Birthday Parties.... - Brandon,VT

Updated on July 27, 2013
N.S. asks from Bristol, VT
10 answers

My daughter is turning 4 on August 25. Trying to figure out some cheap ways to make the bday fun and special to her. Also September 6th my son turns 7...again trying to figure something fun and cheap to do for his party as well. not looking for gift ideas but more party ideas. decors and stuff etc....

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C.V.

answers from Columbia on

The most memorable birthday for my younger boy is when he and I spent the weekend in a hotel that had a waterpark inside it. It was still cheaper than the average birthday party and we had such a great time together. I gave him $10 for the arcade, and on the morning of his birthday we ordered breakfast through room service. Yes, a couple of things were more expensive than needed, but it was an awesome time and he still remembers it fondly. It was just he and I.

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D.B.

answers from Boston on

The main thing in birthday parties is to keep them SMALL. In fact, for younger kids, small is less stressful and less chaotic. It gets expensive only if you overdo it with 20 kids (and 20 goody bags) and a professional entertainer of some sort, or a paid venue like an arcade or bouncy house. Kids do not really care about having the whole class of kids they don't even really like. And since your kids' birthdays are either during summer vacation or just around the time school starts, you have the added advantage of sending out invitations before everyone is surrounded by huge groups of kids.

Kids think birthdays are special if they are the center of attention and the focus of the day. They don't need parents who are hugely hassled with the delivery and expense of bounce houses and farm animals and so on. Some of the best parties we had for our kids involved the typical games from the past generation that most of today's kids have never seen. A number of our neighbors have done the same, and all the guest kids are blown away by how fun things are!

Go to the library and borrow a book that details some of these games and the rules. Many of them involve common household items. The 7 year old can have sack races (use old pillow cases or just take an old sheet and cut it into sections if you are handy with a sewing machine. You don't need to finish the edges.) Have an egg toss outside and just have a hose for rinsing kids off (tell the parents to send the guests in bathing suits or with a change of tshirt). If you use water balloons, you have to pick up all the pieces because they are hazardous to wildlife and birds. Have potato races where they carry a potato on a tablespoon or wooden spoon. Do 3 legged races and wheelbarrow races. Be sure to include prizes for things besides the fastest - things like "most unique carrying technique" or "fewest drops". We also did bean races - kids picked up dried beans in a spoon and transported them from one cup to another. I forget what you call those relay races where the kids wear a few articles of clothing, go to the other side where a teammate awaits, and then they have to take off the clothes and dress the other one. Use anything you have on hand - hats, vests, blest, a feather boa, Mardi Gras beads, anything - everyone has the same number of items but not the same things.

For the 4 year old, go to the craft or party or discount store and buy a bunch of those plastic eggs they have around Easter time, and put a few small prizes or candies in each one, and hide them around the yard or the house - in a flower pot, behind a log, in the rain gutter downspout, or inside on a bookshelf, under the couch, behind a waste basket. You can take away the competitive aspect by giving each child a color and putting a sticker or an index card of that color on a collection bag - then they kind of split up, but overall they can work together to help everyone get their own eggs. What's inside becomes the prize - no additional goody bags.

You can also get little picture frames, either wood or foam. They can glue on shapes - foam shapes for the foam frame, or wood shapes or even different shapes of macaroni. Use white glue and let it dry while they are doing a game. An adult can spray paint the wood ones (right on top of the macaroni shapes) and let everything dry while they are playing a game or having cake. If someone takes pictures during the party, you can email them after the party and let the families decide what to print out and save. For kids, even a color picture printed on regular paper is kind of fun. Or they can use the frames for any other photo they have at home.

You can do a similar treasure hunt for the 7 year old - write up some simple clues that direct each child to his/her prize destinations. You can put an adult with each team to help read and interpret. We did sort of mysterious clues or little rhymes depending on the ages of the kids. Or do a scavenger hunt around the house for things like a pencil, a paper clip, a key, etc. Leave items around but not in logical places - tests their powers of observation.

This requires planning but so little expense. You have lots of time, and you probably have a lot of the stuff lying around. You can also do stuff like make vests out of paper bags turned inside out, hats out of newspaper, etc. - all those books of instructions are available in the public library for nothing.

Small parties also allow the birthday child to open a handful of gifts, learn to say thank you, without getting overwhelmed and greedy. The guests get to see the child open the gifts, which teaches them to enjoy giving pleasure even when they aren't receiving anything. Kids can learn to write (or for the 4 year old, dictate) thank you notes, a very critical skill. The problem with large parties is that no one wants to sit there while 20 gifts are opened.
It's not only fun, it sets a good example for kids that the joy is in having a party is not the extent of the extravaganza or the expense involved, but the social joys and the games.

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J.K.

answers from Wausau on

Do you have a Lowes or Home Depot nearby? I recently learned, at the individual store's discretion, locations hold free birthday parties. Both places have free craft projects for kids on Saturdays. They basically expand on that. You bring your own cake and such.

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M.H.

answers from Chicago on

For my sons 2-4 th birthday we went to the zoo with a few friends. It was a great day.

My daughters 2nd, we just had a small backyard bbq- pool party .. a few friends over and a great time was had by all.

My son turns 5 in a few weeks. we are going to have a backyard pool party.. keeping it simple. he just wants to play with his friends etc.

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H.W.

answers from Portland on

One family I know had an inexpensive party at a playground near the park. They ordered beach balls (from a cheap website, probably Oriental Trading Company or something similar) for party favors, blew them up, and then strung them from side to side as decorations for the party, similar to how one might use chinese lanterns all in a row. Very cute and then each child had something to play with/take home at the end (and no goodie bags to deal with!).

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A.L.

answers from Austin on

For your seven year old - set out buckets, kiddie pools, large bowls, whatever - full of water balloons, all over the yard, in strategic positions, and have a massive water balloon fight. We did this with playgroup, and it was so much fun! Keep in mind, though, that they will go through the balloons pretty quick if they can find them easily, so you might want to hide them like Easter eggs. Use biodegradable ones - they break easier, and if you miss picking some pieces up, it's not a disaster for your lawnmower. Turn on the sprinklers, too - that way, when the balloons are done, everyone still gets water play. And I LOVE Nervy Girl's beach ball idea for party favors!

For your four-year-old - maybe try a costume party. Set a theme if you want - we did Neverland (pirates and fairies, and one little boy who came as the Crocodile! - extra points for him) - and let everyone come dressed up. For favors that were also decorations, we got balloons and used noisemakers as the weights. Make the balloon strings just a little taller than the kids, keep them all in the same room, and it makes a fun "forest" for the kids to play in, and they all took a balloon and a noisemaker home. Really, it's just a playdate with cake, but dressing up and having balloons makes it special. And if you don't mind, put out confetti, or get confetti eggs, if you can find them this time of year. A really big mess will certainly be memorable, and they will have GREAT FUN making it and not getting in trouble for it!

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C.M.

answers from St. Louis on

My kids birthday is 2 weeks apart (turning 4 and 6). We are having a spongebob themed pajama party. Bought them both spongebob pjs (needed new ones anyways!), decorations and invited 12 friends. We have asked parents to 'drop off' instead of staying (which is customary where we live) to get the feel of a pajama party. It starts at 5pm, we asked them to wear pjs, will have pretzels, goldfish and fruit. We will play music and have a dance party then eat pizza (throw in oven) with Caprisuns. After dinner, I have three arts and crafts activities from Oriental Trading company. Magic Scratch, Decorate masks and color car magnets. I also have tattoos for the kiddos. If there is time leftover, we'll do an outdoor scavenger hunt. Then we will settle down for donuts and juice/milk (no cake this year) and then read a book at the end to settle down for 'bed' before parents pick them up!

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B.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi! I blogged on this a while ago. http://heyyougetreal.com/momblog/what-about-birthday-part...
It starts like this: First, know that I am not the “normal” mom when it comes to birthday parties. I believe that the whole birthday thing has gotten out of hand. Here are my guidelines for parties:

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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

-You can definitely do it on the cheap if you have it at home.
-I would do separate parties.
-For him, you could have a Pirate themed party, Carnival party, his favorite cartoon themed party.
-For her, you could have a princess or fairy themed party. You can buy
fairy wands & wings at the Dollar Store.
-You could do these parties at a park but I don't know if it will be too hot in your area. Also, check w/parks & rec to ensure you don't need to reserve the park first.
-For him, you could have a bunch of beach balls to kick around the back
yard, kick balls, Nerf footballs, races, mini pools in your backyard (the
shallow ones just to sit in & get cool), water balloon toss or fight.
-For her, decorate foam photo frames or door hangers.
-For her, you can decorate your house like a fairy garden (inside or out).
Buy cheap tulle remnants & hang them around doorways in Cinderella
type fashion (from the cartoon), have white lights hanging on your back patio or from trees to give the illusion of a fairy-esque garden, sprinkle
"fairy" dust (confetti) over the front walk, table top, backyard patio.
-Serve storebought mini cupcakes (or make your own but I warn you....it's
a lot to frost). :)
-For your son you could have a race car party. Decorate using the "Cars"
movie as your guide (penant flags hanging, black & white checkered flags, fake tires etc.).
-You can do a lot w/streamers & balloons as far as decorating.
-Decorate their room or doorway to make their day special.

M.D.

answers from Washington DC on

When my older two turned were turned those ages, we did a combined carnival party. We set up different stations with games, and you got so many tickets to play the games. Each game station had a bucket of toys to pick from (Oriental trading company stuff) so the kids goodie bags were made from their prizes. We gave tickets for hot dogs and popcorn also!

Of course you didn't NEED a ticket for anything, but it made it fun.

I'd combine the parties and do one thing for both kids.

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