Thrifty Thursday: Parties for Pennies

We've had a couple of posts on birthday parties. Now, how can a mom of two boys that is trying to juggle the world accomplish all these ideas with success-and for minimal cost? I thought I would share a couple of additional points that I've found helpful.

1. Calendar- January plan your parties and get togethers for the year.

• James Birthday ~ Handy Manny (family party)
• Graham's Birthday ~ Diego
• Baby Shower for friend

2. Timeline- Make lists of the supplies that you are going to need for the parties and dates to purchase if time sensitive. This will allow you to purchase things with coupons and jump on deals throughout the year.

3. Storage/Oraganization- Make sure that you have boxes to place these items so when you purchase you will have somewhere to put them. You may also want to put the lists there and mark off items and you collect. By doing this you are going to have a great party with these supplies.

4. Don't Procrastinate- Make sure to do things throughout the month so you are not stuck doing everything the day before. By spreading things out it really allows you to enjoy the preparation and it does not become a chore.

5. Activities- look on websites for color sheet print outs and activities. Note: If you find some and you have color ink in your printer. Print now and place in box. Do not wait till day before because your ink will more than likely run out! Trust me.

6. Party Details- Pick a free place. Your house is always great but you can also look look at parks and pools that will allow you to have party there.

7. Invites-Limit the number of guests. You do not have to invite everyone...maybe just family if there are lots of cousins or your child's very closest friends. Invitations can be done electronically on sites such as http://www.evite.com/. This is nice because you can ensure people get their invitation since it tells you if they've viewed it. You can also check a couple of printing websites such as http://www.vistaprint.com/ for specials and order 10 invites for free or even print your own. These options are good for people that do not have access to electronic invitations.

7. Decorations- Use what you have. Use your child toys to decorate. Example: For the Handy Manny party I am going to use a big dump truck and put the cupcakes in the back and use crushed oreos for the topping. Oh...you could also find a coloring book with the theme of the party for $1 and cut the pages out and use for color sheets as the activity. Keep your eyes open for ideas online, in magazines and as you are around town.

We'd love for you to share any other creative birthday tip you may have. Have fun and happy celebrating!
Love,
Imogene