LIFESTYLE
| The Budget Birthday:
Parties for Pennies |
|
 Fifty-five-foot
bouncy castles, pony rides, trains, circus performers, enormous
cakes—kids’ birthday parties these days are the
stuff that dreams are made of. Factor in the costs of catering,
decorations, photographers and over-the-top gifts, and you’ve
got a price tag that could be the stuff that bankruptcy is
made of. But in these days of childhood excess, the “bigger/faster/more”
era, an exaggerated importance is placed on keeping up with
the Joneses (and especially their kids). It’s natural
to want to give our children blowouts that rival those of
even their most pampered peers, though when it costs more
to fill up your vehicle than it does to feed your family,
such a party may not be possible. Not to worry: You can still
throw a memorable birthday bash without breaking the bank—just
follow these money-saving tips.
Party at your place.
Holding the event at your home can save you a considerable
amount over renting out a public venue—and there’s
no worrying about restrictions that you might run into elsewhere.
 Eschew
the eats.
Have the party in the early afternoon: after lunch, but before
dinner. That way you won’t have to worry about feeding
everyone. If you do need to furnish a meal, hamburgers, hotdogs
and chips are crowd-pleasing cheapies.
Cut costs on cake.
If you’re decent in the kitchen (or can read the directions
on a box of Duncan Hines), the answer is simple: bake your
own cake. But if your last attempt at baking could have been
mistaken for a brick, you can often find a great deal on a
cake at a warehouse store like Costco or Sam’s Club.
Compare the cost of buying a ready-made cake versus buying
a plain frosted one and decorating it yourself. Or enlist
the help of that friend who puts Betty Crocker to shame (we’ve
all got one); offer to trade favor-for-favor. If all else
fails, you can always bypass the cake altogether and opt for
an inexpensive make-your-own sundae bar. Just put out some
toppings, dish out some ice cream and watch the fun!
Crunch the numbers.
Having a huge number of guests drives up both the cost and
the chaos factor. Keep it simple—and cheap—by
paring down the party population. A good rule of thumb is
your child’s age plus one. So if your daughter is turning
seven, let her invite eight friends.
 Tone
down the theme.
So your four-year-old wants a “Dora the Explorer”
party? There’s no need for Dora napkins, Dora cups,
Dora hats, Dora balloons… you get the picture. Choose
one or two themed items—Dora plates and table coverings,
for example—and use a coordinating solid color, which
is always way cheaper, for the rest of the decorations.
Bag some sweet
savings.
Don’t want to send guests home without a little something?
Rather than buying expensive printed plastic goodie bags,
give each child a paper lunch sack and access to markers,
glitter, stickers and glue so they can decorate their own.
Fill them with candy and other cheap treats. Oriental Trading
Company (www.orientaltrading.com) sells a huge variety of
party favors in bulk (often by the dozen or more) for pennies
per piece. Psst … they’re also good for filling
a (homemade) piñata!
Stick to the classics.
There’s a reason that the classic party games have been
around for years: they’re still fun! Egg relay races,
limbo, tug-of-war, hula hoop contests, beanbag toss, musical
chairs, water balloons… anything that brought you joy
as a child will do the same for your kids. Older kids might
enjoy a scavenger hunt, a talent show, or making “fashions”
from rolls of toilet paper.
Make the party
last all night.
If your child is older, a birthday sleepover can be a great
way to mark the occasion: they’re super-fun, and take
very little effort, as long as the kids are old enough to
entertain themselves. You’d be hard-pressed to find
a kid who doesn’t love pizza, so serve some up—whether
it’s frozen, homemade (which can be pretty cheap) or
purchased with coupons (RetailMeNot.com has printable coupons
for most major pizza chains). Spring for a movie rental and
some microwave popcorn and spread out the board games. Or
get your hands on a Nintendo Wii or other cool video game
system—if you can’t borrow one, you can rent them
at most video stores for a nominal fee (or even check one
out from some libraries for free). If you’ve got girls,
let them do makeovers, then do a “photo shoot”
using your digital camera.
Put it out there.
About a month before the party, make use of online classified
sites (such as Craigslist.org) and send out a call for help.
You want to hire a clown to make balloon animals for under
$50? A face-painter who doesn’t charge a small fortune?
Place a free ad. Worst case scenario, no one will answer—but
you might just find what you’re looking for. It’s
worth a try!
Be prepared.
Even if your child’s birthday isn’t for months,
discuss what kind of party he or she would like early on,
then keep your eyes open for clearance items or sales at party
supply stores. You can often pick up some spectacular deals
this way—and stash the stuff till it’s time to
party.
 Less
can be more.
If you want to go all-out but still avoid spending a fortune,
think smaller-scale: Have your child choose only one or two
of his closest friends, then take them to a sporting event,
an arcade, ice rink, water park, pizza and a movie—the
sky’s the limit. With so few “party guests,”
you can really personalize the occasion, and have more to
spend on each kid. If your child isn’t comfortable choosing
between his friends, make it just the two of you for a birthday
bonding session.
Simple, inexpensive birthday
parties can be just as much fun as their large and lavish
counterparts, and a lot less headache. Not only that, but
they show your kids that it isn’t necessary to be the
biggest, the flashiest, and outdo everyone else in order to
have a good time. And that might just be the most valuable
birthday gift of all.
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