Instead of the Dishes » Frugal Fawn, Spending Less » Throwing a Party on a Budget
Throwing a Party on a Budget
Here are some pictures from a few of the parties we’ve planned in the last three years:
1. A great way to save $$ is to make your own food!
This was my son’s first birthday cake, based off of the “dog party” in one of his favorite books, Go, Dog, Go!
My daughter wanted a “piggy bank” party for her 3rd birthday. This was her cake.
We also had light snacks at the Piggy Bank Party, including Pigs in a Blanket!
My Son’s third birthday had a Dinosaur Train theme. This is his cake – made and decorated by me!
For a combo garden themed party, I made a bee cake for my daughter, who dressed up like a bee, and butterfly cupcakes for her friend, who was dressed like a butterfly.
2. We also try to incorporate a craft/activity into each party that often produces the take-home party favor as well. A Three-fer!!
These girls are decorating small piggy banks that we found at the dollar store. Each child got to take their bank home with them as a party favor.
Our Dinosaur Train party was at the beginning of March, so Easter Eggs were on sale. We bought small dinosaurs at the dollar store and used shipping labels we already had to make stickers. We stuffed the eggs wth the dinos and stickers and hid them at the park where we had our party. Each child was given a small canvas bag with his/her initial on it. We had a dinosaur egg hunt, and each kiddo took home a bag full of dinos and stickers as a favor.
3. We like to incorporate elements of “dress-up” into our parties to get the kids into the spirit. We make these elements ourselves because it ALWAYS saves money to do so.
Here we were in the process of making capes for a Super Hero Party. Each child had a cape with his/her initial on it and a black mask to wear at the party and take home.
For a Luau Party, we made hula skirts out of streamers and yarn that we already had.
4. To save even more money, we usually host our parties at home and make our own decorations.
My husband made this pig pinatta for our Piggy Bank Party.
The Luau Party’s table was decorated entirely with things we had around the house, except for the flowery fabric in the middle (actually a twin sized sheet) that I bought at a thrift store for $3 (after my 25% of coupon)! Even the plates and napkins were left over from another party we had thrown a couple years before.
5. We do throw other parties besides just birthdays! Here are a few pictures from our annual kid-friendly Super Bowl party:
We cover our dining table with a couple layers of craft paper so the kids can eat, color, and play on it worry-free. They LOVE coloring on the table!
My husband always puts together a football pool to keep things interesting. Adults only, of course. He made this one with craft paper and stickers we printed onto shipping labels.
At halftime the kids gather round to dance to the music. EVERYONE loves this activity, whether they are dancing or watching.
Family-friendly parties are just too much fun, and so easy to be creative with. However, I’ve also planned many other types of celebrations, and I always love a challenge!!
Related posts:
No related posts.
Filed under: Frugal Fawn, Spending Less · Tags: Birthday, cake, decorations, food, go dog go cake, Party, pig theme
9 Responses to "Throwing a Party on a Budget"
Leave a Reply
Grab My Button!
Can you please tell me how you made the Go Dog Go cake? What is the trunk made of? I am doing this theme for my daughter’s 2nd birthday and I love this cake!
Hi Andrea! The trunk of the cake is actually a glass bud vase turned upside down with crinkled up brown paper stuffed in it. For the top of the cake, I cut two styrofoam balls in half (two different sizes), and put them on a clear glass plate (it literally just sat on top of the vase). Then, I made mini cupcakes using a mini muffin pan and attached them to the styrofoam balls with toothpicks. Then, I iced the cupcakes and used the icing to fill in the gaps in between.
Hi 🙂
I really love the tree cake!! I just would like to know if it was tooo top heavy? And if you would reccomend this to someone like me who has absolutely no experience really in 3D cakes, only really in tiered cakes? Thanks !!
Hi Kerry. this was actually the first 3D cake that I ever made. The top wasn’t too heavy because it was supported by a clear glass plate. So, to move the cake, I just took the plate of the top and carried it, and then set it back on top of the glass bud vase that was the tree trunk. At some point I plan to do a how-to post for the cake – I didn’t realize there would be so much interest in it!
Great ideas and I love the cakes.
I have made all of my daughters birthday cake, with the exception of one! I will continue to do so as long as she lets me!
WOW! That tree cake!! My son (soon to be 3 years old) is obsessed with the “Dog Party” – this will be perfect. Any other tips?
Hi there,
How did you make the train cake. My three year old loves dinosaur train and asked me to show him pics of cakes online. Yours was his favorite and he wants me to make them for his 4th bday. How did you get the shape for train cars?
Thanks!
Gina
All your pics are AWESOME!!!
Hi Gina. I used a cake pan that had the train shapes in it. The pan is made by nordicware and it looks like they have in Amazon for $25. It’s a fun one!
[…] finally, from my own blog, I’m sharing a post on Throwing a Party on a Budget. After all, the more money you save, the more celebrations you can have! The post has some fun […]