Birthday parties don’t have to break the bank
By By Michelle Blaylock, Mom’s Corner
Do you have any ideas for birthday parties? Our budget is tight and I hate to just do cake and ice cream at home.
P. R.
Dear P. R.,
First of all thanks for the letter. It can be very hard sometimes to plan a birthday party for our children on a limited budget. I think one thing that helps considerably is to remember that the idea behind the birthday party is to give your child an opportunity to have fun with their friends.
With that thought in mind, ask yourself the questions: “How much can we spend?” “What does my child and his or her friends enjoy?” and “How much chaos can I live with?”
For my children I have found it very important to start with the budget otherwise we just keep adding to the party and it ends up more than we can afford.
I also give my kids the option of keeping the money, not having a party and having one or two friends over to watch movies or whatever. I say “not having a ‘party’,” because they will still get to have a birthday cake and a special dinner. They just do not have a party in the sense they get to invite bunches of friends.
In my mind the question of how much chaos can I live with comes next. If I am just not up to having 10 teenage girls in my home for a sleepover then I am not going to do it. There is no point in having a party for your children that makes you miserable in the process.
For several years my oldest son has had paintball parties. If we can afford it, then my husband takes my son and his friends to a paintball field. If not, they use the woods behind our house and our yard. Either way they seem to have a great time.
We also have a couple of children whose birthdays are close so occasionally we combine the two.
For example last summer two children who have July birthdays had a swim party.
We didn’t rent the entire pool, we just paid for the kids that did not have pool passes. We had pizza and cake.
It ended up being fairly inexpensive and the kids had a great time.
Here are some other ideas:
1. Video game party. Rent or borrow several game systems and a bunch of games. You can set them up in various rooms. This is really fun for an “overnighter.” The kids can play to their hearts content.
2. Princess Party. Have the girls dress up in their best dresses or supply princess costumes for them to change into. Have a table set up with a tea set, dress as servants and treat your daughters and their friends like royalty. You can make crowns using cardstock, aluminum foil, and “jewels.”
Use a digital camera to take pictures of the girls, slip them into so inexpensive frames and you have a great take party favor. You can also take the pictures with a regular camera, get them developed and then slip a picture in each thank you note.
3. Play-dough party. OK, before you think I’ve lost my mind, hear me out. In your invitation make sure to note that parents need to dress their children in old clothes. Now, you can buy play dough or make your own. Leave it white and let the kids add their own color as part of the party. Obviously, you need to do this party outside or on a floor that can be easily cleaned up.
4. How about a craft party? Have the supplies ready to make several crafts, which the kids then get to take home. Here are some suggestions: use beads to make necklaces or bracelets, use “foamies” to make picture frames or magnets, and don’t forget the ever faithful popsicle sticks.
5. A cookie or cupcake party is fun, too. You will need to have the dough for cookies ready.
Give each child a piece of parchment paper and some cookie dough.
Let them roll it or pat it and use cookie cutters to make their own cookies. Write their name on the parchment paper. You can slide the paper onto a cookie sheet to bake. After the cookies have baked and cooled, you can supply icing and goodies to decorate the cookies. We did this last year with a child that has a birthday party just before Christmas.
I had Christmas cookies ready and the kids got to make a craft to take home and several cookies.
For a cupcake party have a couple different cake mixes available and let the kids choose their flavor. They could also layer them and have a little fun with it. After the cupcakes have cooked and cooled, supply the decorating goodies and let the kids have fun.
6. One of our kid’s favorites is “Make Your Own Pizza” Party. I make homemade pizza crusts (see recipe below) and pre-bake them.
They can be kept in the refrigerator for several days.
I set out all the toppings such as sauce, cheese, cooked sausage and hamburger, pepperoni, black olives, green peppers, onions, etc. Then the kids top their own pizzas. All that’s left is to pop them back in the oven for about 5 to 8 minutes.
Mom’s Pizza Crust
This will make 2-12 inch crusts or 3-4 smaller crusts depending on how big you want them.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tablespoons oil
3/4 cup warm water
1 package yeast
In a measuring cup dissolve yeast and sugar in water after yeast is dissolved, add oil. In a medium bowl mix flour and salt, add water mixture. Let set in a warm place for 8-10 minutes.
Press dough onto a pizza pan or cookie sheet.
If you want this to be a deep dish crust, grease a round cake pan and spread dough in bottom and slightly up the sides. Bake the crusts at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes until they are no longer doughy.
If your doing a large quantity of these, just take the crusts out of the pans once they’ve been baked and then grease your pans again for the next batch.
After the crusts have all their toppings on them, set them in the oven directly on the oven rack for a crispy bottom.
Bake until toppings are hot and cheese is melted – about 10 minutes.
I hope these suggestions help you when planning that next birthday party. If you have any questions, hints, or suggestions for Mom’s Corner, please e-mail to: moms-corner@juno.com.
