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Planning a kids’ birthday party at home doesn’t have to eat up your time or money. With these quick tips, everyone will soon be celebrating with these cheap kids birthday party ideas:
Cheap Kids Birthday Party Ideas
* Don’t buy all the “theme” merchandise, which can cost a fortune. Instead, buy one or two themed pieces, then head to the dollar store to find all your other needs in complimentary colors (plates, utensils, cups, etc)
* Buy toys for decor or to use on the cake, then give as a gift to the birthday boy/girl or give out as favors to partygoers. One of the most expensive parts of a theme cake is that you’re actually paying for the licensing. So either make a cake yourself and buy a few figurines to decorate it with, or do what the best wedding planners do: just decorate a small cake for pictures and to blow out the candles, but have plain cupcakes or a cake you can slice up in back to hand out to guests to eat.
* Make the internet your friend! Not only will you find TONS of party ideas you’d most likely never think of, you’ll also find a ton of free printables for everything from decor to party games. Why reinvent the wheel if someone else has already done all the work and is willing to share it? Here are just a few free printables from your favorite movies and characters:
* The Jungle Book free printables
* Jake & the Neverland Pirates Free Printables
* Turbo Free Printables
* Alice in Wonderland Free Activity Sheets
* Pirates of the Caribbean Free Activity Pack
* Cinderella Free Printables
* Give food as favors. Let’s face it, little toys can not only be expensive, but they usually end up in the trash. Not only can you find great deals in the grocery store, but you can also make homemade treats with your kids to give out to their friends. It’s a win/win!
* Bring the party to you with a theme! (clown for circus party, artist for art/create party, coach for sports party) – doesn’t have to be a professional you pay, can be someone you know! For our daughter’s 7th birthday, we did a “Tangled” theme and I brought a friend in to braid all the girls hair and put flowers in it like Rapunzel. It was a HUGE hit!
* Use coupons from Michaels & Toys R Us for the weeks leading up to your event to purchase your supplies & favors (Michaels offers weekly 40% off coupons and Toys R Us sends free “money” before the child’s birthday. That’s what I did to buy the pan and decor for this Ariel cake I made my daughter when she turned 5:
If you want to do something outside of your home, consider these thoughts:
* Celebrate at your kids’ favorite quick-service restaurant. Just be clear going into the day what you’re providing and not providing for your guests. We’ve done this where we’ve bought all the kids’ meals, but not their parents if they stayed. The beauty of this is that there’s no set-up or clean up, and often you don’t even need to make a reservation! Some of our favorite restaurant parties we’ve done in the past include visits to Moe’s Southwest Grill, Johnny Rockets and Red Robin.
* Even without booking a movie theater party package, you can meet up at the theater and pay for the kids’ movies. Then just celebrate with cake afterwards! Check out Britton’s Mr. Peabody Birthday.
You can come back to watch my segment on the topic from Talk of the Town:
Looking for even more affordable kids birthday party ideas? This list shares my top tips regardless of where you chose to celebrate your child’s birthday!
Click Here to watch the TV segment on Talk of the Town.
