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10 tips: How to throw a birthday party on a tight budget

By LAURA T. COFFEY
Published May 28, 2006

1. Decide how much you can afford. Setting a budget - and sharing the details of that budget with your child - can help you avoid spending too much and help your child have realistic expectations for the big day.

2. Don't invite too many people. Bearing in mind that kids, especially young children, can connect with only so many people at a time, you can decide with a clear conscience to keep the guest list small. If your child is turning 6, you can have him or her invite six friends; at 7, he or she could invite seven friends.

3. Brainstorm with your kid. Find out what your child really wants the party to include, and let him or her do much of the organizing and coordinating. You might be thrilled to see how simple your child would like the party to be. He or she may even take great pride in coming in under budget.

4. Keep the food simple. Do you really need to provide full meals for everyone, or would cake, punch and some chips and dip suffice? What's more, you and your child could have fun making the cake together and decorating it.

5. Keep decorations simple, too. If kids are having fun, the decor-ations around them are likely to be one of the last things on their minds. A simple "Happy Birthday" sign and some streamers may do the trick.

6. Plan around an activity. Dream up a low-cost party activity that's right up your kid's alley. The party could center around baking and decorating cookies, putting on a talent show or play, playing dress-up, hosting a dance party, doing a scavenger or treasure hunt or building a huge sand castle.

7. Stay home. You're bound to spend much less money if you invite kids over to your home instead of taking them out to a restaurant or an amusement park that charges per person for birthday parties.

8. Buddy up. If you want to throw a more extra-vagant party one year, consider teaming up with other parents whose children were born around the same time and sharing the costs.

9. Plan ahead. You can squirrel away presents for your kids - and for other inevitable gift recipients - throughout the year to avoid getting hit with too much of an expense at once.

10. Be open to alternatives. Instead of traditional gifts, think about giving your child a new experience or privilege, perhaps a later bedtime hour or curfew. You could take the day off work so you can spend time together, and you can start a tradition - say, always making sure the birthday boy or girl gets breakfast in bed or the choice of that night's special dinner menu.

Sources: Stowers Innovations Inc. (www.stowers-innovations.com/press/bday.asp); Jonni McCoy, author of "Miserly Moms: Living on One Income in a Two-Income Economy" (www.miserlymoms.com); The Dollar Stretcher (www.stretcher.com); MoneyInstructor.com (www.moneyinstructor.com).

[Last modified May 28, 2006, 07:03:54]