My kid’s birthday parties …. I love ’em!
I’m one of those moms who insists on planning my kid’s birthday parties myself and doing it all from scratch, even though I know that it would be so much easier just to pay the $200 for the birthday party package at the local “whatever”. Maybe it’s because that’s what my mom did. (My favorite birthday party was a dough art party.)
This post is to help you tap into the inspiration surrounding you and to build a party from it. This post is also intended mostly for those moms out there who enjoy doing it but know they aren’t going to present a professional party. If you are looking to this post for something outstanding and fantastic and magazine worthy, you will be sadly disappointed. But, if you are looking for some fun, amateur ideas … read on.
Every year I start planning my kids’ birthday parties months (and I mean months) in advance. My older two (ages 15 and 13) have been planning their themes, or at least making suggestions, for several years.
This year: A Friday the 13th party (that was the date her party was on). We got up early the day after Halloween and hit Wal-Mart to take advantage of the post-Halloween sales. They played traditional Halloween games. So Fun!
A surprise 13th skateboarding party.
Thankfully my little two (ages 6 and 4) still let me plan their party themes for them. Of course, I try to do what I know they like. I get such a charge out of planning everything from the location, to the theme, to the invitations, to the cake and to the decorations. And although nothing I do is of professional quality, I do most of it myself. I have fun planning and preparing, and the kids always feel special.
My favorite thing to do is to utilize free (or super cheap) activities in our town and plan a birthday party theme around them. By not purchasing any birthday party packages, and by planning each stage myself, I have saved hundreds of dollars.
Strangely enough, a lot of times my birthday party ideas come from resin plates and cups I have purchased in the $1 bins at Target. I even called my husband one year in November and said “Wouldn’t it be fun to have Brynne’s birthday party be a zoo theme and have it at the zoo?” (because there were zoo themes plates, water bottles and ice packs). The funny thing about that was that Brynne’s birthday wasn’t until August! My husband didn’t even flinch, but instead said, “Sure, that would be great!” He knows me well!
{This year, in January, I found the most adorable childrens’ baking utensils and pot holders in the Target $1 bin. Instantly I thought “a baking party!” That’s what she’s doing for her birthday party this August.}
By coming up with a theme super early, I can start looking for great deals {way} in advance and spreading out our costs.
Here are a some of my favorite parties from the past couple of years:
Backyard Beach Party: This is what we did for our daughter’s 3rd birthday party. We put up several small swimming pools and the water volcano in our backyard. At the beginning of the summer The Dollar Tree had a huge shipment of island-themed decorations. I went ahead and bought everything then. At the party the kids decorated sun visors and played in the water. Then we had them dig for sea shells in our sandbox. Each child got a lei, their sun visor, a small pail and shovel with their shells, water toys and sunglasses that came out of the pinata and a straw beach bag to carry their loot (I had found these the fall before at Hobby Lobby for $1 each. When I bought them I had no idea what I would use them for.)
Construction Theme: We have a Lowe’s and The Home Depot in our town. Each of these stores has free Saturday morning clinics (for free) for kids where they can build something. So, we planned our son’s 5th birthday party around this. The kids met at Lowe’s to build gingerbread houses. There, they each got a tool apron and goggles for free. After the houses were built, we went back to our house for games. We decorated the table with construction themed decorations and had brownies in an old Tonka dumptruck on our table. I buried tons of plastic tools in dirt in a swimming pool in our garage (I found these at Big Lots super cheap). Each child got a sheet of paper with copies of the tools they were to find. They dug and found their tools, and then got to keep them. I also made a caution cone pinata out of poster board and construction paper. Instead of hitting it they pulled caution tape off the bottom and one of them opened a trap door. Then we played a wrecking ball game where a tennis ball was tied to the ceiling. We stacked large cardboard brick blocks (that I bought used way in advance) to look like a building and had the kids swing the wrecking “ball” to knock down the building. This party all got started by me finding resin construction themed plates and cups at Target. Then I built the party from there. The kids got to keep their plate and cup, their apron filled with the plastic tools they found in the dig, their goggles, gingerbread house they made, a construction hat and candy from the pinata.
Super Mario Brothers: This year my son was really into Mario. Our town has a inflatable play place that has occasional Open Houses during breaks from school. It costs $7 per child to jump there, unlimited in all rooms plus putt putt golf. Eli’s birthday happens to be over Christmas Break. So we planned the party then and had the kids meet us there. (We had intended to prepare a World Map for each kid for them to do different things to earn coins, but we ran out of time so just let them play instead). After we jumped and played for two hours, we went back to our house for Mario inspired lunch and cupcakes. This party would have cost me about $200 if I would have just bought the party package. Instead, it cost about $75. And he had a blast!
The Zoo: Remember the $1 plates and such I found at Target that November? At that time I started thinking about her party. Our zoo family membership was to expire in March. Since we were inviting 20 people to come to the zoo with us, I needed to get creative on admission cost (admission alone for that many would have run about $150). The party package at the zoo was $300 for 10 kids which included admission and cake. I upgraded our family package one level to get 14 free guest passes for the day. Then I only had to buy 6 extra admissions. We included train tokens in each invitation and had the party-goers get on the train when they entered the zoo and ride it to the playground. We were set up there with lunch and cupcakes. They kids played at the playground, then went to watch the free elephant show and feed the big tortoises. After gifts we invited the families to enjoy their day at the zoo. Several of us walked around together. It was so fun. All total I spent half of what the party package would have cost, and we had twice as many people, train rides and lunch (I even brought zoo chicken nuggets, because I found them in the frozen section at Aldi earlier in the summer. And, at The Dollar Tree there were little vinyl diaper bags with zoo animals on them that I picked up for $1 each to give the kids as party favors with their ice packs, water bottles and plates.) And by upgrading our family pass, we got all the admissions cheaper and a new pass for our family to enjoy all year.
There aren’t really any steps for me to give for you to accomplish this. Just get inspired by what you see around you and by what your child’s interests are. Keep an open mind.
Don’t just automatically pay for the party package. See if you can do the same type of thing on your own and save yourself a bundle!
My biggest tip: when you see something that sparks your interest (even if it’s 9 months in advance) BUY IT! When you go back later, closer to your child’s birthday, it will be gone.
Once you have bought your inspiration piece, start building from there. Look into your community. Buy things when they go on sale, especially things that you can use for party favors. Browse the internet for ideas. And then…watch the smiles on your kids’ faces.
Mariel says
Very cute, Nicole! My little girls would love a “baking party”. It would be cute to give each of the girls their own little binder with a couple of the recipes in it that you make at the party…then they can take it home and fill it up with other recipes they like.
Thanks again 🙂
Kendra says
Very fun!! My little girl turns 7 this year, I would love to hear more about the baking party. That would be so fun. Thanks for the fun ideas!
The Slack Family says
What great ideas! I’m always looking for fun party ideas. Love the construction theme party. My little guy would love this. Thanks for the post!
anyreasonforcake says
You’re a woman after my own heart! I have a kids’ party theme ideas site, Any Reason for Cake, with tons of ideas and tips for do-it-yourself party planners. http://www.anyreasonforcake.com/
vaneblu says
This is one of my favorite guest post so far… simple and super cute says it all!