Children’s birthdays can become expensive when you add up the cost of gifts, treats and parties. To help you keep the costs down, here are some tips on how to do a kid’s party on a budget.
Save money when they are young
Children under the age of three are unlikely to remember the details of any birthday celebrations. Save your money by not splashing out on parties during the first years of their life.
Hold joint parties
Has your child got a friend or cousin with a birthday in the same month? Why not hold a joint celebration and split the costs with someone else?
Have it at home
Save money on the venue by holding the party at your house if you have space. If your child’s birthday falls in the summer months, maybe you can host it in the garden.
DIY entertainment
Rather than paying an entertainer, organise games and activities yourself. Traditional party games such as musical statues, pass the parcel and pin the tail on the donkey are all still popular.
Cut costs on decorations
Make your own bunting, use blow up balloons rather than helium, and use plain tablecloths and napkins rather than spending extra on special themed ones.
Make your own cake
Bake the birthday cake yourself to cut costs. If you aren’t good at baking, buy a plain sponge cake and decorate it yourself with sweets and icing.
Make homemade invitations
Don’t pay for expensive invitations; help your child to make homemade, hand-written ones instead. You could save even more by sending digital invitations via email or social media.
Provide light food
Arrange your party to fall in between meal times, for example between 2 pm and 5 pm. This way you’ll only need to provide snacks rather than full meals.
Don't throw a party every year
You don’t have to hold a birthday party every year. Alternate between having a party one year and a family day out the next. This can help you keep costs down.
We hope the above has given you some ideas for keeping party costs to a minimum. Celebrating a birthday doesn’t have to be an extravagant event. As long as the children have fun, they won’t notice if it is on a budget.
At Morses Club, we understand that sticking to a budget can be hard, so we want to help people make their money stretch further. For those times when a little extra is needed to cover an emergency cost, we provide home collection loans which we approve in person. To find out if our home collection loans are the right solution for you, visit our 'how it works' page.