• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Women Deserve Better

Women Deserve Better: For us, that means better information, better support, and better choices. Life brings challenges. We bring empowerment, because we’ll never underestimate women.

  • Work
    • Find a Job
    • Build a Career
    • Take Maternity Leave
    • Thrive As a Working Parent
    • Know Your Rights at Work
  • Learn
    • Earn Your Degree As a Parent
    • Know Your Rights on Campus
    • Finance Your Education
    • Medical Care for Student Moms
    • Housing for Student Parents
    • Child Care While You’re In Class
  • Live
    • Child Care
    • Feeding Your Family
    • Elder Care
    • Housing
    • Clothes
    • Medical Care
    • Getting Around
    • Money Matters
    • Gardening
    • Special Needs
    • Fun
  • Love
    • Adoption
    • Bonding
    • Fathers
    • Your Parents
    • Support Networks
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Contributors
  • Shop
    • Shop
    • View Cart/Checkout
  • Support Us
  • Donate
  • Home

5 Birthday Bash Ideas That Won’t Break the Bank

August 27, 2019 by Bethanie Ryan

girl celebrating her birthday

As a little girl growing up in California, I have fond memories of my 10th birthday, when my parents spread out snow (Halloween spider webs) and draped little pieces of “icicle” (I think they were “beads by the roll”) for friends to collect as part of a winter themed party. With just a few simple touches, our home was transformed into a winter wonderland in my eyes. We hope these tips help you to make your daughter or son’s birthday one s/he will never forget—all without going over budget. 

  1. Invitations: Evites. 

Invitations can be substituted with evites. Many websites offer free invitation designing and sending like evite.com, smilebox.com, and punchbowl.com. The invitations look great and often include a built-in RSVP function so you can keep track of who is coming. However, if you choose to send thank-you notes after the party, it’s a good idea to use real paper notes.

  1. Theme: Get creative. 

When choosing a theme, don’t be afraid to keep it simple (winter, water, etc.) or to be creative (slime, or backwards-day). If your kid loves Moana, opt for a generic but still fabulous luau or island theme to avoid buying the expensive napkins and plates printed with the character. Instead, try to choose solid colors that go with the theme.

  1. Decorations: DIY and reusable.

Keeping a roll (or two) of crepe paper streamers and a generic but festive “Happy Birthday” banner in the pantry makes it easy to given even a low-key family birthday dinner festive flair. Streamers make great backdrops or table skirts, and they can also be used for activities like a mummy wrap or a streamer fashion show. Solid color balloons can become fireworks when filled with confetti and then popped, or be transformed into puffer fishes, watermelons, or ghosts with some stickers or marker/paint.

  1. Entertainment that doubles as a party favor. 

In one blow, you can knock out both the question of entertainment and fulfill the general population’s expectation of birthday party favors. Maybe it’s putting out sticks and glitter for wand-crafting, or sending kids looking for “gold” (painted rocks) around the yard for a pirate party. Homemade photo booths are a fun activity that you can throw together with a phone/camera and old Halloween costumes. Photos last a whole lot longer than the average party favor, and kids and parents alike will treasure them.

  1. Skip the meal; stick to cake and ice cream.

If you plan your party for a time that no one will be expecting a meal (mid-afternoon), then you save all the money you would otherwise spend on feeding the crowd of hungry children. Instead, put out standard salty party snacks like chips and maybe some themed snacks (e.g. gummy sharks for a pirate/mermaid party). It’s a good idea to avoid peanuts for the sake of young children with allergies. The birthday cake doesn’t have to cost more than a box or two of cake mix if you make your own. Food can become part of the entertainment if you have the kids make the ice cream at the party (check out this ice cream maker disguised as a ball!) or if you give the kids cupcakes to decorate themselves.

At the end of it all, the birthday party is a celebration of your child. Regardless of how the party goes, if s/he feels celebrated and loved, the birthday is a success. We hope these tips help make the big day a little less stressful and a little more focused on achieving that goal. 🙂

By Annemarie Arnold

Filed Under: Fun, Live Tagged With: birthday, budgeting, celebration, fun on a budget, party

Primary Sidebar

Suggested Articles

Celebrating on a Budget

6 Budget-Friendly Ideas for Family Fun

10 Affordable Ways to Entertain Your Kids

Please follow & like us :)

fb-share-icon

Footer

Women Deserve Better

6 hours ago

Women Deserve Better
So true. ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Women Deserve Better

1 day ago

Women Deserve Better
I can relate. ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

womendeservebetter

Check out "Learn the Basics of Unemployment Benefi Check out "Learn the Basics of Unemployment Benefits," courtesy of Women Deserve Better Expert and legal aid attorney Susan Schoppa.
https://www.womendeservebetter.com/learn-the-basics-of...

 #womendeservebetter
A woman out of work recently sent us the following A woman out of work recently sent us the following email. We wanted to share her thoughts with you:
The most common feelings I experience as an unemployed job seeker: 
1. Rejection/Sorrow. Something is wrong with me… because it cannot be that I don't have more than the required training or education or experience... so it must be me.
2. Anxiety from inadequacy of effort. Something would come along if I just tried harder (more than daily searches, weekly job clubs, outreaches on LinkedIn, etc.).
3. Aloneness. Other people with fewer skills, less education and experience… are getting jobs. They won't understand how alone I am in this. Other people must have a lot of resources to not have to work for this long, and I am barely making it and can't afford things now. I am alone in this.
4. Hopelessness. Scores of applications and letters to employers have gone unanswered for weeks and now months. What's the use?
5. Blaming myself and/or self-doubt. Why didn't I see the writing on the wall and find something while I still had a job? I guess I really am as stupid as these employers think I am.
6. Confusion. I am now out of my routine, so things don't fall into place like they once did. Am I getting dementia? Is this normal?
7. Anger. If my employer thought I was so great to give me a very good review several years in a row, why haven't they told me of other available jobs after this one ended? Shame on them!
8. Embarrassment. People may think I lost my job because I was a marginal or lazy employee. They don't know how hard I worked, and that the termination was due to issues not of my doing. They may see me as someone who deserved this.
9. Fear. What if I can't find a job in time before we lose our place to live?
10. Happiness. It can be a good thing to start over sometimes.
Have you ever felt like this woman? Please know that there is help. Check out our latest article on Women Deserve Better, "Find Help When You Can’t Find a Job":
https://www.womendeservebetter.com/find-help-when-

#WomenDeserveBetter
Are you struggling to pay your rent or mortgage? A Are you struggling to pay your rent or mortgage? Are you worried about losing your home? Here is some information about what could happen if you can't pay all of your rent or mortgage, courtesy of Women Deserve Better Expert and legal aid attorney Susan Schoppa.

www.womendeservebetter.com/how-to-find-legal-help-for-evictions-and-foreclosures 

#WomenDeserveBetter
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Thanks for signing up!

GET OUR LATEST NEWS

ABOUT

  • Our Mission
  • Contributors

SUPPORT US

  • Donate
  • Become a Partner
  • Share Your Story or Your Expertise
  • Promote Women Deserve Better

Women Deserve Better: For us, that means better information, better support, and better choices. Life brings challenges. We bring empowerment, because we’ll never underestimate women.

Copyright © 2022 — Feminists for Life of America • All rights reserved.