Kids Birthday Party for $100 or less!

With the economy the way it is doing things cheaper is the smart way to go! My oldest is turning 8 in 3 weeks so planning her birthday party has been on my mind so I thought I would share a few of my tips that make the party a little easier on your wallet. 

1. Dollar Tree!!

Everything is a dollar at the Dollar Tree and they have plates, cups, plasticware, napkins, hats and more there. If your child has a theme they want to do like hello kitty or sports but the Dollar Tree doesn't have specific decorations for it that is ok! They have solid color plates and stuff and you can use that and then decorate with balloons and banners that are specific to the theme. I learned early on with my oldest that not every single thing at the party has to be Princess or Hello Kitty.

pic source (dollartree.com)

2. Make the invitations at home on your printer! 

Chances are you already have the paper so you can go to a site that has free printable invitation templates like Do-It-Yourself Invitations. You can also make your own template on powerpoint too! Remember not to use an invitation that has a solid color background otherwise your printer will run out of ink fast!

3. Make the cake or cupcakes at home!

Even though it is so much easier to go pick up a cake or cupcakes its saves you money that you can use elsewhere for the party or for presents. Plus it is always fun for the birthday boy or girl to help you make them too! I am doing this with my daughter for her party in 3 weeks and we are both excited. 

 pic source (marthastewart.com)

4. Party Favors

There are so many places you can get party favors for cheap! Walmart has a section in their party area that has party favors in bulk for cheap. Michael's has a dollar section that you can get party favors as well. And of course the Dollar Tree has them as well. 

5. Call around and price out locations

My daughter wants a skating party. Instead of having the party at the skating rink (It would run me about 130 and that doesn't include the cake!) I am having it at home and then we are carpooling over to the rink. Since it is a group of people they are just charging us admission and not for rentals. When you call around ask if they have group discounts too. 

6. Strategic Party Time

The timing of the party is everything! If you have a party at noon then most parents are going to assume that some sort of lunch is provided unless otherwise stated on the invitation. BUT if you have the party at 2 you can just have finger foods for the kids to snack on. AND you can make those too. Some ideas are PB&J squares, chips and dip, quesadillas, and veggie or fruit trays.

7. Balloons

At stores like Walmart and Target they sell a portable helium tank made by Balloon Time for 50 bucks and it blows up 50 balloons. Sure it seems like a deal but if you aren't going to use all 50 balloons do you really need to spend 50 bucks? Instead you can go to Dollar Tree and buy some foil Mylar balloons for a buck each and they also sell regular plastic balloons. Instead of spending 50 bucks you may only end up spending 20 bucks and getting plenty of balloons.

pic source (giftblooms.com)

Hope this helps out! I know I am going to throw my daughter a really fun party but save money at the same time. 

Do you have any tips for the readers to save money on a birthday party??