6 Easy Ways To Save Money On Birthday Parties
Throwing parties for my children is a lot of fun and I love doing it! Seeing my kid’s faces light up when they see the party decor is one of my favorite moments as a mom. After throwing a few parties, I’ve found some ways to save money and stay under budget. Here are my 6 easy ways to save money on birthday parties.
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1. Set A Budget
Setting a budget is probably the #1 way to help you save money. If you don’t set a budget you will most likely end up spending way more. Write down everything you need to get for the party, so you can get an idea of just how much you need to get.
Need help planning your next party? Check out How To Throw A Successful Birthday Party and get the supply checklist to help you plan.
2. Location & Date
Save lots of money by having the party at your own home, a friends home, at the park, or at church if you are a member. This usually means that it will be FREE! Look online to see if there are locations you can use for free in your area.
If you are planning on having a party at a specific place like at the movies, skating rink, etc, consider choosing a day that is not the weekend. A lot of places will raise their prices on the weekend.
3. Entertainment
There are many types of entertainment you can rent for your child’s birthday these days. To name a few there are blow-up bouncy houses, your child’s favorite character coming to your house, photo booths, ice cream truck, etc.
Ask the businesses if they have any promotions coming up. You can even check Groupon for specific places too. Or better yet, does a friend or someone you know have something that you can borrow?
4. Invitations
As much as I LOVE beautiful card stock invitations, I send all invites by social media. Facebook event pages can be created free and you can always add details and other info on the page whenever. Most people are on social media so it’s easy, and you can avoid the hassle of getting guest’s addresses and paying for postage.
5. Decor & Supplies
Know your party theme so you can keep an eye out when you go shopping. I was able to find really cute doughnut decor ( the theme for my 1 year old’s birthday last year) in the Target dollar section a few months before the party.
Wait until there is a sale at party stores (in-store or online) or when you have a coupon. It’s amazing how much you can save with a 40% off coupon for a big item. My biggest success has been buying online.
Re-use or use what you already have. I love using my cake stands, candles, lights, wall decor, and fake flowers to decorate for parties. By being creative you can save a bunch of money!
Another way you can save is to make a couple different shopping trips. Party City usually gives you a discount code on your receipt when you complete a survey.
For example, you want to wait to buy balloons until the day before or the day of the party, so you can buy the other supplies a week before and get the discount code. Go back the day before the party or the day of to buy balloons and other last minute items and use your discount code for additional savings! 🙂
6. Food & Drinks
All I can say is the more you can DIY, and the fewer guests you have, the cheaper food and drinks will be. So far all food has been DIY including the cake. For drinks we keep it very simple and just have water, sweet tea, and one other drink such as lemonade or punch.
Food is usually kept simple too. If you have the party after lunch time then guests won’t expect you to have a big meal and you can usually just serve snack food items.
Ways To Save On Birthday Parties
There is my 6 easy ways to save on birthday parties, how do you save money on parties?
Did you like this post? If so, you will also want to check out these other posts too!
How To Throw A Successful Party
Hello Kitty Themed Birthday Party
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Great tips! I always try to save money on my youngest’s birthday. It’s in December, and between christmas, her birthday & party, and 4 other birthdays in the immediate family, it’s a bit much. Also, this year, I will be 9 months pregnant, so life will be extra wild!
Thank you and Congratulations! Sounds like it’s going to be a wild but fun time this December 🙂
These are great tips to save money on a birthday party! Throwing a party at home saves the most money, halls & restaurant are getting so expensive these days!
Thank you! Yes I totally agree!
These are great ideas! Setting a budget is key. I have definitely been guilty of spending way too much when I have not set one.
Thank you! 🙂 I know I definitely have several times.
You hit it on the nail. I can tell you for sure that with the pandemic and having birthdays during the lockdown has forced my family to get creative. We usually try to do it big for everyone…not this year. And we have saved some pretty pennies having small intimate gatherings at home or virtually over Zoom and Facebook.
Thank you! We had to cut down on the number of people for birthday parties too. I haven’t done a virtual birthday party yet, but might have to in the near future.
thank you!! I love getting information that can save me money!
You’re welcome 🙂 I hope it helps!