Birthday parties can be expensive! It doesn’t matter if you’re hosting a party for a child or an adult, you can end up spending a lot of money. The good news is there are a number of ways to save! Whether you opt for a grocery store cake or make drinks in bulk, you’ll love these money saving tips for birthday parties.
- Skip the fancy bakery – We’ve all seen the beautiful cakes on TV and you may find local bakeries that can make cakes that are just as extravagant. The issue is, those cakes also come with an extravagant price. Your grocery or warehouse store bakery is the best place to buy cakes on a budget. Not only are they delicious, but they can be beautiful as well. If you’re hosting a kids’ birthday party, you’ll also find a number of themed cakes to choose from.
- Hit the Dollar Store for party supplies – You don’t have to go to an expensive party store – your local Dollar Store has loads of party supplies! You’ll find everything from streamers to gift bags to napkins to balloons and everything is a dollar. If you’re throwing a party for kids, you can get some of your supplies here and a few supplies at a party store to capture the theme you’re after.
- Make drinks in bulk – For adults, you might choose to make iced tea or even a fruit sangria. For kids, you can make everything from lemonade to fruit punch to Kool-Aid. When you make drinks in bulk, they cost a fraction of what you would pay for individual drinks. Place everything in a nice pitcher or punch bowl and you can serve everyone at once. Plus, if you invest in these one-time purchases, you can use them over and over at future parties!
- Have the party at home – It can be expensive to book a location for a party! Instead of spending money on a “place,” put the money elsewhere and have the party at home. A backyard party is always a great idea. Play some music, have some great food, and enjoy the fun. You can have dance contests, an art table or play charades!
- Do simple party favors – Last, but not least, keep the party favors simple. For kids, you might do candy (think a single Ring Pop for each child) and for adults you might do a homemade snack mix. If you’re doing a themed birthday party, match the candy colors to the theme. If you have a camera that instantly prints photos, set up a backdrop and do photos for everyone to take home instead!
Birthday parties don’t have to be expensive! There are so many money savings tips you can use to cut the costs. Whether you do simple party favors or have the party at home, you’ll love how much money you can save. Do you have other tips? Leave them in the comments!
Alli is a Chicago based wife and mother of two children. She has turned money-saving into a game and enjoys searching out the best deals to help you save money! Alli shares her insight, tips and up-to-the-minute deals for local and national retailers and brands. Her hope is that you will play the game and learn to save money at the same time!