In an astonishing turn of events, our children grow older every year; and we all know what that means.
Birthday parties!
These days kids don’t just want run of the mill parties either, they are looking for fun, entertainment, and lasting memories. Well, you came to the right place.
We can give you all of that and more. Best of all, birthday parties don’t have to be an event you save all year for.
You don’t have to keep up with the Joneses by renting elaborate equipment, and buying expensive decorations to create an atmosphere kid’s will love.
There are a few simple rules to planning the party of the year, on the budget of a week.
Set a limit
Set a spending limit that is. Walking through a party store, it is easy to get carried away with all the alluring colors, and cute décor.
Know what you are going to spend before you enter the endless pit of superhero paraphernalia so you don’t go way over budget.
Being realistic is important as well. If you have a birthday party for a seven-year-old, with 10 of his closest friends, and you are providing food and cake, then you should expect to spend about $500 with presents on average, according to mom.me.
Pick a simple theme
If your son likes superheroes, then choose just his favorite to star at the birthday party.
Going with Superman is easy to cater to, providing capes and a kryptonite snack is more doable than trying to get a little piece of every superhero involved in the day.
Maybe you have one of those easy to please kids, that trusts you will make the party fun no matter what theme it is.
In this case, pick something universal like balloons, and just have a bunch of balloons around for the kids to kick, center your games around them, and build your own paper-mâché piñata.
Go light with the fare
Serving a full entrée at a birthday gets pricey real quick. The cost and time that goes into making 40 burgers, sides, and drinks is a big chunk of your budget.
Kids usually are so distracted at birthday parties with the kids and games that they rarely eat much anyway.
Provide a colorful range of kid-friendly finger foods that they can grab and go to keep the kids entertained, parents happy, and bellies content.
Try little cups of thinly sliced veggies in ranch, cupcakes with sprinkles, chips, and pizza bites.
Don’t invite everybody you know
Talk with your child about who they really value being at their birthday party. If they only name a few friends, don’t feel obligated to invite their whole class or each neighborhood child.
To make it less awkward you may even want to send a text to the parents of the invitees, so there won’t be any problem handing out invitations to some and not others.
If you just don’t have the heart to leave anybody out, plan the party at a location where parents are responsible for buying their children food and entertainment, like an arcade; and make that clear in the invitations.
DIY
There are many novelty party items where the prices are inflated for the mere fact that they are designated for a party.
Try to make as many of the birthday party decorations and food yourself, splitting it up across the week so you are not overwhelmed.
Bake your own cake, stuff your own party bags, blow up the balloons, and have dad dress up as Captain America.
Choose your location carefully
Any venue that is not home sweet home will take a big slice out of your budget. If your child has their heart set on laser tag, transform your back yard into a tactical zone with boxes and branches to create a nerf gun war zone.
Almost any theme can be created at home to some degree or another, and that will put more in your pocket for the gift they have been talking all year about.
Just remember to be cautious of your guest list if you go to a destination for the party, and don’t go over budget just to appease the guests.
Create laughs, not debt
You don’t have to invest in pricey games and prizes to get the kids laughing.
Set up a photo booth, play pie face, or just play music so all the kids can shake their sillies out.
For the older children, a scavenger hunt or obstacle course will get their competitive juices flowing while building camaraderie and memories.
Birthday parties are fun, and every kid should have the chance to get a day that is all about them.
Kids are adaptive, and naturally joyful little humans that will love the chance to try something new.
Follow these simple rules to get your child’s party started today, so you don’t have to stress about throwing the party of the season, when all your kid wants to do is play with their friends in a festive environment.
(h/t Mommy Underground)