Cheap Birthday Idea for 4 Year Old Boy

We just did my daughters 5th birthday. All the kids in her class were having really lavish parties, but because both my husband and I are in college, our finances are very tight. Throw in the fact that my daughter's birthday is the 23rd of December and that's a heck of a situation! We decided to have a few of her favorite classmates over for cake and ice cream, and then everyone loaded up into their car and we all drove to Chuck E Cheese where we gave each child 10 tokens. We had balloons and hats and blowers and when everyone arrived we went right into singing happy birthday and cutting the cake.

All the kids ate their cake and ice cream, and then we let our daughter open up the presents everyone brought. Once all the presents were unwrapped we all took off. Everyone had a wonderful time, and my daughter did not feel like she wasn't able to celebrate her birthday as nicely as the other kids. It cost us about $50 total, because I made the cake myself. She got to give her friends invitations that specifically stated we would be having cake and ice cream and then going to CEC so all the parents knew what to expect.

I would reccomend not doing it on a weekend though, since places like chuck e cheese get pretty crowded on those days.

~ T.

Hi S.
My son is now 6 and I completely understand planning around a budget! I have a recipe for a scratch cake and icing, most everything you might already have on hand. My son also likes hot wheels and sports, legos....all that stuff. I found at this age most children dont really 'take care' of thier toys so the Dollar Store has wonderful gift ideas for very cheap. Starting now gives you a great advantage, I try very hard to plan ahead as much as possible. I will see what else I can find in the 'boy' section of my books and get back with you soon!!!! Good Luck!

S.,
Your story sounds just like us. We are going through the same crdit card issues that you are too. I have booked my sons 3rd Birthday party at The Orr Family Farm. You can get on thier web site to see more about it. It is $169+ tax and it is a 2 hour even for 10 kids plus the birthday boy. They provide a party planner. cake, invitations ect. I think that it is a great deal. I was just thinking that by the time I clean house, order a cake, decorations and food (snacks) and goodie bags for the kids I have spent well over $169.00.I hope that you are able to find something. Good luck. Let me know what you decide on.
C.
Okc, Ok

I have a friend who just had her son's 3rd or 4th birthday party and they did face painting. Kids just love it and they did it at the park in the playground area in the late afternoon so it wasn't too hot. The kids played and one by one they got to come get their faces painted. We did spiderman, pirates and lions for the boys and butterflies, ladybugs and princesses for girls. It was really cute and at that age, they aren't concerned about how great a painter you are. We used the cheap acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby for like $1 a color and make up sponges to put it on. She just had a few friends help her paint while the kids played and acted out whatever they had painted on their face. We didn't even have to tell them to do that! haha

THE LAKE!! WE HAD OUR LITTLE BOYS PARTY THERE LAST YEAR AND IT WAS A BLAST.