Throwing an Inexpensive Birthday Party for an Eight Year Old

Birthdays are supposed to be special occasions when children can enjoy their friends and family celebrating the day of their birth. When finances are tight and a strict budget is in place, throwing an inexpensive birthday party is often easier said than done. I am going to show you some inexpensive birthday party ideas for an 8 year old and ways to keep the budget low.

One of the biggest expenses of throwing a birthday party is the food. When keeping the party affordable is priority, there are some easy and inexpensive ways to cut down on food costs.

Tip 1: The cake is often a big expense of a birthday party. Making your own cake can significantly cut the party budget. Store bought cakes can cost in the upwards of $30 while making your own cake can be done for under $4. Instead of paying someone to put your 8 year olds favorite design on the cake, go online and find a picture. Include your child in the search and let them pick their favorite picture or design. Print it on plain white paper. You can use other ideas for this such as making the design 3D by using a double copy and gluing each side to a piece of cardboard or you can simple cut out the design and put it on the center of your cake, even using icing to decorate around it. Just remember, when you cut the cake to remove the paper, it probably won't taste very good otherwise.

Tip 2: Drinks can be expensive when you purchase individual juice boxes for each child. While the juice boxes are nice, a packet of generic Kool Aid is much more cost efficient. You can purchase a pack of small, plastic or paper, bathroom cups at your local Dollar Store for around $1. If you really want to get creative, let all the 8 year olds color or design their own cup. If the cups are plastic, you can take a hole punch and an old magazine or construction paper and make bunches of different color holes. Put some glue on each cup and let the children decorate their own cup. This gives you an activity as well as saves some money in the process.

Tip 3: Rather than going all out with tons of food, simply have just cake, ice cream and chips. Instead of planning the birthday party around a meal time, plan it in the afternoon. Birthday parties for 8 year olds work best in the afternoon from around 1 to 3. This way the children have just finished lunch and being hungry won't be an issue. You can do games from 1 to 2 and then have cake and presents for the remainder of time.

Tip 4: Games can get pricey and when you are looking for cheap 8 year old birthday party ideas, a large game budget is out. There are many games that can be played with out spending a dime and your 8 year old with love it. Scavenger hunts are loads of fun. You won't have to buy anything, just do a little pre party planning and hiding. You will need to make a list for each guest as to the items they need to find. This can be done easily on a computer and you can usually print about 4 lists per page of paper. Use things that can be found around the house and yard. This game will take some time but 8 year olds generally love it.

Another way to find games to play is to go online and use a search engine to find games to play at birthday parties. It may take some time to read through and find what will make your 8 year olds' birthday party the best, but at least it won't be pricey. Let the winner each game have double cake or either let the winners eat first. Then you don't even need to buy prizes.

Tip 5: Don't invite your 8 year olds entire class. Have them pick only their closest friends to be invited to the party. There is no need in inviting a bunch of kids your child really doesn't want there anyway. Keep things simple!

Tip 6: Make your own decorations. It is very easy to make Happy Birthday banners and even party hats. The week before the party, have your 8 year old decide the party theme and help with decorations ideas. Including your child in the decorating ideas will give them a chance to see how special you thing their birthday really is and get an idea of how much goes in to pulling off the perfect birthday party.

These are just a few cheap 8 year old birthday party ideas! By using these ideas and your imagination I am sure you can come up with an inexpensive way to give your 8 year old the best birthday party ever without going over budget!