A child's birthday is an exciting, special time for both the child and the parent.
As parents we want to give our child the very best, and may have a tendancy to go a little overboard at birthdays and other holidays.
But spending too much money on a birthday party may not always be worth it. Often times you won't get as many children as you invite, so spending a lot to have a party somewhere like Chuck E Cheese or at a pool may be a huge waste.
Children don't really care where their party is, just being able to spend their special day with their close friends is enough for them.
Parties at home can be just as much fun, and also a lot less expensive. They don't have to require much work. You can enlist the birthday boy or girl to help (my children loved hanging streamers). You can get older children or a neighborhood teenager to organize the games.
Decorations can be purchased at a dollar store, and many of them can be saved and used again in the future.
Goodie bags can also be purchased at the dollar store. You don't need to have much, just a couple toys, a piece of candy, perhaps a pencil and erasers.
Invitations and Thank You notes can be downloaded and printed from your computer.
Instead of buying a cake, you can make one from scratch. If you're not very good at baking cakes, it's okay to use a box mix and canned frosting. Use the funfetti variety to make it look nicer, or purchase some decorations to place on the top.
Games can include musical chairs, hot potato (using a balloon), and the limbo. For most of these you don't need to purchase anything, you'll just need some children's music which you can download from your computer, or use a CD if you have an appropriate one. If you have extra time, just let the music play and allow the kids to dance. Buy stickers from the dollar store as prizes for winning games.
Food will most likely still be the most expensive aspect. You will need snacks and perhaps a pizza or hot dogs to feed the children. But if you don't get as many kids as expected, you will have plenty of left overs for your own family to snack on so nothing goes to waste.
