Throwing a Low-Cost Birthday Party for Your Kid: 8 Tips

Being a low-income parent, I understand the need to find ways to parent on a shoestring. Birthdays can be hard, and for families with many children or just not much money, it can be hard. Your child wants to go ice skating, or to Chuck E Cheese, or the local swimming pool, or to any of your community's other favorite kid party places, but the cost of such an adventure can range from $100 to $500 or more. Despite your childrens assurances that they will be school outcasts or their lives will be ruined if they don't get to invite their entire class to Six Flags for a private birthday party, you can provide a fun, exciting party for your child without much cost!

Tip 1:
Make your home or the home of a consenting relative the "party house". It may be crowded if you have a small place, but it is cheaper than renting a space. A public park would work too, though you may end up with some uninvited guests or party crashers- or get wet if it decides to rain!

Tip 2:
Keep it manageable. Ten to twelve kids, including your child and siblings, is probably more than enough. Skip written invitations, just call or visit the parents of invited children to issue the invite and get an RSVP. You are more likely to have a more accurate head count this way, and you skip the cost of the invitations. If you must use invitations, have your child make them himself (he can be creative, and have fun!).

Tip 3:
Keep it short. A two-hour party provides plenty of fun and not so much that fighting/tears begin.

Tip 4:
Make a plan. Decide what you will serve, what games to play, backup games/activities in case some games end up shorter than planned or are a bust. If you start having some ideas a few months before, that is great as you can watch for supermarket sales to purchase some items in advance when on sale.

Tip 5:
Food ideas: If your party is at or close to dinner or lunch time, it would be a good idea to serve some "real" food instead of just cake. Hot dogs and buns are cheap, and most every kid likes them. Watch for sales, and you can probably get 2 packages of hot dogs and 2 of buns for less than $5.00. The dogs and buns can be frozen. Cake mixes can be found for $1. at dollar stores or even your grocery on sale. Make homemade frosting if you can, if not then frosting can be purchased for $2.50 usually. On sale, you can likely find cheap ice cream for $3.00. Serve Kool-Aid or even water-it is good for them! So the total to feed twelve children lunch/dinner, cake, and ice cream is less than $1.00 each child! It might be a good idea to get a bag of variety candy, snickers minis, or something similar. Use these as prizes for game winners. Each winner gets one, and be sure any kids who didn't win anything get a "good tryer" prize.

Tip 6:
Party favors, special plates, ect are not necessary. A bag of paper plates and forks at the store is inexpensive. Or you could use your own if you don't mind all the washing! Few children will miss the party favors, but if they do just use the "will rot your teeth" excuse and redirect. It works!

Tip 7:
Game ideas: Pin the tail game. Your child can draw an animal for your pin the tail game on posterboard, construction paper, or just plain typing paper. Then have them draw a matching tail, stick tape on the back of it, and you are set to go! A bandanna is a great blind fold. One child I know made a Pin the tail on the Seahorse game. Everyone loved it! Twister is great fun, if you don't have a game at home just ask around. It is a popular game and likely a friend or relative will lend it to you. Freeze tag is a fun outside game. Hot potato and musical chairs are also great fun. Have the children make face masks to take home. This is a fun and creative activity, and will keep them occupied for at least 15 minutes or more. All you need is as many pairs of scissors you can find, glue sticks, construction and/or typing paper, crayons, markers, colored pencils, chalk, or whatever writing/drawing implements you have around the house. A hole punch and yarn are nice if you have them, or popsicle sticks work too. If you run out of activities and games, or the kids are just getting restless, pop in a video! Choose something you are sure isn't objectionable to other parents ie. without violence, bad language, religious content (unless you are sure all the parents share your beliefs). Don't offer to let your child or any other child choose the video, this is asking for trouble! Besides, usually the watching only lasts a few minutes and then talking and joking around take over (though they will usually remain in place in front of the TV).

Tip 8:
Give your gifts and gifts from relatives not at the party to your child either earlier in the day or after the party. This way your child can focus on the gifts received from friends and gifts from friends won't be outshined by anything family gives. Children enjoy giving, and like to see how much your child enjoys their gift. It is disappointing for a child if her gift is tossed aside when Mom and Dad present the birthday child with a more expensive or anticipated gift.

This all may sound simplistic, but it really works! Children have a blast, mom/dad don't shell out a fortune! Keep in mind though, that Mom or Dad won't be able to sit for even a moment until the party is over! Bustling around supervising activities and games, breaking up minor scuffles, cooking food, serving food, lighting candles, and cleaning up will keep you on your toes! At the end of the day though, your child will fall asleep with a smile on her face and your bank account won't be empty!