Don’t break the bank on your child’s party this year. Use these ideas to have an inexpensive and more enjoyable stress-free kids’ party.

From clowns to speciality cakes to party favour bags, a kid’s party can run into hundreds of euro/pounds/dollars. In this trying economy, parents can simply not afford to spend so much on a child’s party. 

Set a reasonable budget and stick to it with these simple ideas for creating a fun and special celebration to remember. All of these tips can easily be adapted if local restrictions mean you can’t have any guests who aren’t family at the party.

Frugal Party Locations

A recent trend is to pay a fee per guest to have a party at a video arcade, pizza place, or indoor playground. At £15 – £25 per guest, the budget can skyrocket out of control if you have to pay for a party location. Eliminate a giant party expense by bringing the party home.

By having your party at your home or a relative’s home, you also eliminate travel time, clean up fees, and inconvenience.

If you keep the party at home, you also have bedrooms for elderly or very young guests to rest, secure locations for guest belongings, and the added benefits of no time constraints on the party.

If you don’t have a big enough home to have a party in, consider free party locations like a local park with a playground, a church community room, or an apartment community room.

Time your party so that you will be providing snacks instead of a meal. A party timed around 10 am before lunch can be a brunch party.

Serve an assortment of muffins, bagels, fruit, and juice. An added benefit of an early party is that adult guests won’t be expecting alcohol to be served so early in the day.

As an alternative, the party can be timed after lunch for around 2 pm. Serve an assortment of bulk snacks like chips, pretzels, and a cheese and veggie tray. Avoid expensive sodas that are filled with caffeine and sugar and for beverages, stick to flavoured waters and homemade fruit punch or lemonade.

Discount Decorations

Theme parties can be worked around a solid colour scheme. Purchase the solid or generic coloured items and save them in a closet for use all year round.

Purchase sold coloured streamers, balloons, plates, napkins, and utensils after Christmas red and green decorations are available at seventy-five to ninety per cent off.

Purchase discounted silver items after New Years’, red, white, and blue after the Fourth of July, and black and orange after Halloween. Large assortments of pastel colours are available at a deep discount after Easter.

Use the solid-coloured items in conjunction with one or two theme items purchased, such as character banners, hats, or favours.

For a princess party, try silver and pink decorations with princess crowns. A Spiderman party would work well with blue and red decorations, and a vampire or gothic party for teens would be great with red and black decorations.

Professional Entertainment for Kids

Kids look forward to birthdays all year long for the special treats they don’t usually get, like magicians, cotton candy machines, bouncy castles, and fairy princesses.

By saving on other items such as food, location, and decorations, entertainment can still be affordable and fit within a budget. Try these ideas for even more savings.

Hire local actors from the community college or high school to perform (on the doorstep/at the gate if necessary) as clowns, fairies, jugglers, face painters or balloon twisters. Most of these kids need the experience and will work in exchange for food and references. 

Ask around to friends and relatives; most people know at least one person who can do something fun like face painting, juggling or hula hoop lessons. Relatives are great resources and are usually willing to give their talent to the party as a birthday gift.

In a pinch, older brothers and sisters are great entertainers. Little kids look up to older siblings and love to show off their siblings to their friends. Older kids can entertain the younger ones with puppet shows, Simon Says, and story time.

Try getting the kids to entertain themselves! Get them to build a gift box (try including baking mix or colouring/arts and crafts activities) then let them loose in the kitchen, only popping in to put things in the oven. For more gift box ideas, check out our online marketplace.

What kids’ party ideas do you have that won’t break the bank?