2-Year Old Birthday Party

We did this sort of thing when my almost 5 year old turned two. We have friends who have kids of all ages and not many two year olds have their own set of friends yet. His birthday is in April, so we did a painting party. What kid doesn't love to paint? We set up tables outside and had about 5 different types of paint set up...finger paints, spray paints, puff pants for shirts, etc. All of the kids loved it and we did have from 2 to about 10 at ours as wel. My husband grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, and we just had traditional type sides with it. it was very affordable and fun! We have done it several times since then :).

My son will be 2 in April. I have no plans for a big party. Just some close relatives (grandparents and my sister and her family who are nearby), some cake and maybe a little light food. Why spend the time, energy and money on a big party that will mean little or nothing to my son?

So, I say no big party needed. If your husband wants a party, he needs to plan or at least help plan it. Chances are, if and when he gets involved in the planning and realizes the cost and complications involved, he'll come to see things your way!

If you're able, sit down and talk these things over with him. If he insists on the party try to insist on his help. :-)

Good luck!
B.

We had a breakfast birthday party for our 3-year old. We bought 2 scone mixes from World Market ($8) and fruit ($15) and chicken apple sausage (maybe $15) and eggs (not much). We had coffee and tea and orange juice. The party was from 9:30-11:30, and we had cake at the very end. You could even send people home with cupcakes. We spent less than $50 on food and drink, everyone was happy with a good breakfast, and since everyone is up early anyway with kids, it was a fun way to spend Saturday morning. Good luck, have fun!

Hi Wendy,

This is my go to, great birthday idea website: www.birthdaypartyideas.com
There are literally hundrends of ideas, from crafts and food to themes and favors. I agree with others, pick a non-meal time, say from 9-11am or 3-5pm (of course, around your wee one's naptime.) You can easily serve just fruit, drinks, and a dessert. At 2, it's not that big a deal...more so for the parents then the kid. Trust me, plenty of years to come where they WILL remember the party, save your energy for those! As for the older kiddos, you can give them little tasks to help "run" the party for the younger ones...like have them help with games or obstacle courses, serving food to others, etc. And bottom line, if someone brings their 10 year old to a 2 year old's party, you would hope they would understand that it's not about entertaining their kid. (Read, they should either bring something for them to do or not bring them at all.) Have fun and congratulations!

I tend to disagree about your child not remembering the party. Our daughter does not remember her 1st bday party at all. However she clearly remembered her 2nd birthday party. So much so that when her 3rd birthday rolled around she specifically asked for another Mickey Mouse clubhouse party. She remembered all of the decorations, everything right down to the little figures that came on her cake. Luckily I had saved all her decorations in a box in storage so I didn't have to rebuy anything but the cake. We have a huge family so our parties our between 30 -40 adults plus kids. We too are on a tight budget. This is how I manage it all. Depending on theme you can find free decoration downloads. Disney website had a banner, place mats, crafts, games, etc. I also order everything else from birthdayexpress.com which is usually a lot cheaper than in stores. For food I make 1 crockpot of Sloppy Joes, 1 crockpot of meatballs (large bag is fairly cheap), a tray of homemade mac & cheese, and a fruit & veggie platter, rolls, chips and of course cake. Serve tea, punch, or lemonade for drinks. Everything on my menu can be prepared in advance so that the day of the party I only have about 1 hours worth of work setting up and then I can relax and enjoy the celebration. I do not provide the alcohol, that is way too expensive and it is a kids party no need for it. Some people bring their own and that's fine with us, we just do not have the money to provide it for everyone. Some of our relatives offer to pitch in and bring things as well which is always appreciated. We take a ton of pictures and video at each party for her digital scrapbooks. We also sit down afterward and have our daughter help write out thank you cards for everyone. Her 2nd birthday all she could do was tell me who gave her what, and I wrote the notes. This past year she was able to help write her name on the card in crayon. Some of our friends do not do birthday parties for their kids and some do. I just tend to feel that at this point she may not remember everything, but she remembers enough to know that everyone came together to celebrate her big day. And honestly, it's just as much of a fun family memory for Mom & Dad too. We've waited 12 years for our little miracle and love to celebrate each milestone. Trust me, you can do it on a tight budget with minimal stress on Mom & Dad.

I just had my daughter's 2nd birthday last week. I made it a breakfast party (10am-noon). I had all the kids come in their jammies (and told the parents they could too!) I served their food in disposible muffin tins and put something different in each of the six cups (silver dollar pancakes, syrup, cut up strawberries, yogurt dip, link sausage, and smiley face fries). I also made a small offering for the parents (quiche, muffins, and hasbrown casserole). Activity wise, the kids really just wanted to play with my daughters toys! I had bought picture frames for them to color, but only a few even wanted to! They were too busy playing. I gave out pillow cases for their favors which we had ironed on a birthday design, but you could get plain white pillow cases and fabric markers and let the kids color their own for an activity that all ages would probably like. Good luck!

ALL kids from 2-10 like McDonalds!
Plus you've got a clear excuse not to serve alcohol.

If your husband wants to think it's a big deal then go big on a super great cake & some awesome favors. Instead of doing "trinkets" for favors you could do something that goes well across the board like a personalized item for each child (if you know who is coming) or more simple like cupcakes packaged "to go" in a cute box.

My husband is the same - wants it all, but we're supposed to be on a budget. It's a guy thing I think. He can't admit that we need to scale back.

- Whatever you do I'm sure you'll have fun!
We decided to do a BIG BIG party/production every other year.
(Unfortunately this is the year.)
I Love to plan parties, so this makes happy. I just think the $$ is crazy!

Good luck.
- C. J

We didn't throw a 1st bday party for our son last year. We were planning a small one, but my husband ended up having to work and we cancelled 2 days before his bday.

This year we are doing a big 2nd birthday/Housewarming party. We will spread the word that its BYOB. Its going to be more of a social event for the adults than anything and its really just an excuse for us to invite people over to our new house.

If you want to lower costs, have it during a "non-meal" time or have a "pot-luck" party. As for activities, you could set-up and "arts and crafts table" with various art supplies (the dollar store is a great place to find the supplies for cheap).

What is the reason your husband wants to have a party? Is it for the social aspect of having people over? If so, you can do that any time.

We're in the same predicament for our daughter's up-coming birthday (2nd). The reality is that at two years old, they don't know the difference if they have a party or not. They still play next to friends, not really with them.

It is expensive (though there are a lot of ways to bring the cost down).

Our son didn't get a 2nd birthday party - I was diagnosed with cancer the day before. So, 2 days later, on my birthday, the neighbors got a cake for him, made margaritas for me, and we had a block party. It was impromptu and perfect.

We'll probably do something similar for our daughter's 2nd birthday with a family who has a little boy 2 days older.

Cake, presents, and grandparents sounds like a party to me. Maybe you and your husband could host a "grown up" party at another time. Then you can save money by not being required to accommodate a big group of kids and their parents and your husband can have the party he wants.

If you have a party, do POT LUCK - pick a theme and ask a guest to bring a dish and not a present (does she really need another toy?). Have a dip party and have your guest bring their favorite dip (queso, spinach dip, 7 layer taco dip, etc). You provide the Scoops/Tortilla Chips. Or you provide the hot dogs and burgers, ask guests to bring the drinks. I was trying to think of a poem to go with your invitation, something like "Wendy girl is turning two, We're having a party and we want to see you" where the next verse you talk about how she doesn't need another toy, to bring your favorite drinks instead. But I can't get the rhyming right without another cup or two of coffee.

If you choose to invite kids, I wanted at least one game at my son's 1st party. They went on an easter-egg-like hunt for the frogs that I'd hidden around the living room. The 4 year old liked it, as did the 7 year old. Noone is too old for a good old easter egg hunt. (My cousin did a similar game, hiding dinosaurs in the easter eggs and telling the kids to go exploring for dinosaur eggs). If you did a zoo type theme, they could go searching like on a safari for all the animals and collect them in a basket. Or get silk flowers at the $1 store and hide the flowers. They are going to pick flowers for the birthday girl.

Good luck!

For my daughter's 2nd birthday, we invited around 30 people (DH has 7 sister and 1 brother) including our friends and their kids who my daughter is friends with. There were kids aging from a few weeks - 12 years old. We did not plan any games but instead the kids played on the swingset, with bubbles and volleyball (for the older kids). We had the party for 2 hours so the first hour was kids playing and snacking and the second hour was cake and presents.

For food, we did chips/dips/individually wrapped twinkies/candies, etc. We did it from 2-4 so no one would expect a meal. It was great and no too expensive!

For her third birthday I want to do the same thing but with more planned activities - I plan on doing a pinata and maybe bobbing for apples or something since it'll be hot out (Aug birthday). I'd also like to do face painting. Those are all things that any aged child would like!

You could always put on the invite "Join us for Cake/Ice cream" so people know food is not going to be there but don't have it at meal time! I would not worry about any planned activity - just have toys/balls/bubbles/etc for the kids to play with. If it's inside - you could set up a coloring table or something like that to have an optional activity.

We had a similar situation. We had a big bash for the first birthday, and I didn't want to do that again for the second one. However, we did end up deciding to do a "kid" party, since my daughter has a few children that she sees regularly on play dates. We invited the kids and their parents, and we ended up having about 18 people -- 8 kids and 10 adults (which is a pretty big party). We ordered pizza and had punch, soda, snacks, veggies and wrap sandwiches. I did an Elmo theme, so I spent money at the party store buying Elmo decorations and favors. I also ordered a cake with an Elmo theme, and that was expensive. So, the party ended up costing a lot, but it was loads of fun and everyone enjoyed it. My daughter did know what was going on, and she knew it was for her, and she had a ball. The other kids and parents had fun too, and I was really glad we did it. We didn't have to plan any activities, since the kids just enjoyed the party atmosphere and running around playing with each other. So the pros for us were the great party and the fun people had, while the cons were the money we spent (and a confused and slighted mother-in-law who didn't understand why the entire family wasn't invited to the kid party, but that's another story :)). One last point in favor of having a party is that I think it's important to host events once in a while to help cement the relationships you have with your friends and with the families of your child's friends. One party goes a long way toward doing that. Good luck with whatever you decide!

For my daughter's 2nd & 3rd birthday parties we invited our friends (we don't have any family close by) to a cook out at the local park. We found a park that is first come first served for the pavillion so we didn't pay for that. Next instead of a big cake, I just made cupcakes. You can get more than 12 cupcakes per box and just put icing and sprinkles on top. We got theme plates (Cars) and the napkins, table covers, etc were just red. We supplied the hotdogs/hamburgers and everyone else brought sides, chips & drinks. The kids had a ball playing at the playground so I didn't need games or anything like that. I think the party cost no more than $75 total for us and no one minded bringing something.

I also like the idea of a potluck party. I might have to do that for her 4th birthday party.

Well, your DH can plan the party if he wants one so badly! He should be aware of the budget, so you can just tell him that you guys will have a family party for her - she won't even know the difference. I mean, does he want an excuse to get together with his friends, or is he doing it for her? If he wants a party for himself, tell him to invite the guys over for poker night or something.....BUT If it's just for her, then maybe he would consider cake and ice cream and maybe a family movie or game night? If you guys are on a budget, then just tell DH that grandparents and cake are good enough and he can be sad as much as he wants until he decides to find a second job or plan a party himself....

Your daughter will not remember her 2nd birthday. I would talk with your husband about having a "big party" with her friends once she starts preschool. Spend wisely right now... having a huge party for someone who doesn't know what it's for seems a little crazy. Your husband may want a reason to get people together- see what his motivation is and go from there. If you absolutely get suckered into a party, I would NOT do alcohol and order some pizzas, 2 liters of soda and cake.

When is her birthday? You can do a party at home to incorporate the grandparents and a few of the playdate friends. We had parties at 1 and 2. Birthday 1 was a pizza party at home and was pretty inexpensive. I did a "pull" pinata and had all the kids sit on the floor for this and I had the bigger kids help the little kids. I did a pin the tail on the donkey for the middle kids and foam crafts for all...door hangers for the bigger kids and cute hats for the little ones and all could share the boxes of foam stickers. It wasn't very expensive at all and we had about 30 adults and 10 kids ages 1-12. I didn't do wine or beer...kid's party was our excuse. Birthday 2 we rented a pavillion near a playground for $75 and did a cookout. They had two sections to the playground, one for little ones and one for older kids. We did the pinata again but no one ended up doing any other activities b/c of the playground. We did a 6 foot stand up of our son and made it a hat theme so everyone wore crazy hats. Everyone loved it and we skipped the booze since we were in a county park and they didn't allow it. The wine and beer will soak up a lot of your budget.

Good luck!

your daughter won't care a rap, so i'd pass on the kids party. this one is more for your dh anyway<G>. so call some family and GOOD friends (you know, the ones who won't get snotty) and make it a potluck BYOB and request that all prezzies for your daughter be small inexpensive ones. she'll love opening them but won't really care what's inside, and that way the 'present' will be showing up with a dish to have a good time. so keep it small and simple, and just invest in some streamers and a thumping good cake.
:) khairete
S.

Hi Wendy,
Maybe you should check one of your local community centers. Then as something to do at the party, check at Dollar Tree or another such store for paintable magnets. Dollar Tree has lots of cute, inexpensive activities for kids.
We went ot a birthday party like that a few weeks ago and the adults and kids had fun. The birthday child's mom brought in music and her boom box and the children played musical chairs, limbo and red light, green light. Those games might be a little hard for a 2 year old, but you can adapt the games for the ages of the children at the party. For food she ordered some pizzas and had them delivered to the center.
I asked about the cost for getting the room at the community center and it was reasonable.
I hope your party is a great success and makes hubby happy too.

Is Chucky Cheese out of your budget? It seems like a great place to have a party and have all the kids take care of.

If that isn't what you had in mind, you can decorate the house with a themed party and have giveaways that are age specific. I don't think you need to worry about games. They are kids, they'll play no matter where they are (sometimes not a good thing).

If you want to keep them occupied you can do a craft with the older kids handling a more complex craft project while the little ones, including your daughter doing a simpler craft like rubber stamping on a paper.

good luck!

You dont say when your daughter's bday is, but there are always ways to do a party inexpensively. You don't have to serve a meal for example, you could have a cake party at a local park for her kid friends - the park entertains the children, parents can chat, then everyone can have some cake. Everyone goes home tired.

As a previous post had mentioned, I think my first task would be a conversation with your hubby. If he just wants an excuse to get friends together to hang out? Maybe you could have a BBQ - you all do some burgers/dogs on the grill and have everyone else bring drinks and sides. Just buying a main dish and a bday cake wouldn't be too expensive. (this is what we did for my sons 2nd)

Good luck, and have fun! Remember, the point is to enjoy your kids - not to stress yourself out so much you can't enjoy anything! :)

You've got a lot of responses here, and they seem great... I'll just add what I've done with my kids: up to their 3rd birthdays... only a playdate sort of thing. At 2, I even said no gifts! My little guy just turned three and he was all about the party hats and blowers and birthday cupcakes, so I invited four friends over for a playdate with pizza and cupcakes, we sang happy birthday and they got to eat and play. I did it during the week for lunch. I did allow people to bring gifts if they chose, but didn't make a big deal out of it. I did not have any structured activity, and that was just fine with them... they would rather play. ;)

Good luck!

I think a kids party for a 2 yo is too much. Honestly, she won't remember it, probably won't understand it, and may get overwhelmed if too many kids are there. I would stick with the party you have planned, close family and some cake. After the stress of the first few parties, I now tell whoever wants to come to come and put some cake and pizza out, much cheaper and less stress. Trust me, when she gets to be 4 or 5, she will start asking for the friends parties. Save your money for those. Good luck.

Work within your budget. If a big party is not doable, don't do it. Sad hubby or not. What is there to prove by having a big party? How much you can spend?

You don't say when the birthday is... if its around St. Patrick's Day, maybe tie a celebration in with that. If its around Easter, tie it in with that. If your daughter goes to daycare, just take some cupcakes or cookies.

Another option is to plan a special outing for the family, go out to a restaurant, get everyone to sing, etc....

Good luck,
M.

I don't think a party is necessary. But, if you decide to do it, here are some suggestions for keeping the costs down and making it fun:
1. No alcohol - at a children's party during the day, no one needs wine or beer
2. Have it at a park if weather permits. Then you don't need to plan any activities because the playground will keep the kids entertained
3. Do it in the morning from 10 - 11:30 and all you need is a couple of snacks (chips & fruit salad) and cake. no full lunch required. If you choose to have the party go until noon (which is what I did), you can order pizzas. Domino's does 3 medium pizzas for $15, so at $5 per pizza, it's not overly expensive. They even delivered to the park
4. Since it's at a park, you don't need to spend a lot of money on decorations. We got some balloons and that was it.
5. Choose your theme for plates, cups, napkins, etc, but don't make EVERYTHING be the theme. Some items can just be solid colors that match (ex: we had Backyardigans plates and napkins, but solid colored cups and forks). Party City often has buy one get one free deals, so keep your eye out for those and you can get stuff even cheaper
6. Keep party favors simple

Whatever you decide, your daughter will have a very special day!!!
K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao - looking for great birthday presents? I've got 'em!

Hi! I vote no party - your daughter won't remember it and doesn't need (or want?) it. Her birthday should be about her, not your husband. If he feels strongly about having a party, then he should plan it!