Comments on: Frugal Birthday Parties

By: Somebody's Mimi

Somebody's Mimi — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:34:10 +0000

Thanks for the memories… and all the useful tips you have given us these last 4 years!

By: Jana

Jana — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:31:33 +0000

with them and we go over that special moment in my life when they were born. I always make sure to do this the exact minute they were brought into this world. I always want my kids to know how special they are but I don’t believe spending major money every birthday is the only way to show it.

By: Jana

Jana — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:28:06 +0000

We have four kids (3boys and a girl) when we realized we wanted to have more than just our first we went into money saving mode. We do a BIG birthday on milestone yrs such as 5, 10, 16. They don’t mind they get just as much attention and have just as much fun on the less expensive birthdays. They get one big gift from their dad and I and then one smaller gift from each of their siblings. We have over family only and do mommy made cakes and ice cream. Their favorite part of their birthday is they get to pick one thing they don’t have to do during there birthday. Usually it is chores or stay home from school(if their bday falls on a school day) they think about it for days before their bday and it is one of those traditions they love. We all get up before the birthday person and sneak in their room to sing happy birthday to wake them up and they always get a special time on their birthdays where I alone spend a few minutes wit

By: joanne

joanne — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 11:17:57 +0000

For my daughters birthday parties, she is now 21, we did what was done at parties when I was a kid…pin the tail n the donkey, drop the clothespin in the bottle, musical chairs..Then since it was Dec., I would put together grahm cracker houses the day before so they would be dry, the girls would get to decorate them and bring them home..the most popular was ice cream cone trees that they decorated. They still bring those up..they loved it and requested the party include that activity, even at 13..very little money, lots of fun, and still being remembered now.

By: Abigail

Abigail — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:10:49 +0000

Another inexpensive way to do favors…

I just attended a four year old’s birthday where the mom requested that everyone bring a wrapped book in lieu of gifts. As soon as the kids walked into the party, their book was given a number, and they pulled a number out of a cup as they left. *voila* Instant favors!

The other bonus is that many guests didn’t have to spend as much on gifts, and birthday boy’s mom wasn’t left with a pile of toys to contend with. Plus, who doesn’t love leaving a party with a new book?

By: TheHappyHousewife

TheHappyHousewife — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:10:19 +0000

What a cute idea Lindsey! And I remember that song… fruit salad…. yummy yummy….

By: Kathy

Kathy — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:36:26 +0000

Almost all of my birthday parties were just my immediate family, and I’m none the worse for wear! We’d get to pick out our birthday supper (usually it was pizza, which my mom made from scratch, of course), and we’d always have my mom’s chocolate cake (from scratch), and sometimes ice cream. On perhaps 3-4 occasions, I had a birthday party with friends spending the night (school would usually mess it up), and mom would make extra pizza.

And this is what I’m doing with my kids, and what most of my siblings’ kids’ b’day parties have been as well. One of my sisters does big birthday parties for her two kids. When they were young, it was lots of their family friends (mostly adults) with a few kids; now, it’s mostly kids with a few adults; it was usually expensive. One of my nieces had a birthday yesterday, and we had the typical (for our family) party — homemade pizza with homemade cake and store-bought ice cream for birthday lunch. My sister remembered that she had some decorations (streamers that she had probably had since my niece was 2 y/o and balloons and left-over plates and napkins from other parties), so she put those up. My oldest niece, who just turned 13 and always has the big, expensive parties asked, “If you’re going over the top like this for her 12th birthday party, what are you going to do for her 13th?!” Her younger brother, who likewise has big, expensive parties, also seemed to be jealous of the streamers and “party atmosphere.” Isn’t that odd? They’ve had parties at the skating rink, bowling alley, local lake, and elsewhere, with my sister providing food for dozens of people, including probably at least 10-15 of their friends… but they’re jealous of their cousin who has 10-y/o streamers at a family party??

By: Kristy

Kristy — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:28:22 +0000

We have had two big parties for our son at our neighborhood pool. We go simple and inexpensive on food (crockpot hotdogs, watermelon and a homemade cake). We skip decorations, except some balloons that the other kids can take home. This way we are not exhausted by the time the party arrives. We invite all of the families at our church and see it as an opportunity to bless others–and not focus on ourselves. We ask guests not to bring gifts (since we are looking at a lot of people!) and then our son gets his time to open gifts from family back at home. We focus the day on thanking God for the gift that he is to us, but also on seeking ways to be a blessing to others too.

By: Lindsey W

Lindsey W — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:07:51 +0000

We had one of my daughters’ 3rd bday party at the local park, and we let the kids mix up a fruit salad. She was very into The Wiggles at that time, and they have a fruit salad song. We played the song and gave each child a bag with a certain kind of fruit in it. When the song said their kind of fruit, they dumped it in the bowl. All the kids loved it, and it was a relatively cheap food for the party. The kids liked the fruit salad more than the cupcakes.

By: Alicia

Alicia — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:20:50 +0000

Up until a month ago, my 2 kids were the only kids in my family. We used to do big (but fairly cheap) parties with a certain number of friends AND family… too much chaos. We have started doing something with a set number of friends depending on what my kid wants for their birthday. Example: My daughter wanted to go bowling for her birthday. I had found a coupon for $30 for up to 6 people to bowl for 2 hours including shoe rental and a pitcher of soda. I told her she could invite 5 friends. They came back to our house after (only about 3 minutes away) and had cupcakes and pizza. Then a few hours later family came and they all pitch in potluck style so we can have a big meal to celebrate along with a cake! We’re getting ready for a dragon hunt in our backyard in a few weeks!! My baby turns 5!