Category: Birthday Party

Planning a birthday party can be a lot of work, and sometimes things slip the mind. But not to worry because this article has got you covered. 

Whether you’re planning a big bash or a little get-together, there are always things to organize. Because unfortunately, the cake cannot make itself. But with the right preparation, your party will be a huge success. 

Keep reading to learn 5 factors you should consider when throwing a birthday party. 

1. Budget 

Before you start buying things, set your party budget. You should consider the number of attending guests, venue, food, drinks, decorations, and activities. 

Find the areas where you’re looking to save money and the areas where you can spend a little more. For example, if you invite lots of guests (meaning more food and drinks), you could make the cake or decorations yourself. 

2. Venue 

If the birthday party venue isn’t at your house, you’ll want to book a space right away. 

Popular places for a kid’s birthday party include inflatable bounce house facilities, arcades, or art studios. And for adults, museums, bars, spas, or restaurants are always a hit. But if the venue is where you want to spend a little less money, try the park, library, or beach. 

3. Theme 

Birthday party themes are tons of fun and can be great for children and adults alike. 

If you’re throwing an adult party, consider doing a theme honoring their favorite country, movie, or decade. Or if it’s a children’s party, consider a theme like under the sea, luau, or circus. 

And once you pick your theme, you can plan your activities and decorations around it. 

4. Gifts 

Unless the party is your gift, you can’t forget to grab the person of honor a present. 

If you’re not sure what to buy for a kid, you can always get a coloring book, a board game, or a children’s novel. And for an adult, gift cards, wine, and candles are usually a safe bet. 

And if you’re trying to buy for someone who has everything, consider these sustainable birthday gift ideas. 

5. Food and Drinks 

If your venue doesn’t supply this, you’ll want to offer some crowd-pleasing options in addition to a birthday cake. 

For appetizers or snacks, you could have chicken wings, pigs in a blanket, chips, veggies, or pretzels. Popular party dishes include pizza, hamburgers, salads, or sandwiches. And for drinks, you can serve water, soda, and alcohol (for an adult birthday party).  

But if you’re unsure about guest allergies or special diets, either reach out to ask or have a variety of different options. 

Now You Know What To Remember While Planning a Birthday Party 

Planning a birthday party isn’t always easy, but it will definitely be worth it in the end. The birthday boy or girl is sure to love whatever you put together. Now book that venue, buy some gifts, and enjoy the party!  

If you liked this article, check out some of our frugal living content. 

Are you planning your little one’s birthday party?

Party planning can get a little overwhelming. You want to make the party great by finding activities that will soak up time and keep them interested. 

Crafts will do just this and offer a creative alternative to candy-filled goodie bags. 

Keep your kids’ party guests entertained without breaking the bank or losing your mind by setting up a cool craft! An age-appropriate activity will keep them all in one area for a chunk of time and allow them to show off their creative abilities.

Here are ten birthday party craft ideas to choose from!

1. Nature Collage

Creating a nature collage requires two parts: foraging and assembling. The kids will go wild over both!

Take about 20-30 minutes to let the kids collect their goods in a paper bag. Before sending them off, talk about some of the cool natural craft supplies they might find.

Encourage them to look out for twigs, pretty leaves, pinecones, acorns, pebbles, helicopters, and other natural items. Ask another parent or two to help keep an eye out, especially with little ones, to make sure nobody touches or swallows anything dangerous.

Once they gather their supplies, give them each a piece of construction paper. Supply tape and glue so they can arrange their collection the way they wish on the paper. Challenge older kids by having them create a picture by blending their cool finds into a colored pencil drawing. This will appease both their curiosity and creativity. Plus, it costs you nearly nothing!

2. Popsicle Stick Figures

This craft idea is a real treat! It will work best with kids ages 6-8.

Let them each enjoy a popsicle and then wash the stick. Supply them with fabric scraps, buttons, string, and other odds and ends. Applying the glue with paintbrushes will avoid big drips.

If the kids need inspiration, encourage them to make celebrities, characters, animals, bugs, or monsters. Make it a competition by supplying a prize for the most creative stick figure.

3. DIY Selfie Station

Looking for a craft for birthday parties that entertains tweens? They will love designing and utilizing a selfie station!

Set up a 6×6 paper backdrop on an open wall for the kids to color on. They might add balloons, streamers, banners, confetti, graffiti, etc. 

Cut a square out of a large cardboard box to make a frame. Let the kids wrap it in birthday paper with ribbons and bows. 

Supply them with props, like plastic sunglasses, party hats, and party horns. Once they finish decorating, give them a selfie stick and let them snap away fun pics with their friends.

This selfie station offers over an hour of fun for a hard to please age group. Collect the pics they post off of social media to send little custom “thank you” cards in the weeks to follow.

4. Paper Plate Masks

Paper plate masks make great kids’ party crafts. They are easy enough for preschoolers and fun enough for elementary schoolers.

You only need plain paper plates, tissue paper, and coloring supplies. The kids can make characters that meet the theme or come up with their own creations. 

In the end, give each child a chance to display their craft in the spotlight. You can do so by arranging a skit or parade with the masks for the parents.

5. Party Hats

For a sensible and straightforward preschool craft, have preschool children make birthday hats they can wear by folding construction paper into a cone and taping it.

Let them decorate the hats by gluing on pom moms, ribbons, and other craft items. An adult should staple elastic to the bottom for a chin strap. 

This craft works well as a prelude to cutting the cake! 

6. Cupcake Decoration Station

Turn cake time into craft time! Bake a cupcake for each child and leave it plain.

Set out frosting and little bowls of topping options. Kids of any age will love this taste of creativity!

7. Create a Craft Scavenger Hunt

Get creative and turn a fun party game into craft time. For kids ages 7-10, create a crafty treasure hunt.

Put them into groups of 3 or 4 and walk them in separate directions around the neighborhood to race to fulfill the item list. Once they get all the items on the list, have the group create a craft with the items.

The first group to finish wins! For more ideas, check out these party game deals.  

8. Friendship Bracelets

Little girls love to make and wear friendship bracelets. This craft requires a bit of skill, so save it for girls around 10. 

Buy spools of all different colored strings from the fabric store and supply safety pins and pillows to secure the strings by the knots.

This craft can keep them busy for a long time. It’s perfect for sleepovers.

9. Oobleck

Make your birthday craft ideas into a science project!

Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid, meaning that it defies the laws of physical science. When you press on it, it acts as a solid, but take the pressure away, and it flows like a liquid.

Let elementary school kids each mix a half cup of corn starch, a quarter cup of water, and a drop or two of food coloring. Purchase tiny condiment containers with lids so they can take it home.

10. Galaxy Jar

Kids will love creating galaxy jars to take home! These cool party favors will last a long time!

You need mason jars for each child, tempered paints, glitter, water, and cotton balls. Have the kids mix the paint in the water, insert stretched cotton balls, and add glitter.

Start by filling the jar a quarter of the way full. Once they complete the process, they press the cotton down tight with a spoon and do it over again little by little until they full the jar.

The kids will have out of this world fun!

Give These Birthday Party Craft Ideas a Try!

Birthday parties can cost a ton of money. Cut costs by using these fun birthday party craft ideas that the children will love.

Parenting is serious business but should make life more fun. Check out our website for more craft ideas that you will love doing as a family!

If bowling’s your thing, why not throw yourself a bowling birthday party?

It was great fun when you were a kid. It can be even more fun as an adult!

And don’t think it has to cost a lot of money. It’s not uncommon for bowling party invitations to include a flat contribution to offset the cost of renting the lanes.

Will that reduce the fun? No. Like any party, it’s people having fun that makes it or breaks it.

With a bowling party, the key is to help party-goers know what to expect and feel comfortable. Especially anyone who hasn’t bowled in a while. Or ever.

All you need is a theme. The rest will fall into place. From the paper or electronic invitation, food served, recommended style of dress, and decorations, you’ll have an easy plan for throwing a memorable party.

To get you rolling, here are a few bowling birthday party ideas and tips.

Retro

What’s your favorite bowling era?

Is it the 1940s and 50s, which many people consider the golden age of bowling?

If so, asks guests to dress in poodle skirts and sweater sets (for the gals) or casual trousers and button-down shirts (for the guys). Serve burgers, soda in bottles, and traditional french fries. Offer yo-yos or hula hoops as prizes for a top score or player most likely to improve.

If the 70s are more your scene, break out the disco ball!

Encourage guests to wear their best spandex and platform shoes. See your favorite venue has a neon or psychedelic night, which would be perfect for your 70s bowling birthday party. Have prizes of pet rocks and macrame plant hangers.

Or maybe The Big Lebowski is more your style.

In that case, send invitations that incorporate The Dude. Ask everyone to wear their best (or rattiest) bathrobes. Make sure that canned tuna is the menu and beverage options include white Russians.

Milestone Birthdays

Will your bowling party be a celebration of a milestone like sweet 16 or the big 5-0? There are lots of ways to underscore the milestone.

If you’re throwing the party for someone else, give the guest of honor a bowling shirt with their age incorporated in name embroidered on the front.

Offer a prize to the first player to get the exact score that represents the age being celebrated.

Friendly Competition

An appealing aspect of bowling is that it can be a relaxed, friendly game or be fierce and competitive. A successful birthday bowling party strikes a balance between the two.

To keep things light and party-like, design the teams like you would seat people for a dinner party. Place couples or BFFs on different teams. Mix high-scorers with novices. If you have some intense players, don’t put them all one team.

Give prizes at the end of each game instead of a “best of” series.

Most people’s interest and energy wane after three games. Keep things lively by rearranging the teams after each game.

Don’t play elimination style. The point of a bowling birthday party is to bowl, not sit on the sidelines watching other people bowl. Nothing can make the party fall apart faster than dividing guests into camps of active and inactive participants.

At several points during play, remind people that it’s a friendly game. You know which of your guests is competitive. Do what you can, as host, to not let their intensity spoil the fun for others.

Special Rules

One way to take a birthday bowling party up a notch is to implement unusual rules. You can apply them to the whole game or specific frames. It’s a great way to break the ice and level the playing field if guests have different skill levels.

For the best outcome, keep special rules simple to understand and follow. A few suggestions are:

• Odd frames are played right-handed while even frames are played left-handed
• Players must dance, never walk, toward the foul line
• Players predict which pins they’ll knock down before they throw the ball
• Sitting at the foul line and pushing the ball down the lane (This one might work best toward the end of the party!)

Give them a try.

Make It Easy

You might be a bowling enthusiast with frequent shopper status with equipment retailers like BowlingShoes. But some of the people who want to go to your bowling birthday party might not be so familiar with the game.

Make it easy for newbies or the less confident among your guests to enjoy the game. Offer links to the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) page with video tutorials. Remind them to wear comfortable clothes and wear or bring socks to wear with rented bowling shoes.

At the start of the party, outline if you’ll be using any unique rules for the game. And offer all kinds of prizes to encourage skilled and novice players alike.

Give people time to find the right ball in terms of weight. Help newbies understand how their choice could affect speed and control, not to mention hand and arm muscles they probably didn’t know they had!

The Bowling Birthday Party Invitation

Invitations do more than tell people when and where the party is. They also set expectations.

With bowling parties, there are aspects that differ from your ordinary kind of party.

For example, make it clear on the invitation that guests don’t have to be expert bowlers to attend. Keep the tone light to reinforce that it’s about having fun, not perfecting one’s game.

There’s an additional way to reinforce the expectation that everyone is welcome. Ask people to state their bowling comfort level when RSVPing ‘yes’. Keep it fun and simple with three choices such as Total Beginner, Know My Way Around the Lane, Bowling Is My Life’s Purpose.

If you need contributions to make renting the venue affordable, say so in the invitation. Give people three options such as $10, $20, $30 per person to not exclude anyone.

Also, tell people how to get the money to you. Electronic transfers and cash at the event are the two most common ways.

At the Party

A final tip about bowling parties is to focus more on the people than the game. Mingling and chatting between frames doesn’t cost anything extra. Yet, it boosts the value of the experience for everyone.

Now that you know how to throw a great bowling party, there only one thing left to. Get ready to have fun!

For other frugal living ideas, check out more blog posts!

Is your daughter about to turn 16?

She might imagine stretch limos and pop stars at her party, complete with 200 of her closest friends.

You as a parent probably have a more realistic vision. You certainly want to celebrate her big day in style, but you don’t want to break the bank doing it.

Don’t worry. Planning an awesome sweet 16 party doesn’t have to cost a fortune. With a little research and creativity, you can throw a party she’ll remember forever.

Here are some tips for planning a sweet 16 party on a budget.

Prioritize

If you’re on a tight budget, a surprise party probably isn’t the way to go. A better option would be to sit down with your daughter and find out what’s most important to her.

Does she want a big guest list or just a few close friends? Would she like the party to be at home or a different venue? What type of food, music and decor does she want?

Depending on her preferences, you may be able to pick one area to splurge while saving in another. If you need help estimating costs, try downloading a free event budget template.

By talking openly about the party, you can plan an event that will thrill your daughter without draining your bank account.

Take Advantage of Technology

Back in the “good old days,” throwing a birthday party often meant hiring a professional photographer and a live DJ.

But this is 2017, and times have changed. All your daughter’s friends certainly have cell phones, and they’ll probably spend most of the night snapping selfies. Then everyone can upload their pictures to a photo-sharing site or a Cloud folder after the party.

There’s no need to spend money on a DJ, either. Have your daughter create a playlist of her favorite songs or use a streaming service like Pandora to pump music into the party.

Sweet 16 Party Invitations

In today’s age of electronics, traditional paper invitations are becoming a rare sight.

Impress your daughter (and her friends) by creating beautiful custom invitations for her sweet 16 party. Use fun scrolling fonts and bright colors to match the decor and festive spirit.

Not only will this turn the party into a proper event, but it makes a great memento for a scrapbook.

Get Crafty

For party planning on a budget, there’s no better way to save money than to roll up your sleeves and get creative.

Why order an expensive cake from the bakery when you could bake one yourself? Cupcakes are another popular, easy-to-make option.

Rather than ordering centerpieces from a florist, why not make a colorful “candy bouquet” instead? Cover a floral foam box with colorful wrapping paper and make a bouquet of lollipops and suckers. Pop it into a bright box with some tissue paper, and your centerpieces are good to go!

Party favors don’t have to break the bank, either. You could make up a batch of mint lemonade lip scrub for the girls to use during the party. Better yet, divvy it up for them to take home afterward.

With a little ingenuity, you can host an awesome sweet 16 party for your daughter. Check out my craft blogs for more great DIY ideas!

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