A Child's Birthday Party on a Budget

Every parent has been there or will be in the near future, another birthday is fast approaching and your child is eagerly making plans for the birthday party you haven't even approved yet. But why not, most of us have had a birthday party or two in our lives they're mostly filled with fond memories of happy times spent with our friends. The problem is the expectations. When most of us were kids, a birthday party meant cake and ice cream, some chips, a couple of games, the birthday boy or girl opened their presents and we went home. Very seldom did we go home with goodie bags, and when we did they weren't filled to busting with $20 worth of little toys. They were filled with cheap little toys and games that probably cost no more than $2 per child and we loved them.

At a birthday party my son attended a couple of years ago, each child went home with a shovel and pail set that had play-doh, bubbles, crayons, a coloring book and some candy in it. I was told by the mother that she got it all on sale, and each one only cost her $15 to put together. Fifteen dollars? Really? For 10 1-yr-olds who can't use any of that stuff yet; do the math and that's $115 she spent just on the "goodie bags" for the party. That's just too much, but I see it happening more and more.

For those of us who can't justify that kind of money on a birthday party, there is still hope. Believe it or not, you can have a birthday party for your child without feeling like you just made a payment on the neighbor's BMW. It isn't difficult to have a great children's birthday party on the cheap. A few simple tricks can turn the chunk it takes out of your wallet into a chip.