Birthday Party on a Budget with lots of DIY Ideas !




We all know that kids Birthday can really break the bank. And when you are on a budget it can be tough. But I am going to show you how to do a Birthday On a Budget the kids will love.

This one is Going to be for a 13 year old girl - Theme Movie Night Party
1. Child's Favorite Foods - Mini Burgers, Fries with Cheese and Gravy, Chicken Tenders and Pink Lemonade. I will start watching for the sales of items I need to get about a month ahead of time and freeze. Luckily her menu choices were pretty cheap to do . I also love to make my colored deviled eggs for people to nibble on while getting other things ready, they are always a huge hit.


2.  Home Made Birthday Cake - stay away from store bought cakes, they are expensive and not always fresh. I created this cake for only $5 including the candles- all from the Dollar Tree
Cake Mix and Frosting @ $1
Bag of Rainbow Mini Robin Eggs $0.99
2 Packs of Easter Peep Chicks  $1.00 each
1 Pack of Candles $1.00
Total Cost for Cake $5 + time to bake , frost and decorate.

Candy Bags - Fortunately I had allot of Valentines candy and odds and end candy in the pantry, I will toss it all in a big zip lock and store it for when needed. This is A combo of Halloween Candy and valentines day candy bought on clearance after the sales. For as little as 0.10 cents a bag. The treat baggies I got for 0.12 cents a pack on the after valentines day clearance. I think maybe I spent Total Cost $2 getting the candy on sale and saving it and the treat bags. These are going to be for the Movie Time too.


Movie Popcorn Buckets - Ive put in a big box of (6 pack) of Microwave Popcorn I had in the pantry. But you can purchase at the dollar store for $1 if you do not have any- or you can pop your own and have the buckets filled already to go . The buckets came from this past fall when we did a movie out at the theater. So will pop those for the Movie Part of of our Party at Home. ** Tip you can also pick up Movie Buckets in your local dollar tree - or get festive colored bowls- but always check what you have in stock at home. Use what you have first before buying something - Big Money Saver. Total Cost was $0 - the popcorn I got free with Coupons and the buckets I had already saved.

Birthday Plates, Napkins and Cups - I save any left over party items from previous birthday parties and such and store in a box labeled party supplies. That way I can just find what I need . Everything does not have to match as long as its fun and festive looking. You can also score really cheap stuff at your local Dollar Tree - and watch for those after Holiday Clearance sales. Dollar General always has them after the holidays and has things marked down to 90% off. If i find something really cheap like that I always pick up a few things and put in my Party Box.
Total Cost Today  $0 ( already had from other parties saved over )

So this is a Family Birthday Dinner - Staring the child's favorite foods, a home made cake and a movie and getting to stay up an hour past bed time on a school night ( always a big hit to for the birthday boy or girl - if their party falls on a school night.

DIY Birthday Banner - You can print off each letter of a banner on 8x10 white paper and tape it together to make a birthday banner - I have not done this yet, but planning to in a little bit. I still have time before the party tonight.

I also print off a Welcome to Your Party Letter for the table to let the child know how her party is going to run. Dinner with Menu , Cake and Ice cream and Presents, Then the Movie Line up. We lucked out and found a movie she was wanting on sale and put it in as one of her gifts.

Gifts - Now this is a really important one - you know your child's birthday comes around the same time every year. So plan AHEAD - If you have a few extra bucks buy it early, I always watch for sale and clearance items and pick up things and put away in a closet or hiding place for holiday gifts., Then I can just go to it and pick out what I am going to give child for Birthday . PS this is great for Christmas too. This past year I reserved back a few gifts I bought at Christmas to save for birthday gifts. Same thing goes with those Birthday Bags  and tissue papers from other parties or gifts received Thur the year,  Save them - they come in super handy when you need one.  Toss everything in a big birthday bag and your ready to go  !

Share your Tips and Tricks with us, leave us a comment of how you throw a birthday party on a budjet !

Nana