Creative Birthday Parties on the Cheap!

There is so much pressure on parents today to present the perfect party for kids. While watching a television show about a famous bakery recently, I saw one of the employees mention that their bakery had made a cake for each of this boy’s birthdays, six in all. A quick perusal of the bakery’s website uncovered a base price for cakes of $1000. Ouch. I don’t know about you, but that’s a bit outside of my birthday party budget!

Here are a few ideas for keeping your kid’s birthday creative without breaking the bank. Each idea is listed with basic tips for the theme, but you can make it as creative as you choose, for a variety of price points.

Dinosaur-themed Birthday

Young kids love dinosaurs. When we planned a dinosaur party, I found a 3-foot inflatable dinosaur on sale at a party store, which provided décor and activities for the party. Party attendees can be scientists, researching dinosaurs found at the dig site.

Dinosaur Activities:

·         Egg Hunt: Check party stores for fillable eggs with dinosaurs inside of them, or reuse your own fillable eggs from Easter, adding dinosaur-themed stickers, temporary tattoos, or dinosaur figurines. Hide the eggs, either around the yard or room, or fill buckets or a child’s pool with sand and hide eggs within. Send the scientists out to hunt for the dinosaur eggs in the area.

·         Egg Relay / Dino track craft: Each scientist gets a spoon and an egg, which they must transport from the “nest” (bucket) on one end to the “research lab” (box) on the other. To make this activity even more fun, use cardboard boxes and construction paper for each scientist to make their own dinosaur feet to wear during the relay.

·         Drawing dinos craft: print out free coloring pages from online and give each child age-appropriate craft materials (crayons, colored pencils, paints, glitter, glue, construction paper, stickers, etc) to create their own dinosaur. This can be as simple (as in mess- free) or complex as you wish; challenge scientists to give their dinos a name.

Boot Camp Birthday

This patriotic-themed birthday is a great hit with kids of all ages. Using the simple décor colors of the flag (red, white and blue) and camouflage, good for active boys and girls. Party attendees should be encouraged to dress with a patriotic flair, and will be the ‘recruits’ for the party’s activities.

·         The main entertainment at this party is an obstacle course activity (use toys or items you have on-hand to make it low-maintenance). Young kids will probably just love running through the circuit several times. Older kids might enjoy a timed course with a prize for the winner. Ideas for activities:

o   Balance beam – use duct tape on the floor or a length of wood outdoors for recruits to walk across.

o   Crawl-through – create a tunnel using a tent frame or chairs; drape with camouflage fabric or plastic tablecloth.

o   Long jump – Use a tape measure or yardstick to measure jumps.

o   Hula hoop course – lay out hula hoops (available at dollar stores) flat on the ground, touching; recruits can run the hoops, one foot in each hoop. Don’t have hula hoops? Sidewalk chalk can be used on the sidewalk to create the circles.

o   Calisthenics – set up a gymnastic or nap mat for sit ups or jumping jacks.

o   Jump rope – recruits can try to jump a set number of times, or try to jump as many times as possible in a set period of time.

·         For authentic food, check your local military surplus store for MREs (Meals Ready to Eat); or, you can serve ready-made lunch kids (available at your grocery store’s lunch meat section), or serve food on a divided plate or tray.

·         As a party favor, take a photo of each recruit in front of a flag. Print off photos and send one home or print them later and send them with a thank you note.

Space-themed Birthday

Want an idea that’s out of this world – literally? An outer-space themed birthday is just the ticket. A party full of astronauts is a creative and fun way to celebrate.

Activities:

·         Make a spaceship – use a large box (if you don’t have one on hand, pick one up for a few dollars from a moving supply store), paint, stickers, foil, miscellaneous hoses and hardware, empty paper towel or bath tissue tubes, old tissue boxes … this is a great activity to recycle old bits of materials. Tell the astronauts to dress for a mess and let the creativity ensue.

·         Lunar rock hunt – a variation on the egg hunt theme, put treats in refillable eggs and cover with foil to create moon rocks.

·         Make your own moon rock – use clay and small beads, jewels or stones to let each astronaut create their own moon rock.

Princess Tea Party Birthday

If your little princess fancies a tea party, let her invite her princess pals for a girly party sure to make a splash.

·         Paint a castle on a piece of cardboard to make a backdrop for the party, and also makes a good backdrop for photo ops. As an activity, have the princesses use adhesive jewels and sparkly stickers to decorate a crown (either cut out from cardboard or purchased).

·         Search second hand stores for a china tea set; the cup and saucer can also serve as the party favor.

·         Serve tea (or juice, water, iced tea – whatever beverage the princesses will like) at a low table. Lay out an old quilt or blanket on the floor to protect from spills and make it look pretty. A princess tea party begs for dainty food and cupcakes.

Explorer Birthday

A variation on a popular cartoon, let the journey to the party be the activity, turning the party guests into explorers! This is a great idea for an outdoor party but can be adapted for indoors as well.

·         Make the invitation a treasure map, tracking the course of the party.

o   First, explorers visit Party Station. Here, explorers can pick up an explorer kit (goody bag) with whatever they need to have fun at the party. This would also be a good place to have an activity – such as decorating their own party hat, or making a telescope with an old bath tissue roll.

o   Second, go through the Party Jungle. Make an archway and hang streamers, beads, balloons or other festive items for the kids to navigate through. This would be a great place to get fun pictures of the explorers.

o    Finally, find Party Island (the party itself).

·         Let kids make explorer journals as a craft and party favor.

These are just a few ideas for creative kids parties that won’t break the bank if you don’t want them to! Do you have any ideas that you’d like to share? Post them here, we’d love to read about them!