The Guide to Throwing Inexpensive Birthday Bashes
We all know the economy isn’t great right now but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice fun and style when it comes to throwing birthday parties. If you’re tasked with throwing a birthday party for a loved one, these money-saving tips will help you watch your checkbook, while still allowing you to create a party no one will forget:
Get Creative When Planning the Party Theme
Why not try an unusual theme that would also be affordable for both your guests and you? For a children’s party, you can ask all the guests to bring affordable gifts suitable to give to a regional animal rescue organization or family homeless shelter. If you call the organization in advance, you can compile a list of low-cost items that can be included with the invitations you send to your guests. Suggest that they wrap the gifts as usual and then the entire party can meet at the organization to deliver them. This would not only be meaningful for everyone involved but it would also give children first-hand experience with how good it feels to help others.
For adults, you can help your guests save money by having a recycling/re-gifting party. Most people can locate at least one gift they’ve received that they don’t want, so why not have them wrap them up and give them again? Make sure everyone knows who is on the guest list, though, so people don’t re-gift items they received from other party guests! If you’re worried about hurt feelings, this idea also works well for items that people have bought new on impulse but never used. Make sure to provide a specific dollar limit for the items, so that everyone can participate and go home with a gift.
Make Your Own Birthday Party Decorations and Invitations
The Internet has an unbelievable selection of free printable invitations for both adults and kids. So why spend money on store-bought invitations when you can print them at home for just the cost of card stock and ink? There are also plenty of birthday art options online, many of which would make great party decorations. If you can find large enough art, you can make your own banners and signs for the party. If you can’t find the right kind of clipart, you can at least use smaller art to make table place holders or to cut out and sprinkle throughout flower arrangements or plants. If the guest of honor likes vintage art, you can print a selection of vintage greeting cards and attaching them to a string that you drape around the room or the cake table. This will create a distinctive old-time feel and make the room look great! To finish off the vintage theme, get intentionally mismatched plates, glasses and silverware at a thrift store to use in place of plastic and paper partyware.
The most important thing to remember when trying to save money on a birthday party is that you need to be creative. If you implement even the most low-cost ideas with style, no one will ever know the party was actually a bargain!
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