5 Tips For Planning a Birthday Party on a Budget

It seems like everyone is cutting costs these days and trying to stick to a budget. When your child's birthday is involved though, it can be tempting to chuck the budget out the window in order to give them the party of their dreams. Planning a low cost birthday party that is not only possible but, chances are your child and their guests will not even notice.

Here are 5 tips for planning a birthday party on a small budget.

1) Make a Budget. Sounds easy enough to do but you have to sit down and know how much money you can comfortably spend on the party. Once you decide on how much money you can spend than it is really important to stick to it.

2) Bake a Cake. Purchasing a cake from a bakery can cost around a $1 person or even more for a specialty cake. Making your own cake can cost pennies per serving from scratch and a few cents more by using a cake mix. Frost it, decorate it. You can also buy cake pans that are in neat shapes at your local "hobby" store.

3) Time the party between lunch and dinner. Having to serve a meal at a birthday party can get quite expensive. Hosting the party during this time means you only have to serve cake, ice cream, and maybe some snacks or fruit.

4) Use Solid Colored Plates. Most children love to have a theme for their birthday party. Let them choose the theme and purchase the invitations and centerpiece. Then find some solid colored plates, napkins, and cups that match a color from the themed items. You can save around 30 cents a plate by not going with the themed ones. Your local "dollar" store is a great resource for these items.

5) Cut back on Party Give-Aways. What...I know it's traditional to send your party guests home with a party favor as a thank you gift. It can be quite easy to spend several dollars or more per child though. Use a simple colored bag to put your party favors in. Fill them with stickers and candy purchased in bulk. Close with a ribbon that matches the theme and if you wish to dress the bag up a bit.