Tips for Throwing a Stylish, Inexpensive Birthday Party
The economy may not be that great right now but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style and fun when it comes to throwing birthday parties. If you’re the designated party-thrower in your family, these tips will help keep costs down, while still allowing you to create an event no one will forget:
Be Creative with the Birthday Party Theme
Why not try an unusual theme that would also be affordable for both your guests and you? If you’re giving a children’s party, you can ask all the guests to bring affordable gifts suitable to give to a local animal rescue organization or family homeless shelter. If you call the organization’s manager, you can get a list of low-cost items you can recommend to your guests. Instruct them to wrap the items as if they were regular birthday gifts and then everyone can go as a group to deliver them. Doing this would be a meaningful experience for everyone and would also teach the children the true concept of giving.
If the event is for an adult, save money by throwing a re-gifting/recycling party. Most people can locate at least one gift they’ve received that they don’t want, so let them wrap them up and give them again! Make sure everyone knows who is on the guest list, though, so people don’t bring gifts they got from someone who’ll be at the party! If you don’t want to risk hurt feelings, people can just bring impulse purchases they made but have never used. The presents should be limited to a dollar amount that’s appropriate for the group, so that everyone can participate and go home with a gift.
Make Your Own Birthday Party Decorations and Invitations
The Internet has an unbelievable selection of birthday invitations for both adults and kids. So why waste your money on store-bought invitations when you can print them at home for just the cost of card stock and ink? There are also plenty of birthday clip-art options on the Internet, which make great party decorations. If you can find large enough art, you can make banners or signs. If you can’t find the right kind of clip art, you have the option of decorating flower arrangements or plants with clip art cut-outs or making table place cards. If you like vintage, try printing and cutting out various vintage greeting cards and tie them with fancy ribbons to a string that forms a garland. This will create a distinctive old-time feel and make the room look great! To finish off the antique theme, get intentionally mismatched plates, glasses and silverware at a thrift store to use in place of plastic and paper partyware.
The most important thing to remember when trying to save money on a birthday party is that you need to be creative. If you implement even the most low-cost ideas with style, no one will ever know you did it on the cheap!