Birthday Party Traumas

I have just got back from taking little Miss Frugal to a birthday party, it was in a church hall and had an all singing, all dancing, bubble blowing, light flashing disco there. The kids loved it!

When they played ‘Is this the way to Amarillo’ all 25 kids stopped running about like mad freaks, got into a line and started doing exactly the same dance. Very weird, like a scene out a body snatcher movie!!! Turns out that this is their new song for wake and shake on a morning at school! That’s a relief.

The party was fantastic though, it was fancy dress and the parents had hired a church hall and a clown/magician/DJ. The kids all got two party bags each, one with the usual stuff in and another shop bought lucky bag. Miss Frugal is 7 in September and has already started planning her party… Last year we had it at the Wacky Warehouse and it cost us £5.99 a head for 20 kids. It was good but the kids get an hours play in the ball pool and then have an hour to eat a meal – the only problem was that they were so keyed up from running about for an hour that they weren’t interested in the food.

This year though she wants a magic show and a disco so I had a quick word with the guy at the party today and managed to book him for her party. You wouldn’t believe the cost – £140 for 2 hours!!!! Then there’s another £30 for the church hall hire. I know what you’re probably thinking – ridiculously expensive and about as far from frugal as you can get but at least it’s only once a year!

I know that there are loads of ways to save money and thinking about it, I am sure she would have been just as happy with a smaller party at home but she is so excited now and is currently writing a list of all the friends she wants to invite. It’s a bit scary h0w this morning we had no clue what we were doing for her birthday and now we have a rather expensive party to pay for! I know that I tend to get a bit carried away with things like this so its a good job Mr Frugal likes to spoil the kids as he can’t see anything wrong with spending £200 on a party

Anyway before I sorted this out I had been having a look round on the Internet at ways to plan a money saving party, I found some good money saving tips but looking at it now, I think I have broken just about every rule on the list:

* Don’t feel guilty about limiting the size of the party. Experts recommend that the number of kids on your guest list should match your child’s age. We are up to thirty at the moment when experts think we should be looking at inviting seven people. Who’s going to tell Miss Frugal to get rid of twenty three kids off her list! Not Me.

* In most cases, the cheapest place to hold your party will be at home. True but can you imagine the mess and the chaos.

* You don’t need to spend a fortune on matching accessories. Instead of spending a fortune on themed plates, napkins and invitations, you could look for a few items with your child’s theme, and fill in the rest with matching colors. But it looks so pretty if everything matches.

* Homemade invitations add a personal touch to your party. You could use a picture of your child or if its a themed party, print some pictures off the Internet to match and get your child to colour them in. Then you can cut them out and stick them on to your invites. Too many kids for home made invites…. Just got a bargain from ‘Home Bargains’ 79p for 16 Disney Princess Invitations. I have bought two packs so party is limited to thirty two people.

* Add your mobile number to the invites so people can text you their RSVP. Yeay I manged to do one thing right.

I have been told about a really good website for birthday party ideas (even though I don’t need them now). I hope this helps someone: http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/

I will need to get some ideas for catering the party on a budget so I will let you know when I have the buffet planned as there will definitely be some frugal tips to share there.