2 Questions Birthday Party and Party Supplies

I think a park is great, I'd rather take my kid there than to be confined in chucky cheese! :)

You might want to locally price comp but I know Party City has their toy story supplies 50% off. So you're in luck! If you plan on doing the goody bags I know a lot of people who use orientaltrading.com, they have pretty cheap prices on decorations and fillers.

I was also a little strapped for cash for my son's birthday and ended up mix matching themed things and clear utensils/plates/cups so we could reuse them for other events. I also made the cake myself to cut more expenses, cupcakes are much easier and they have really cute toy story 3 decorations for them.

Parks are WAY better in my opinion! My two boys have always had their birthday's at parks. Bring a couple of balls if the kids want to kick or throw balls around...my boys love soccer and kick ball so that was a must.
Kids can run around, scream, go on slides, go on swings...SO MUCH BETTER!!!
Pary supplies...well, you could try the dollar store, don't know what they are like in your area, or walmart. Party stores sometimes have good deals. Usually I don't do a "theme" pary...I just go to the dollar store, get some party table covers and balloons and call it a day.
L.

If money is tight, I wouldn't do lunch. Plan the party before or after lunch like 9:30-11:30 or 2-4 where it's not a lunch or dinner time. You can have snacks (goldfish, the cake & ice cream, or just cake, pretzels, lemonade, etc.) That would help a bunch. Then, that lessons the decorations too, you only need cake plates, not cake and food plates. I usually only get 1 pack of the theme plates and then use regular plates after that, that cuts down on expenses. You can also do the same with the cups. Get 1 pack, or do just enough of those cute ones for the kids, not for the adults. If you put on the invitation "light snacks and cake will be served" then everyone knows you are not feeding them. As for cheap places for supplies, Walmart or the dollar store. I think the pond/playground is a great place for a party. You can also bring some loaves of bread or crackers for the kids to feed the ducks with. That should be a great time. No one should feel pressured to do more party than they can afford. And no one should judge you for the type of party you put on. But hey, I'm a bargain person and am always looking for a bargain! Hang in there!

parties at the park are great. we love them. the clean up is so much easier. i wanted to mention some stuff we did for one of my sons parties. make the hot dogs at home and put them into a crock pot. as far as the toy story 3 stuff. get the table clothe and napkins and then get some plain paper plates. the kids won't really notice the difference. the paper plates are whats most expensive and since your going to put food on them anyway it won't matter.

Park and 4 year old boys..... they will LOVE it!!
Go online and google Toy Story 3 and gather lots of ideas for games and decorations that would be easy to make at home. Walmart is where I found CARS party decorations for the least expensive and I checked between 3 other places. I just bought a star shaped multicolor pinata insead of the Cars one because it was $10 cheaper and they are going to destroy it anyway. Have them do an obstical course in order to find Buzz or Woody. Use toys that he has for decorations or small ones to decorate a homemade cake. Decorate using streamer as they are very inexpensive and balloons. The dollar stores are a great place to find thing and since the movie is really popular right now you'll find some great things. Save up old bread ends or stale bread and toss it into one bag in the freezer from now till the party, take it out the night before to thaw. Cut it up and put it into brown lunch bags with a few Toy Story Stickers on the out side. My husband lost his job a little over a year ago and I was a stay at home mom so I found myself in a situation of sink or float and became very determained to maintain a comfortable lifestyle that require little to no money... and we did! Thing are much better now and he has found work, but we never know when it will be stached out from under us again. I did have to continue to remind myself that our son was only 3 now 4 and he will love what ever it is that we do for him. Whatever you do he will love and always remember!! Have fun with it = )

I had my son's Birthday Party at the park on his 1st and 2nd Birthday, I think It's a GREAT place for kids just to do whatever they want and definitely a lot cheaper. My son had a Birthday in May and we did Toy Story and found it to be a lot cheaper and have more of a variety at Walmart..

Hope this helps..
Don't stress and Have fun with it..
M.

I think it sounds great! I love parties at the park and so does my 3 year old.

everybody must do what is best for their own family....I applaud your idea for having the party at the park! It's an excellent idea & hopefully those other families will learn to "think outside of the box". Who wants to be a copycat???? !!! Not me! Kudos to you!