How to Throw an Affordable Birthday Party Your Child Will Love
6:00 AM
By Katherine Halek
Most
parents view their child’s birthday as a chance to make kids feel
special. It’s a once-a-year chance to create a healthy memory your
child can take into adulthood. However, many parents are also feeling
the pressure to compete with increasingly expensive birthday parties
for children. Just how pricey have parties become? Tom
Cruise reportedly lavished his daughter, Suri, with a
whopping
$100,000 birthday party for her 2nd birthday!
How
can parents hope to keep up with the Joneses year after year?
Luckily, they don’t have to. With the right planning it is possible
to throw your child a memorable birthday party, affordably.
Many
party-planning parents will fall victim to one of two mistakes.
First, they fail to make a plan. Although a child’s birthday party
may seem fairly straight forward, consider how many variables there
can be. How many guests will attend? How long are you expected to
entertain them for, and what will they consider fun? It’s
tempting to jump right into cake tasting and decorating, but you
should know exactly what you are planning for before you reach these
steps. Decide on a location, theme, and length of time before you
begin so that you can tailor your decision to match this plan!
The
second mistake is creating a plan without a budget. Parents who begin
purchasing birthday cakes, streamers and party favors before they
have a budget are more apt to be tempted into spending on unforeseen
expenses as the day of the party approaches. Instead, assign a cost
to each part of your plan and stick to your budget.
Manage
the Expectations of Your Guests
More
often than not, food will be the most expensive element of a party.
By managing the expectations of your guests you can save some money.
Rather than hosting a birthday party in the early afternoon or
evening and serving a meal, plan your party for around 3PM and let it
be known you will offer snacks and cake to your guests. This can even
free you up to find some creative party snacks on Pinterest!
Secondly,
you are not obligated to invite everyone in your child’s grade. The
rule of thumb is to invite one guest per year of your child’s age.
For a seventh birthday party, eight will be a very manageable number
of party goers!
Create
a Festive Atmosphere
Birthday
parties at a restaurant, theme park, or indoor playground are more
exciting to children because of the atmosphere they provide. These
venues have brightly painted walls and decorations that excite
children more than the inside of a home. Children may be apprehensive
about a party at home, because they feel like they will be missing
out on the exciting feeling of going to a venue. Luckily, you can
create this same excitement for your child using balloons, custom
banners,
and party decorations. Don’t strain yourself redecorating your
home, but take the time to make your child feel like he is at a
party.
Allow
Your Child to Enjoy the Party
After
investing so much energy in finding the best presents, party games,
or bounce houses it can be tempting to micromanage the party
schedule. However, if your child becomes more interested in playing
with a balloon than with the expensive entertainment you provided it
will not be the end of the world. Remind yourself that creating fun
memories is what you hope to give your child through a party and it
doesn’t always matter how that is accomplished.
Parties
can be as much for the parent as for the child. You can feel so much
joy just by watching your child experience their birthday. Try to
relax and take in the moment, there will only be so many birthdays in
one childhood!
Katherine
Halek is a Marketing Associate at
Easybanners.com, a
leader in banner printing. Easybanners helps to create memorable
parties, weddings, and events with high quality, custom banners.
Connect with her on
Google+.
9 comments
I love planning and throwing my kids' birthday parties. Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that one should allow their kids to enjoy their party. I've seen so many elaborate birthday parties that the kids seemed bored at or were way too structured, when the kids would have had more fun just playing with Legos or running through sprinklers in the back yard.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I always tell my daughter she can invite this many children and let her choose.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips, I'm all about having a great party for less.
ReplyDeleteI let me kids help as that is half of the fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great tips. It's nice to know you can save some money when throwing a party.
ReplyDeleteThese are such great tips! It's so easy for the budget to spiral out of control.
ReplyDeleteIt is SO easy to spend a ton on birthday parties! This year a I did a park party for Gabe and Cadence and they loved it! (well, besides the broken tooth!)
ReplyDeleteAll three of my kids have birthdays within six weeks of one another, which can make things very chaotic here. Thankfully we still manage to always throw a successful event!
ReplyDelete