $10.00(which is her birthday gift this year) and now its price is over $50. I got a few gifts for my friends’ kids birthdays too. I am planning to do the same this year too, if I get good deals.
As for birthday parties, all our family is back in India and the few friends we have is scattered all over US. I guess once my daughter starts kindergarten, it will be another story. But with hip2save and my fellow readers, I can surely come up with a good birthday party within our budget and donate a little bit to charity too.
I purchase toys / craft projects throughout the year using the 50% off a single item coupons that come out from Michael’s Crafts when they are available. I then store them in a closet so my kids can pick something out that’s appropriate for a friend their age. I also stocked up on some Hasbro games during the recent Toys R Us sale — and let’s not forget the Hungry Hungry Hippos at Target a few weeks before Christmas. Lastly, whenever I have a 30% off coupon for Kohls I hit the clearance toys section to scour it for deals.
My son is only 2 so I am new to the birthday party thing. I love to go all out for him since it is his special day. I have learned to shop for “favors” when the season changes. I picked up some great crayola sidewalk chalk items at kmart for less than a dollar each. I thought these would be great to let the kids play with at the party then send them home as favors at the end of the party!
Melissa,
I’m in the same boat. My lil’ one will be 2 in May. This year Dh was TAD to Yuma, so it was just me and Ds. Come to find out my old neighbor’s son is EXACTLY a year older. They had a pool out for their son and a friend to play in, they invited us over. All the adults sat around talking while the lil’ ones played in the pool.
I have no clue what to do next year. Dh is deployed, so its just us two again.
We don’t do a lot of birthday, even for Dh’s or mine, we just don’t have the money in the budget to do it.
Kara-
Send me your address and I will send you something for your son’s 2nd birthday party. Your husband is doing an amazing thing by being in the military and I am happy to share. We sponsored a few families for Christmas and some of my online friends donated without even knowing me. I am a big believer in Karma and would love to help you out – cannspencer@mac.com
Cheryl
We have a good mix of girl and boy friends. I have 2 boys so for the girls I tried to make them a dress or purse or something. Then I let the boys pick out what the boys got from the dollar section and made them a crayon roll and added a coloring book. We try to keep our own children’s birthdays small, but this year since my husband was deployed I skipped the parties all together (they are 3 weeks apart) and took them to Chick-fil-a. They enjoyed the free treat. We asked family to not send gifts but money for the boys. Then when my husband returned we took them to Disney World. The boys used the birthday money for anything they wanted.
For my daugher’s ninth bday we had a “Baby” party. All of the guests were invited to bring their favorite baby doll. Instead of a gift for my daughter, the guests bought and wrapped gifts for our local pregnancy center. She had fun unwrapping the gifts, and the girls enjoyed buying items that would be really appreciated. Items included, wipes, diapers bottles, clothes, toys, diaper bags, etc. Most of the young guests did their own shopping and tried to get the most for their money.
I went to one that was a pajama pancake party in the morning like 930am. It was cute. The kids loved it. A lot of our neighbors just do a simple play date/craft party since they are so simple/cheap and fun. The kids always love them and they are super stress free. Oh also went to a jamba juice party. It was just tasting different jamba juices. It was cute. Kids loved it and it was like a special treat to them. They mixed them too to make their own creations.
We borrow our church gym or playground for a lot of our parties (Free!!) and just ask guests to bring their favorite riding toy. It’s low key, and they always have a good time. Chikfila is also easy, and you only have to pay for the kids’ meals. I try to keep the gifts I buy for my kids’ friends around the $10 level. I can always find something fun for that price… art stuff, pjs, outside toys, or games. I try to avoid most toys because their moms mostly feel like I do… too much stuff already!!! Our group of friends has also been touched by a little boy we know who is being treated at St. Jude. Several children recently have decided to forgo presents and take donations in his name instead.
I’ve been at a loss for what to do for my son. To date we have only had parties with his cousins, he is going to be 3 in a month and I’m starting to get invitations to parties of his “classmates” and they are much more then I would ever consider for him. This raises a concern for me because once he starts attending these will he expect that he will get the same? I’m a single parent so budget is a huge concern. At present I don’t plan to change his family only birthday celebration. Once he is older then I will figure out what to do.
On the flip side, the birthday parties that we are getting invited to I’ve been stocking up on small toys that he can wrap and take to them. I have been picking them up when they are 75% off.
How about inviting only 1-2 special friends for sleepover or dinner at restaurant (kids sit at one table and you sit at another)? And keep it this small every year.
This is a FANTASTIC idea! We love having birthday parties for our kids but I hate that people feel like they have to bring a gift. We have tried putting on invites no gifts but people still bring them. We would just love his friends to come and celebrate with us. I might try this for our next party. My oldest sons birthday is in October so we try and do a costume birthday party. Lots of fun! Thanks for the tip (:
Sallie’s story made me cry just now. My kids are so fortunate to be able to not “need” anything.I LOVE what she does for her kids birthday. What a wonderful way to share the joy of giving with her children. What an inspiration she is! Thank you Sallie for sending in this letter. I’m going to let my husband read this when he comes home, & seriously consider doing this for my kids!!!! Im always trying to think of ways to help out our community without it costing so much $$$ & this is perfect 🙂
Last February, for my son’s 4th birthday, we had his party in our church’s vestry hall – which our church allowed us to use at no charge. We had a local children’s musician come and play and I made cupcakes for all…..we had a big group! I had seen in our church’s weekly announcements that the food pantry was low on donations, and so explained to my son that it would be nice if we asked people at his party to bring food donations for the pantry instead of gifts for him – and he was right on board with the idea, so that is what we did….
We collected so much food to donate to the pantry that I could hardly believe it – it was a big success!
What a cool idea. I wish I had kids so I could throw a donations party! Being a grown up, no one brings gifts to my parties anyways.. 🙂
I load up after Christmas for gifts for my friend’s son. I got his Christmas gifts for this year, last year at 90% off! Good stuff. I’m a big fan of buying things on sale throughout the year for holidays and birthdays. I had more than half of my Chrsitmas shopping done by Thanksgiving! 🙂
When my daughter first went to school we did a Princess party for her and invited the whole class. We sent them a rolled up invitation that was written as an old fashioned decree from the palace. It stated that the Queen had decreed no store bought gifts. You were to bring the Princess an item you had already loved and was ready to pass along. I did write at the bottom that a gift from the Dollar Store would be appropriate if you could not find something you wanted to part with.
She received Books, hand made cards, a couple of hot wheels from the boys, notebooks, pens, Barbies, and lots more wonderful items she loved. It was a reasonable party for everyone involved.
Now we’ve evolved into having just a couple friends for the birthday and $10 seems to be the party gift price in my area. Then she gets to invite the whole class for an end of school party where no one feels obligated to bring a gift and she still gets to have a big party.
My daughter’s only 17 months so she doesn’t get invited to too many parties, but I love the gift closet idea. Maybe I’m over-thinking it, but I’m wondering: how do you all know how much and what to stock in your gift closet?
With Hip2Save to guide you, just buy what you find a great deal on. I rocked the house after all the presents were opened, by giving each family a “U-Build Battleship” game. These are $20 regular retail games, on sale, couponed out, and with a rebate, I paid $8.00 for 4 of them. So all three of my grown kids, and spouses, got one, as well as my 19 grandson who is out on his own now. These are the items that live in the prize closet. I picked up 5 candlestick nightlights at Rite Aid for $.99 each, and used up rewards to pay for them. I have one for each of the younger grandkids when they sleep over,, to take home! We boat with a group of friends, and having a sarong, to dry off with, use for shade, and wear over swimsuits is nice. Just before Christmas they put the sarong assortments on sale w/free shipping, so I pd less than $10.00 out of pocket for some amazing gifts, they even included a little coconut shell tie clip. I stocked up for the year,, great for birthdays, or again, for the grandkids when they come with us. I just bought 10 Nivea lip glosses at Rite Aid, for the daughters, in-laws, and boating friends, great with the sarongs for a really nice gift. I think we ended up paying $4.00 for all 10, so $.40 apiece. They will be included with lots of gifts this year. Look for deals, that work for people you KNOW,, and that YOUR child would enjoy,, or maybe something you wish you would have had for them, when they were younger. Don’t spend a lot of money,,, it’s just nice to have some options.. but the point is to save money, not to build your own toy store.
Have fun with this too. sorry to ramble.. 🙂 good luck
Hello! I love reading what others have done! These are some really great ideas!!! I have been trying to think of something to do different with my boys. My oldest just turned four and every year we have cooked a full meal for the family which I might add is a very large family!! This year was a deer ham and a turkey with all the fixings and all the meat was gone but still everyone got to eat!!! My twins just turned a year old. They have the same b-day as my oldest!!! So now we celebrate 3 in one party. We really want to keep up the meals but really need a better idea for gifts such as the things you guys have listed! I think this is wonderful!! The b-days are in nov to so we are really overwhelmed this time of year. As for others bday we have always been last minute shoppers but now that I have been addicited to hip for about a month or two I have really found out how to get ahead and I am ready for the b-days this year!!!
When I was a kid, my best friend (who’s birthday is close to thanksgiving) had her birthday party at the food pantry volenteering. She also requested no gifts, just bring something to donate to the pantry. It is the most memorable party I have ever been to. Kids just want to spend time with friends, and even if its doing service, they have lots of fun.
This isn’t really a birthday party, but it is a party. Every year my family right after Thanksgiving throws “A Kickoff to the Holidays” Party. Every guest brings an ornament, and we have a white elephant ornament swap. It is so fun! Along with the ornament, we ask each guest to bring one children’s toy to donate. This year we gave the toys to a women’s shelter.
Thank you so much for posting this Collin! This brings me great joy, as tomorrow is my daughter’s birthday and we will be have a child’s party for her in 2 weeks and didn’t know what to do about the “gift” situation. In previous years we put no git please, but we still got them. Our daughter loved them but she really didn’t need them. So now I am going to request that children bring a donation to go to a new local food pantry! I know my daughter will love this too, as she has such a generous heart! We also have some friends coming that don’t have much money and I know feel like they need to bring something… now they can and thanks to all of the great local grocery deals, they can get it for FREE or next to nothing!
Two out of my three children and my husband have their birthdays in between Christmas and Jan 4th and my first chid’s birthday is in mid November. In the beginning, I was very stressed about the parties and the time and money it took for everything during an already stressful time of year. I would try to fit in a small gathering for each of them, not wanting them to feel as if their birthday wasn’t important because we were all so busy. Now, we have one birthday party for the kids and my husband on the first Sunday of the new year. Everyone knows to expect it so I only have to send out a quick email reminder or start the phone chain. I don’t have to worry about a universal theme with matching plates or games…just the fun of being together.
I make a personalized cake for each of my children to make it special. I look for a small item to put on the cake, which they can later put in their keepsake box to remind them of what they loved at that age. This year I got a set of horse figurines from the Dollar Tree, a hot wheels monster truck with three cars to roll over and a set of High School Musical magnets. We sing to each of them individually and take our family photo with each of them in front of their own cake. And of course, Daddy gets a cake and song too.
I get ready for the party all year by stockpiling after season goodies for the treat bags. This year I got 40 jelly bracelets after Halloween for $.50 and 30 small playdoh jars for $1.00. I am able to give all of the kids a small treat for very little. I also buy all of my cake plates and napkins after the holidays. Pink and red after Valentine’s Day or green after St. Patrick’s Day for as little as $.17 for 25. It gives the cake table some color for less than I would spend on plain white.
I also save left over craft items throughout the year. Anything we have left over from crafty projects…stickers, glitter, paper scraps, etc…gets put into a box. I get this box out and put it on a table covered with a throw away tablecloth and let the kids go to town. I don’t give them any restrictions and it is amazing what the kids can come up with!
Although it is still a lot of work, I am happier now with four parties for the price of one and everyone has a great time.
My daughter is too little for parties yet, but for my cousins kids I have always given “gifts to others” to celebrate their birth. I wrapped up a small small stuffed dog and on his collar was a tag saying a donation was made in Sammi’s name to the humane society (She loves animals) and wrapped a small seek and find book with a note on the inside that a donation was made to the local library in Nathan’s name. This way I decided how much to spend, and the donation was always to a place they enjoyed but can’t always help…who could adopt all the animals or buy the library all the books? But with a donation they understand their birthday has helped change the world. Plus mom and dad are not stuck trying to return a toy the kids already have, or finding a spot to store more stuff. Just a thought. Love all the ideas!
I’m always looking for good gift ideas as we belong to a mommy/kids group with over 20 members (most with multiple kids) and a lot of them send out group birthday invitations. We don’t go to most of the parties because it just gets too expensive but we can’t avoid them all (and don’t want to). Thus far, I’ve just looked for generic gifts while on sale to stock up.
For my daughter’s 3rd bday we had a “Super Silly Dress Up Party”. In lieu of gifts, we asked everyone to bring clothes/accessories out of their closets (or from a thrift store). We rented a room at a local rec center that had mirrors along one entire wall. Everyone put the clothes in a huge box in the center of the room and turned the kids loose. We threw in some balls and hula hoops for fun. I made cupcakes with different colored frosting and arranged them on the table to look like a big flower. We put play rings on the cupcakes for the extra accessories. As gift bags, I asked the moms to email me pics of the kids who were coming in advance. I printed them, glued their faces to a paper body & let my daughter help cut out and decorate funny felt outfits for the kids. We glued the “paper kids” to brown lunch sacs and filled them with goodies from the dollar bins. We lined up the goody bags on a shelf and the kids had fun looking at the silly outfits we’d made for them. At the end of the party, people could take their dress up clothes home or leave them. Of what was left, my daughter kept some and we returned the rest to a thrift store. No overabundance of gifts, no clean up. Win-Win! 😉
I too keep a box of presents for any child’s party that may come up. With three young children and 20+ nieces and nephews, there is always a party for something. I cannot imagine what I would spend if I did not buy things ahead of time. This year I used the Hasbro coupons to get the Pictueka cards and Hungry Hippos travel games for free. These are nice because they are to-go sized fun even if the child has the full-sized version already.
Recently I added to the box with two Hooked On Phonics learning games for $5 each (marked down from $25), three small journals with locks for $.25 each and a tooth-fairy Barbie for $2.
Another great gift any child loves….costumes! No matter what time of year, children love to dress up. I wait for the costumes to get to 75% off and buy several for the year to come. Superman, soldiers, brides, cowboys and cowgirls…all things that wil never go out of style. It may seem funny for a child to get a costume in June, but I haven’t given one to a child yet who hasn’t put it on before the end of the party!
For my older nieces and nephews? I wait for the gift sets of perfumes or colognes to go on sale after Christmas or Valentine’s Day. I browse the jewelry department for fun watches or jewelry under $5.
I also try to remember the “non-birthday” parties. I used my Hallmark coupons to get a baptism frame for $1.25 and a Baby photo album for $2.25. Perfect for the next baby to come along. Candles and mugs…always good for a co-worker or teacher.
I jot all of these items down in a notebook I keep in my purse and once every couple of months I quickly transfer my new purchases to a “master” list in the back of my planner. This way I can see what I have without searching through the box at the last minute.
Sometimes I feel guilty for spening money I “don’t need to spend”, but I hardly ever find myself running out for that last minute present that would cost me the price of several. This reduces my stress and my spending…a winner every time:)
We have 4 kids so I often stock up on sales and we ‘shop from mom’s closet’ before going to parties to select gifts to take for friends. Naturally kids LOVE to get gifts but I feel awkward having them friends bring gifts. For parties at our house, we have had many theme parties. Kids brought donations instead of presents that went to survivors of Hurricane Katrina, money to build wells in Sri Lanka after the tsunami, items for our local shelter, the local food pantries, school organizations, and for a teacher with cancer. Now that our kids are older, we generally rent inflatables and games and kids bring a food item to add to the snack table. Generally 100+ teens show up so I’m not guessing how much food to have prepared. Sometimes they also bring a canned food item for donation too. We had a blanket-making party for Blankets across America.
My son has a winter birthday and we have done alot of different things. The most reasonable I found was renting the pool at a local hotel. It is 100.00 for 4 hours and we order pizza. I found that the kids would rather swim then play games so we saved money there. Since it is winter we just go ahead and invite all the kids we know so they can swim and have fun on a snowy day. I tried the “no gift” thing but everyone brought something anyway.
For my daughter we usually have a birthday party for her and we are usually trying to do everything on the cheap. Her last birthday she turned 3 at the end of Nov. We wanted to do something fun but we didnt want to pay a lot so I have a friend who works at a hotel. She let me use the conference room and the pool for FREE! For food, drinks, paper stuff and decorations we found all the paper and decoration on clearance with coupons. We were stocking up on chips and drinks for months before her birthday. So for 30 people (with childern too) if cost us under 100 for everything! What a steal!!! And we didnt even have to clean our house 🙂
But for my sons first birthday this March we will probably do a party at our house and I am sure we will start stocking up here shortly!
To save money on sending out birthday invites we make a event on Facebook and call the few people who aren’t on FB. We do mail out thank you cards to everyone who came and my daughter will scribble a picture in the thank you card. Manners are big in our house.
I rent the gym out at our local YMCA ($50 for 3 hours) and we can use the space for whatever we want. Last year, we did an afternoon pajama party–all the girls wore pj’s, we projected a movie on the gym wall and everyone bought their favorite pillow. We had a concession stand with little caesars pizza, popcorn and juiceboxes.
I always struggle with making sure I don’t leave anyone out so I like to do this because the cost to add a few more kids is almost nothing.
As for gifts, my daughter loves dogs, so we’ve done donations to that local no kill animal shelter and she loves to get to take them their and visit all the dogs for a few hours the next weekend.
Not a birthday party idea, but still on the same lines. I was able to make up 50 party favor bags for our Sunday School classes for their Christmas party on only a $75 budget, but using the awesome couponing deals that I found on here they turned out so awesome and the kids really enjoyed them. I made up a little card with the Candy Cane Legend on it and tied a candy cane to it with pretty curling ribbon, made Holiday crayons (with free crayons from RA and Wags, just had to buy the pans $6 at WalMart), found awesome “Happy Birthday Jesus” coloring pads at the Christian Bookstore for $.49 and used a 25% off coupon on 50 of them (total $18.50), free M&M mini tubes and tins (1 of each per bag, from Wags and pricematched at Walmart), TY christmas beanie babies from RA, christian themed silly bands (marked down to $1/pack, my sis and I went together and used our $10 Hallmark coupons, spent $30) For the bags that I put them in I just used my RA $5/$25 on some of the transactions that I did to get $5 worth of Christmas paper bags and I used free ziplocs from Food Lion to pack the crayons. I couldn’t believe how awesome I was able to do. So set a budget, give yourself some time and be creative!
My Daughter is 9 and we have had a no presents party for the last two years. One year we collected $300 and this year $150 which we donated to St Jude which is our favorite charity. My niece who is also 9 went thru treatment at St Jude for leukemia for 3 years. I think it is important to teach my Daughter to give and she has so much she doesn’t need gifts for herself.
My children are 4 & 6 with June birthdays that are 2 weeks apart. What we have been doing is having a small low budget family gathering on the week in between their birthdays. Most of the food & paper items for the party I have bought using coupons. My husband and I spend around $30-40 on gifts for each. Then the last week of June we take off for a 4 day family trip. We all have come to really enjoy the time together and look forward to it! As they get older I’m sure it will change, but for now we all love the idea of spending our $$ on a fun vacation, rather than toys, than we have too many of anyway!
One of my favorite BDay parties for my son was a Rescue Heroes party for his entire Kindergarten class…I asked the children to bring a gently used stuffed animal in lieu of a gift. I have a friend who is a county sherriff – He came in uniform with his police car – talked to the kids about his job then let the kids climb all over his car – trying on handcuffs, turning on the siren etc. He explained that many times when he encounters children in his job, they are in a scary situation….he and his fellow officers keep a few of the stuffed animals in their trunks to give to these kids. The kids then got to load up the back of his car with the donated animals and watch him drive off with them. We played some relay games (crossing a river – balance beam over a blue tarp, over a mountain – ladder, putting out a fire – used a short piece of hose & pretended, to “rescue” an stuffed animal from danger) Each child got to make their own volcano – I put plastic cups with baking soda & red food coloring in a sled and let the kids add the vinegar for the explosion) then the local volunteer fire department showed up…again in uniform. They do this for free here. They had treat bags for the kids (which I didn’n know about) and pulled th hoses off the trucks and let each kid have a turn at spraying the hose (many of the adults had to take a turn as well) .Then we had cake. Treat bags were some small candies and a matchbox “rescue” vehicle.
I decorated the tables with my son’s rescue heroes and firetrucks etc. Most of the activities we did outside or in my garage so I didn’t have to worry about spilled things and didn’t have to clean! This turned out very inexpensive and very cute!
When my daughter turned 6 we were stationed in Germany. Our neighbors on our small military base got together weekly for an outside potluck dinner. I planned a birthday carnival-themed party for the entire neighborhood and included games that kids of all ages would enjoy playing. Neighbors pitched in to help with face painting and sack races etc. A huge clown cake with cupcake balloons, hot dogs and popcorn fed the crowd. In lieu of gifts, we asked that the kids bring a book or game to donate a home by Landstuhl (the major military hospital) where families can stay when they visit loved ones. Everyone loved it, and the party cost less than $150.
We chose to do a party they could invite friends to every other year while our kids were growing up. We always go out to eat as a family for birthdays and the birthday child gets to pick where we go to eat. We don’t eat out a lot so that is a treat for everyone. One year we had a surprise half year party for our teenage son, which would be fun for a child with a December birthday to have a summer party in June. (He and his friends play computer games together and they all packed their computers to our house and played games all night.) One party they all remember was a pirate party we did when our son was in kindergarten. We made party invitations that looked like a treasure map that we tore around the edges and dipped in tea to age and rolled up and tied with a string. We had a scavenger hunt in our house and yard that was pictures I had drawn of where the next clue was. The last location had the cake which I had made to look like a treasure chest. We had a pile of sand in our driveway that had been delivered for a yard project. I got a couple of rolls of pennies and nickles and buried them in the sand and the kids got to dig for treasure. We never spent much, but the kids had fun playing together.
One thing to keep in mind is not to put junk in goodie bags – it wastes money and ends up in the landfill. My oldest would come home from parties, eat all of the candy and toss the rest of the goodie bag straight in the trash. At first I fished it out but realized – IT WAS JUNK! So I always try to have real stuff in goodie bags. This year my oldest had a movie party – he invited a few friends over for movies and I made them all snacks from my stockpile. For the goodie bags, I used popcorn “tins” from the Target $1 spot and put in micro popcorn (almost free w/coupon – split the box), Oreo cookie straws (bought w/coupon, split up box), some candy (bought w/coupons) and some school supplies (FREE from Staples). No plastic junk – even the popcorn tins could be reused for a craft or donated to Goodwill for someone else to use! For my youngest I used a bunch of the $1 Johnson & Johnson coupons and got free Bath Buddies, alphabet and number magnets from the Target $1 spot, some themed rubber duckies on clearance from Oriental Trading and some organic lollipops from our own stash (bought cheap on Amazon). Goodie bags don’t have to be JUNK and can still be cheap!
We moved to a new area in 2008. My youngest daughters birthday is in May and we had only been here about 6 months. I planned her party at the local arcade (mini golf bumper boats and go carts included). We gave out invitations three weeks prior to her new classmates and her entire girl scout troop. One child showed up. I thought well, maybe it’s because shes new, maybe its because its mothers day weekend. Either way she was sad and felt lonely. This year she invited her whole troop, some neighborhood kids and we had it at Incredible pizza, siblings and parents welcome. I spent almost three hundred dollars and still two girls from her troop and her best friend from the neighborhood came. From now on I am taking her on a trip. The other girls may have American Girls but they havent been to the NYC store so that is our plan for this year. We are inviting the one girl who came to her party for the last two years and her mom. And my sweet little girl has only asked to go to two parties since. She learned a hard lesson at an early age. I wish I had never introduced her to such extravagant birthday parties. It would have been better to think mom is too lazy or too cheap than the reality.
I’ve never had a non- gift birthday party for my boys but I do however keep it on a budget. I have a huge family and I love seeing them all so I keep it simple. My 2 older boys birthdays are both in July so that helped out alot with cost and clean up by having only one party,but once we had our third son (who was born in september) we had to start thinking of other ways to celebrate so we weren’t throwing a party a couple months later. So now we rotate between birthday parties. Like for example: This year we had a party for my boys in July then in September instead of a party we took the boys on a mini vaca . and we rotate every year. I like this because it keeps us sane and so our families don’t feel like they have to come to 2 parties, plus the nice little get aways are always something I look forward to.
All these ideas are wonderful! I could use some help brainstorming– My son’s 2nd birthday is coming up in February, so I started planning yesterday. We will be hosting it in our home, with a BUZZ LIGHTYEAR theme! We’ll have around 12 kids in attendance, most around/under his age; Does anyone have budget-friendly ideas for activities/games/crafts fitting the theme that are age appropriate (nothing too complex)?? Suggestions for other parts of the party are welcome too!! Thanks everyone!
My boys have two little friends, sisters, that have birthdays about 2 weeks apart. Every year for the 3 years that we have known them the girls host a birthday party at the local gymnastics place so the kids can bounce, run, swing – just generally go crazy. As for gifts, the guests are asked to bring dry cat or dog food or kitter litter to be donated to the local animal shelter and to the food bank for people who can’t afford to feed their pets. My kids have embraced the idea and can’t wait every year to see how much food their friends collect. The thank you notes are always a picture of the girls with their pile of treasure for the animals in need.