How to Throw Your Child’s Birthday Party on a Budget

Gone are the days when colorful balloons, crepe paper streamers, a simple sheet cake, and an intimate dinner at home with friends and family was all that was required to celebrate a child’s birthday.

With time, extravagant birthday parties for children with superhero decoration themes, bounce houses, and fancy two-tier custom-made cakes have become a norm.

Surely, your child will light up with joy when they receive fancy presents. But it’s time we stop using “things” to brighten our kid’s day. If your real goal is fun and happiness, let go of the pressure to keep up with the Joneses and outdo your friends and relatives.

There are a lot of ways you can throw a memorable birthday dash without spending tons of money. For starters, you can use the following list as a quick point of reference when you create a spending plan.

• Guest List

• Venue

• Food

• Entertainment Activities

• Decorations

Based on this list, we’ll now give you a few tried and tested ideas to make a birthday party special on a small budget.

1) Keep the guest list small. Call us crazy, but seriously, you don’t have to invite your child’s entire class roster, piano lesson mates, or playground pals to their birthday party.

Limit your guest list to only 10 to 12 headcounts. This should include your child’s friends, their chaperones, your immediate family members, and close buddies.

2) Choose a free venue.

Renting out a venue space for a small group of 10 will cost you a lot. Have the party at your house, or somewhere that doesn’t require you to pay for it, like a park or beach.

3) Try not to make it a lunch or dinner. If your party starts around mealtimes, people will expect you to feed them an elaborate food spread. Instead of having a multi-course lunch or dinner, plan a child-friendly, finger food menu:

• Chicken Strips and Chicken Fries

• Fish and Chips

• Homemade Pizza

• Mini Burgers and Sandwiches

• Nachos and Tacos

• Hot Dogs and Corn Dogs

• Pies and Quiches

• Assorted Foods on a Stick

• Mini Desserts

A family cookout or barbecue in your backyard or garden is also a budget-friendly option.

If you do not have enough space at home and decide to keep the party in a park or at a beach, nothing beats the fun of a good bonfire! During daytime, sunbathe, and treat yourself to an alfresco feast of picnic snacks and barbecue munchies.

Come nighttime, bring out the cake, gather around the fire pit, and sing the Happy Birthday song for the birthday celebrant.

Spend rest of the evening playing dumb charades, singing along to a feel-good playlist, and laughing heartily to the funny, creepy ghost stories you tell each other.

4) Plan free or low-cost entertainment activities for kids.

Like we said earlier, if you want to make your child feel special, you don’t have to take them to a mall with video gaming machines, ice skating rinks, and other leisure facilities.

A word to the wise: show your child that celebrations are more about spreading love and sharing quality time with each other, rather than spending money on Avenger-themed masks. Treat your child and their friends to an engaging arts and craft activity.

Drawing, painting, sticking, collage making, and playdough modeling are great ways to let the kids have fun, while being creative at the same time.

You can also request any of your chef friends to conduct a bake off class for kids, wherein they learn to bake a basic sponge recipe and use their imagination to decorate it. If it’s an outdoor party, get the kids to paint twigs, seashells and rocks, and collect them in a treasure jar. Use them to plan a scavenger hunt for adults. Kids can join in too!

5) Keep the decor simple, sweet, and DIY. Take the DIY route when it comes to birthday decorations. Take out all the unused jars and put small LED bulbs inside them for lightning.

Pick a theme and decorate the room around it, using candles and DIY crafts.

Not up to celebrate the birthday at your house? Weather too hot to head outdoors? Have no fear - you can throw a fun party and still stick to a budget! Head over to our restaurant in Oud Metha and let us help you host an enjoyable birthday for your kid. You bring the guests, candles, and gifts - we'll take care of the food, cake, and decor.