How To Hold No Stress Birthday Parties At Home
Today’s kid parties are not like they used to be, and if you have your party at a party venue, expect to pay dearly.
Living on Long Island, I have searched many possibilities for my daughter’s birthday. The average is $350-$400 for 12-15 kids. Each additional child after is $15 (that seemed to be the norm.) Most parties are only 1- hours (I only found a couple that were 2 hrs.) If you don’t have a problem with the cost of the party, then make sure you can bring your own outside food in for the adults, which seems to be the catch.
Only 2 out of about 10 places allowed you to bring in your own food. Otherwise you would have to buy the food from the facility, which is extremely expensive. I had to laugh when I saw the price of a small vegetable platter for $45, and a gallon of water for $5. Are they crazy? And the best is that they include the pizza and drinks for kids but no cake. If you choose to bring in your own cake they charge a $15 serving fee! Well of course your going to bring a cake to your child’s party.
After going to many parties, I’ve been able to get ideas that are so simple and inexpensive, that you can do in the comforts of your home. If your having a lot of people then you may want to check your local legion hall to rent.
Pirates and Princess Party
This will definitely work for both boys and girls. Make sure to write on invitation the theme so the kid’s will come dressed up. Don’t worry if someone RSVPs that the child doesn’t have a pirate costume. Tell them to wear a white shirt and black pants, and that you will supply themrest. Oriental Trading carries pirate hats, eye patches, chocolate coins and many more items that would make for a great party. They also have “Mardi Gras” necklaces, which you can get in bulk and use for the treasure. You can make your own treasure box or buy a cardboard one from OT. For the girls OT sell tiaras, wands, and anything else you can think of. And most girls have a princess costume, and if they don’t they can just wear a dress. Once they put on their accessories they will look like a beautiful princess. And the best part is that the pirate hats, tiaras, jewels, and coins that you give to the children at the party will double duty as there party favors to take home.
Winter Wonderland
If your child’s birthday is in the winter then why not have a gingerbread house for each child to decorate. This could be a little pricier, but still much cheaper then having the party out. The local craft store usually has them on sale between $5-$8 each. And if the party is after Christmas, you’ll be able to get them even cheaper (usually half price). You’ll have to assemble them the day before so the houses will set. Then when your guests arrive, they will be able to decorate. The Wilton brand gingerbread house comes with grooves in the base to stand the walls up, making it much easier to assemble. It also comes with a lot of candy for decorating. I usually have a lot left over.
If your having a Christmas party, then you can certainly use the gingerbread house or gingerbread tree. The tree is definitely more for the holidays then birthdays, and are usually cheaper then the gingerbread houses.
Princess Spa Party
This party seems to be the biggest hit when it comes to little princesses. It is so easy and unbelievably inexpensive to do at home. I’ve checked into these parties and couldn’t believe what they were charging. For the price the party places charge for one kid, you can probably spend on your whole party. You’ll need hairpins, combs or brushes, nail polish, nail files and depending on the age, lip-gloss, blush and eye shadow. The dollar store is a great place to get all of these. You can usually get an assortment of combs that have 10- 15 combs in one pack.
Every little girl loves pink or glitter nail polish. You have a couple of options. Either get a few different shades of pink and a few different bottles with glitter, and let the girls pick which one they want. Or you can get a little French manicure set for each child which will have a base coat/top coat, main color, (either pink, beige or purple) and white. I’ve bought them at Dollar Tree.
If you get all the same color, than the girls wont fight over it. And what’s nice is that they come in a box, and you can write the child’s name on it, not to get confused with anyone else’s and it will be part of there favor to take home. Use a different comb for each girl when you are styling their hair, and put the comb in their favor bag. The same goes for the make up. After the hair, make up and nails are done, the girls will have a nice collection of favors to take home.
Silly Hat Tea Party
Tell every guest to wear a silly, big hat. (Borrowing one from mom would work great) Set up the table with faux china, teacup’s, and teapot. Iced tea would put a twist on things, and you wouldn’t have to worry about anyone getting burned. Have the children decorate the table by making fake flowers out of the bottom of egg cartons. Cut the bottom of the egg carton into individual pieces (where each egg spot is). Punch a little whole in the center and use a green pipe cleaner to put through the whole to make the stem.
The foam cartons work best and the greatest thing is that they usually come in white, yellow, pink or blue. If you have the cardboard kind, that’s ok too. The children can color or paint them. Place a separate vase in front of each child; putting the flowers that they made inside, this will be there favor.
To make the vase even more personal, get a clear vase in which the kids can write there name with a paint marker, and let the kids pick a colored ribbon that they would like to tie around the neck of the vase. Serve finger sandwiches and cupcakes instead of a cake and have each child frost and decorate their own.
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