How to throw a kid’s birthday party on a budget
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My daughter, Charlie, is a big YouTube fan. Like all of us, she has her favorite few channels, and especially loves to watch videos on over-the-top birthday parties.
Charlie is our sweet tax day baby, extroverted as they come (the only one in our family, btw), and always living her best life. She is the life of the party on our street, always out riding bikes and playing with all the kids. She’ll be the first to organize a structured game, and lead the charge! She will also decide to sell her creations, and hustle all the neighbors in order to fund her next shopping spree for more Squishmallows or makeup.
This girl is a world changer for sure.
When it came time to start planning her 9th birthday party, she gave me a list of ideas, complete with a tiered cake rivaling something on the popular Netflix show, “Is It Cake?”… Every year I have to remind her that I am not a professional cake artist, lol.
So, what’s a mom to do?
After bringing her back down to earth a little bit, we decided on some compromises that will still make her feel celebrated, and that we can deliver with minimal budget and time.
Here’s how we threw a party for 20 kids with $100
We came up with a simple theme-Charlie is a huge fan of Niall Horan, so I went to his website to check out his branding. His main colors were yellow and orange. I then went to Amazon, and found this balloon arch kit for $9. While these kits take a little time to put together, they offer high impact for such a low cost. After putting a couple of these together, I’d highly recommend getting an electric balloon pump. They average about $18, but it’s a one time purchase you can use year after year.
We decided to host at our home-I know, I know, “but then you have to clean!” Yes, having people in your home, and cleaning up for a party is part of the trade off, but can I offer you a permission slip? It doesn’t need to look perfect. It’s a kids birthday party, not the Parade of Homes. Everyone coming is in the same stage of life, and seeing that your home is not straight out of a magazine will make them feel seen and comfortable.
We chose lawn games-We already own a corn hole set, giant Jenga, and a ring toss game. When I shared what we were planning to do in my instagram stories, my friend reached out and offered their giant connect 4 for us to use as well!
I ordered a cake from Costco-Listen, as much as I’d love to bake a cake from scratch, I know myself. I don’t have the baking gene, and I have low energy reserves. This is 100% the kind of thing to outsource, and it doesn’t need to be TV show worthy. The truth is, Costco cakes are DELICIOUS, and also serve a lot of people for only $25. If you want to, you can pick one of their designs, and then add to it once you bring it home! You can find all kinds of fun sprinkles and cake toppers on Amazon.
We chose a time of day that did not need a meal-A 2pm party time makes it pretty obvious that there will not be a meal provided. Now, I know that a lot of people like to offer this, but again, we’re throwing a party on a budget, and that’s the easiest way to save money. Don’t worry, I put out some snacks for those who wanted a little something other than cake, but I just put out what we already had-pretzels, nuts, popcorn. Let’s be real, that’s what the kids care about anyway, and it’s just enough to get anyone to dinner time. We also offered Capri Sun and water that cost us roughly $20. Costco for the win again!
We did not give out party favors-This may be controversial, but I’m not a fan of party favors. Have your kids ever brought home a bag of favors that lasted more than 2 hours? Most of the time, they just end up in the trash (after something inevitably breaks and causes a massive meltdown) within 24 hours, so I’d prefer to eliminate the issue all together, and save everyone the stress.
At the end of the day, our kids just want to be seen and celebrated for who they are, with the people they love. They want to play with their friends, and eat a big piece of cake. Those are the parts of a party they’ll remember 5 years from now. The magical experience has everything to do with the people that make them feel like their existence matters, and nothing to do with elaborate decorations & entertainment. Let yourself off the mat, momma. You don’t have to stress yourself out trying to create a perfect Pinterest worthy party! After all, it’s a big day for you too. Celebrate!