How to Throw a Memorable Birthday Party Without Having to Sell Everything You Own

Birthday parties for kids are serious business. Depending on the scale, number of people, theme, etc. an average party can run from a few hundred to **gasp** thousands of dollars. I've heard the average cost is around $25-$50 per person. Who can afford that?

So, here are some general guidelines to help manage the occasion. Although I gear this to kid parties, you can use these guidelines for any party!

• Determine your budget. Set a number and stick to it. Can you afford $50 or $200 or $1000? Now you can work backwards and make it happen.
• Write a guest list. Some people do the age of the child = number of guests. Others write down all the people they have to invite (family + friends). Will you have a separate party for friends and family or combined? Friends only? Family only? Now, multiple the number of kids by 1.5 and add this to the total in a separate "adults" column. Some kids will come with only one parent, some with both. This is a safe estimate to help with knowing how many chairs and tables plus drinks and food you'll need.
• Pick a location. At your house, the condo common room, a friend/relative's house, a local park or destination, a rental hall or a "destination" party place? All have pros and cons. Believe it or not, once you factor in everything, having a party at your own house may not be the most economical way to go! You may want to run a couple of scenarios before choosing the place.
• Setup. Do you need more chairs? Tables? Rental can be expensive - $1.50/chair and $8/table or so plus delivery. So, ask to borrow when possible. Church halls often will lend if you are a member. Neighbors are my favorite source of borrowed items! For outdoor parties I will often ask if someone has folding chairs they would mind bringing when they RSVP.
• Work with the climate and season. September baby? Plan a BBQ. Winter baby? Sledding would be fun! July baby? How about a beach bash! Try to plan around a holiday or special time of year. Almost every month has some sort of holiday you can use to maximize your "theme" budget. October babies can have a costume party! I'll do another post on themes sometime soon...too many ideas for now!
• Work AGAINST the climate or season. Yeah, I know I just said to work with it. However, if you are a planner and bargain shopper, think of all the great beach-theme items you can get on-sale in August/September/October for an amazing beach party in February! Or a Haunted House theme in March after stocking up in November. A bit of fun and surprise doing things out of season is always fun!
• Shop the discount stores. I'm a regular here but many people are not. Have you gone to the dollar stores and discount stores recently? If not, birthday party planning is a great time to go - you can come up with ideas before you even get started! Paper goods are easy to pick up here - inexpensive! Go for white or neutral colors - no one cares if your napkins match the plates and match the cups! Or, go to a discount store like Big Lots and buy regular plates and cups. Again, without balloons or Spiderman means they are a fraction of the price and you can use the leftovers at the next party!
• "Splurge" on a small cake. Then supplement with homemade cupcakes (or even store-bought ones. Decorated cakes can be so expensive! At my son's party, he wanted a Spiderman cake. I am not that talented. So, $6 at Walmart got him a cute personal decorated cake. Add two boxes of cake mix ($1/each), two containers of frosting ($1.25 each) and a sleeve of cupcake papers ($1) and for $5.50 I had 48 cupcakes to complement his cake. We could have served cake for 50 people for less than $12!
• Decorations will bankrupt you. Don't go crazy. Balloons are expensive, crepe paper streamers are hard to hang, centerpieces are ignored, etc. At the dollar store you can buy a bunch of stuff - but set a limit (mine was $5 - I bought 4 matching balloon table cloths and a roll of curling ribbon...) Did you know you can blow up your own balloons without renting a helium tank for upwards of $50? Walmart, BJs and other stores sell Balloon Time helium tanks - fill up to 30 balloons (ribbon and balloons included!) for about $20 for the small kit. I think the 30 is conservative, too, as we were at 30 and still going... I do recommend avoiding party stores. Super expensive, and you'll get sucked into spending a ton of money - all wasted.
• Plan the time of the party wisely: Have it at noon and everyone expects lunch. At 5 p.m., dinner. A 2 p.m. party with a note "light snacks to be provided" will avoid extra food cost. If you do opt to provide food, think about what is easy and goes far. Crockpot recipes are great, as are hamburgers and hot dogs. Finger sandwiches can be easy to prepare and serve. Also, don't hesitate to take people up on their offer to bring something! I always offer and I am never offended when someone takes me up on my offer.
• Goodie bags will also eat up your budget. Kids don't really pay much attention to what is in goodie bags: if it is cheap and plastic or sticky and sugary, they love it. Dollar stores sell bags of goodie bags ($1/25). I recently needed 16. I bought 4 bags of 4 squirt guns ($4), and six bags of candies like pixie sticks, taffy and blow pops ($6) and filled all 16 bags for $.69 each.
• Ask for discounts. If you do opt to have the party hosted somewhere, ask about specials, discounts, etc. - be open with the planner! And be honest. Ask for pricing, have a general idea of your group size, have a budget in mind and try to be realistic about what you can expect. Ask if they have off-time discounts (1 p.m. on Saturday will fetch a premium, but what about 4 p.m. Sunday or 6 p.m. Friday night?) Ask if you can bring your own food or goodie bags to lower the cost.
• Invitations can cost a fortune. Print them on your home computer and add all you need to with clip-art for a low-cost easy-to-make invite! Bonus: it can be emailed instead of only mailed or given as a hard copy! OR...you can do a photo card similar to the thank you (see below) for about $.36 each.
• Thank yous are SO IMPORTANT. I know many people don't do these anymore. Please don't neglect this step even if your child has said thank you in-person. I'm a big fan of taking a group photo at the party of all the attendees then having a photo card made up - for about $.36 each! This saves your child from writing long (boring!) thank yous on plain paper - they can sign their name and add a note to the back of the photo card! Voila!

Finally, if your child is old enough to have an opinion, make sure they are involved. If you plan the perfect princess party for your 8 year old and then find out she wanted to invite her class including all the boys, you'll need to rethink a bit (or not!) My son has been vocal about what he wanted for a theme and who he wanted to attend since he was 2.

How do you save money on birthday parties? How much have you spent - a lot or a litte? What local places have a good deal for parties? Do tell!