Saving Money as the Host/Hostess!
Party Ware. This is an area where your costs can add up quickly. There is really not any reason to have the fancy plates or cups. After all, no one really notices them. They gobble up the cake, swallow the punch and immediately throw it into the trash. Why not just stick with plain white? Even better yet – use your own dishes and toss them into the sink when you are finished – that makes for FREE party ware (or just the cost of a little dishsoap at the very most).
Balloons/Streamers/Signs. While they are lots of fun to look at, they really don’t serve any purpose other than to decorate the house. Most kids won’t even notice that they are missing from the overall theme – and you’ll save yourself $10, $15 or even more!
Party Favors/Hats. I guess I don’t understand why people think kids who attend a party need a goodie bag. Isn’t the party for the child and not the guests? However, if you must do the goodie bag – keep it simple. Stop by your dollar store and get some stickers, lollipops, sunglasses or things that are inexpensive. But try avoid the “2 second toys”….the ones that mom will pick up for 2 seconds before she throws them in the trash.
Invitations. The main point of the invitation is to let your guests know the Five “Ws”: Who, What, Where, When & Why. You can get a simple, more plain invitations for about a third to one-half of the cost of fancy ones. You’ll save even more if you by-pass the customized, printed invitations. However, if you really want something personalized, check out Vistaprint where you can get 10 free notecards (pay only shipping costs) through October 2, 2011.
Games. No one says that you must have a bounce house or fancy pinata to have a great party. Stick to the classics like duck duck goose, pin the tail on the donkey or even tag. At our parties, we planned games, but the kids honestly had a lot more fun running around our backyard chasing one another.
Cake. While professionally decorated cakes are fun, why not try your hand at doing your own? Use some fun icings, candles and candy decorations and your child will probably not even know that he or she is missing out. There are lots of great photos and ideas out there to help you decorate your own. I have actually made a construction cake, dinosaur, bumble bee and even John Deere farm cake for my kids before. Here are some snapshots (which I am NOT artistic nor a a chef, so bear with my crude designs):
Dinner/Lunch. There is not any need to feed your guests anything other thancake and/or ice cream. If you are not sure how to avoid this, just plan your party for 10:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m. These are times of the day when people won’t expect anything other than cake.
R.S.V.P. This may seem like an odd way to save money – but it isn’t saving money for you but really helping out your host/hostess.
It seems that so many people have forgotten what this means. It is a French phrase: Répondez s’il vous plaît. Not sure of the translation? It simply means – Respond if you please.
What most people expect is for everyone to have the courtesy to call and let the host/hostess know whether you will be attending or not. This is something that really shouldn’t be option for you to do. Think of it like this – if someone invites 20 people and purchases food, etc and plans on that many and only 4 show up – look at the wasted money. On the flip side, if you plan on 20 and 25 show up, you don’t have enough to feed your guests.
In addition, many parties are held in locations where the family pays per child. If you do not show up or, if you even show up without letting them know, can cost the family more than expected (Oh – and whatever you do – don’t bring siblings to parties when they are not invited – unless YOU are paying for them to participate).
By taking the time to call the host or hostess, you can essentially save them money so that they can do proper planning/spending. I know as a mom I GREATLY appreciate this more than my guests know.
Gifts. You don’t have to spend a lot to give a child a great gift. Books, coloring books, crayons, puzzles, games – these are all gifts that seem to have gone to the wayside, but can be found at a really great price. Try to buy gifts when they are on clearance off season and stock a gift closet. That way, when it is time for a gift, you have one handy.
Gift Wrap/Cards/Bows. Why not stop by the dollar store and pick up a roll of paper and card ? They always are just ripped apart in minutes and no child really cares how the package looks – they just love opening packages. After all, it is the gift that matters and not the packaging. You can even find plain colored paper and bows after Christmas and stock up to cover your party needs throughout the year.
So, whether you are hosting or are a guest, there are ways to help yourself (and others) save money when it comes to having a party. The most important thing is to celebrate how much that person means to you.
Holly Smith says
Another fun wrapping. Is to use the Sunday comics. My kids LOVE seeing the funnies on their gifts, and since I get the paper anyway ( coupons!) my not use the comics as a free wrapping paper?
Ashley H says
We have 3 girls and a few years back made the decision to have parties every other year. The girls haven’t complained yet. We still celebrate birthdays every year just on a different scale. Off years, they usually pick dinner and a fun activity like a movie or the zoo. It has worked out great for us. I stock up throughout the year and my costs have decreased by mountains!
jennifer simmons says
Love all your tips! I always make my kids cakes but then again I am a professional baker! Sometimes we make our own pinata! We find an old balloon lying around the junk drawer blow it up and then cover it with strips of newspaper dipped in homemade flour glue! Let dry and then get out all the old tissue paper from past gifts given to us and decorate! The kids love it!
We also dont do favor bags and I thought I was the only one!!! Once my son really wanted pizza with his cake so I made some pizza dough and let the kids make their own pizzas! That was an activity and lunch! for our thank you cards i always take a picture with the birthday child and guest then print out the pictures as the thank you card!
Katie says
I recently threw a baby shower and not a single one of the guests had the common respect for my time and money to r.s.v.p. The only way I found out if ANYONE was coming was 2 days before the event I had to make a “facebook event” even though I had sent out invites. What is this world coming to!? and how were these people raised?!
Cassie says
I make all of our invitiations. I put my scrapbooking skills to good use and save a ton of money! Personally I hate writing on the invitations (perectionist) so this seems just as fast as well!
Melissa McGill says
Love all the tips. I refuse to pay for a huge party and limit my kids to one pack of invites & family (which live too far away to show up anyway, but would be mad if not included – they get a free evite). We plan our own activities as well. This year, my daughter wants to tie dye t-shirts, so I went to Hobby Lobby when they were 1/2 price and stocked up on white ones. Now, I just follow the adds for the other items we’ll need. I think their friends love seeing ‘her house’ versus having to go somewhere where they don’t necessarily interact with each other.
Annonamous says
At what point do you become cheap though? Noone says it has to be a fancy party, but not feeding the kids, even if its just a couple pizzas (or hommade pizza) is rude. There are certain things you should do if having a party, even it its a small one.
Linda Spiegel says
Love your ideas & cakes! Wish more folks would choose “back to the basics” kids’ birthday parties. Sadly enough, a lot B-Day parties seemed to have morphed into a competion between parents to see who can come up with the most “over-the-top” party plans. Good for YOU!
Heidi says
All great tips!! I am in the process of planning parties right now. We have an Oct. birthday and a Dec. birthday at our house. This year we are having a combo party in November at a bouncy place. Each kids gets equal invites and they will share the party. The bouncy place had no problem booking with 2 birthday kids. One end of the table will be blue and the other end will be pink.
Michele says
Great Tips! I love having parties for my littles. Since their birthdays are only a month a part, next year we will be combining their parties to help save on costs. This year I also found a great deal on banners at shindigz.com and was able to score a permanent banner for about $7 each. I used them at their parties this year. We plan on making it a tradition, where we post it in their room on the morning of their birthday, then use it as a party decoration!
I also picked up lots of favors with Register Rewards and as fillers this year (I bought 20+ $1 lollipops for the rainbow themed party) and was able to save a ton!