Create a Memorable Birthday Party for Your Kids with These Simple yet Creative Ideas

Your kid's best birthday party starts with your imagination.

Having a fabulous birthday party for your child is at the top of the list for most parents. Your goal is to create a memory that will last a lifetime, for both of you. This is tough to do on a good day and even tougher to do on a tight budget. Let's take a look at some over-the-top party ideas and see if we can find a way to do something fabulous on half the money.

Inviting the entire fourth grade will certainly send your costs through the roof but still, it could be a pretty ordinary experience. It's not the number of people at the party, it's the stuff the kids do at the party that really matters. Don't splurge on the steaks and shrimp - one place to save money is on the food. Kids are thrilled with cheese pizza and pop. How about handing out a bunch of disposable cameras and let the kids go crazy and snap away? In Beverly Hills they have the kids dress up in vintage clothes like their favorite movie stars. You could get the same sizzle by filling a bin with a range of re-sale shop clothes, hats, wigs, etc. Let the kid's imaginations do the work, and make sure the flash bulbs keep popping away to add to the fun.

You could always break down and take the whole crew to the local party pizza place, where twenty bucks worth of tokens turns into 500 tickets which will buy a pencil at the prize counter. But the kids do get to see a giant rat. Do you want to get more bang for the buck? Well, buckle up and let the kids make their own personal pizzas, with anything they want on them. Put the plastic down for this cook-a-thon, and follow it up with a make your own sundae desert bar. During all the food festivities, remind the crowd of the clown or magician that will soon show up to thrill and amaze everyone. It is much cheaper than the pizza place, and tons more fun.

Keep thinking about ways to get the kids to bring the energy and excitement to the party. Dance is king for kids of all ages, and combining the crew's favorite music along with a sing-a-long or karaoke contest can make for some hilarious times for everyone. Let the birthday girl or boy pick the music, and be sure to pick up some cool prizes for best dancer, funniest dancer, craziest dancer, etc., enough so anyone that really wants a prize will find a way to get one. You could even throw in a hula-hoop contest for old time's sake.

If you want to break the bank, you could always create an animal farm in the backyard, with riding ponies, peacocks, sheep and whatever other barnyard creature that can be carted in a van to your house. So how can you create a similar effect at your kid's birthday party and satisfy all the animal lovers in the group? Use your imagination and tap into the imagination of your child, and you may be surprised at what you come up with.