How to Create a Beautiful Children’s Party On a Budget

6 golden rules for staying on budget with your next kids birthday party.

As a stay-at-home mum I have to watch my wallet very closely but that doesn’t mean I need to sacrifice beautiful birthday parties for my children. I know I’m not alone either; whatever your financial situation, many families are feeling the pinch at the moment. There are however six golden rules I follow to help me keep our birthday party spending on track and under budget.

6 Ideas for Creating Beautiful Children's Parties on a Budget

6 Ideas for Hosting Beautiful Children’s Parties On a Budget

1. Plan early
Who doesn’t trawl Pinterest for party ideas these days? It’s full of wonderful, inspiring ideas, but the downfall is that it can really contribute to a budget blow-out. Planning the party early has two main benefits.

Firstly, it gives you time to browse Pinterest properly. Instead of settling for the pins that top your search you have the time to delve deeper into boards to find clever and frugal party ideas. Secondly, planning early also means you can keep your eyes peeled for specials every time you hit the shops. Rather than spending the big bucks on items you’ve spotted on Pinterest, you’ll have time to find affordable alternatives and make bargains work for you. I set the table for my daughter’s Snow White Party for $20 by sourcing the party goods from various stores over a few months.

Budget children's birthday party ideas

Try to stick to your plans too and don’t be tempted to by more things when you are out and about collecting supplies.

2. Choose a clever theme
It may sound cliché that a children’s book blogger uses books to theme her children’s parties but I highly recommend using books as party themes. They can help define a party as the stories and illustrations offer so many wonderful ideas.

Related: 25 Super Fun Kids Party Themes for Kids Under 6

Venue hire can often be the biggest expense of all, so choosing a theme that allows you to host a party at home or at a local park can save you hundreds of dollars. I suggest first looking at the features you can utilise in your home, for example, a beautiful cottage garden lends itself beautifully to an enchanted fairy party. We recently hosted a Possum Magic party for our son’s first birthday, where a local park was more than suitable for the setting.

3. Keep the party small
There are occasions, like first birthday parties, when keeping numbers to a minimum is difficult. However, you really can save on catering and party favour costs by inviting a small number of your child’s friends. We invited just seven girls, mostly from my daughter’s kindergarten group, to her Snow White party. It was intimate, but the girls had a wonderful time because they knew each other well.

4. Cater and decorate yourself
Catering can be another blow-out expense. Your early planning can help you out here. If you’ve searched online for ideas you will most likely find lots of ideas that include home baking short-cuts. I also suggest keeping the party food simple. My experience tells me that kids are easily pleased with simple food (see tip #5 if you don’t feel confident catering the party yourself).

These 12 Classic Kids Party Foods are a great place to start.

Clever presentation can make simple food look amazing. Cookie cutters are my best friend, which I use to theme sandwiches. The sandwiches for our Snow White party were forest creatures.

Budget children's birthday party ideas_Catering

I presented both popcorn and a simple Forest Berry Salad in cheap cupcake cases purchased at a variety store.

Budget birthday party ideas

One stand-out food item is usually enough to make the food table look outstanding. For this party, it was the Toffee Apples.

Budget children's birthday party ideas_Decorations

Look out for specials when buying decorations or trawl local op shops for items to use as decorations. Or save by hand making simple decorations.

I print at home and hand-cut invitations too, saving on coloured printing costs.

Budget children's birthday party ideas_Invitations

5. Ask family and friends for help
If you don’t trust your own ability to decorate and cater yourself, don’t be afraid to call on the skills and talents of loved ones. Ask for help with anything from baking and decorating to cleaning the house and shopping.

My family really helped me out with this party. My dad prepared some dwarfs for the backyard; my husband created some rustic, woodland stools, using firewood from his grandparent’s farm, and my sister made stool cushions from apple-print fabric I had recently purchased for library bags.

Budget birthday party ideas_Table setting 4_590

6. Recycled and re-purpose
Rather than purchasing brand new items just for the party, try to find ways to recycle or re-purpose items you already have around the home, for example, washed jars and cans can make wonderful vases.

Research local businesses that sell off-cuts and seconds to educators and the general public that they have reclaimed from big businesses (Resource Rescue-Melbourne, Reverse Art Truck-Melbourne, Reverse Garbage -Sydney and Brisbane). You can find some amazing items at very affordable prices.

Apart from using most of our own furniture and household items, the majority of purchased items for our Snow White party were sourced from Resource Rescue. I was able to fill a garbage bag with items for $20, which included fake turf, stickers, silver cardboard and mat board for the Magic Mirror Craft Station, and empty bottles for the Queen’s Potion’s Table.

Budget children's birthday party ideas_Decorating

Once you’ve chosen your theme and set your budget, print off a copy of our free, printable kids party planner to help you stay on track.

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Jackie manages My Little Bookcase, an online resource that aims to provide parents and educators with fun, positive ways to engage their children in literacy-building activities. She is also an educational consultant for Story Box Library, an online reading room showcasing Australian literature. Visit My Little Bookcase to see more details of Jackie’s Snow White party, including food, decorations and party games

6 Comments

  1. Brillinat idea! Parties can really add up.

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