Yesterday I shared a number of tips on how you can save money on your child’s birthday party while still creating an event that they will remember always. We talked about the guest list and food. Now let us move on to other money saving ideas.
Party Favors and Goodie Bags
The party favors and goodie bags that are given out at most kids birthday parties are getting a little ridiculous, I think. You can easily spend a couple of hundred dollars on goodie bags, party favors and parting gifts.
There are a couple of ways to save on this expense without seeming cheap.
The first is to plan ahead and buy favors at deep discounts throughout the year. You can pick up some nice generic toys that happen to be in holiday packaging for up to 90 percent off. Look for play-doh packs around Halloween, small toys at Easter and Christmas, candy on all of the holidays, glow sticks right after the fourth of July, etc.
The other way to go is to skip the favors altogether and instead give each child who attends the party a gift card to a popular store, such as a free Target gift card or a free Toys R Us gift card. A $5 gift card as a parting gift will seem generous. The typical shopper spends about $7 or $8 per gift bag per child, so you may save this way. Plus, parent will be relieved not to have a bunch of cheap plastic toys to bring home.
Decorations
Forget the name brand decorations with your child’s favorite character. See what you can do to make your own decorations instead, or at least purchase ones that can be reused. One year, we asked a talented friend to make a life size character for us to be used in a game, and it was the hit of the party.
Plain balloons blown up by hand can be pretty cheap, yet festive and colorful.