Birthday Party Ideas That Won’t Break The Bank!
Celebrating your little munchkin’s birthday soon and not sure what to do? How to make it fun and memorable without drilling a hole in your pocket? Here are some ideas you can incorporate into your kid’s birthday party plans!
Let your kid design their own invitation cards
Instead of spending loads of money getting ready made invitation cards, why not have some parent-child time with your kid, letting them design their own invites? Let them draw on drawing paper or coloured papers and decorate with stickers (kids love stickers) and colourful inked marker pens!
Venue Selection
Choosing venues for your kid’s party can be overwhelming. Taking in the costs and venue limitations, we often have not much option. If you have a backyard in your house that is a great place to start. Condominiums have function rooms and neighbouring community centres hire out rooms at an affordable per hour rate. Or, you could head to either East Coast Park or Sentosa for some outdoor fun!
Pick a theme!
Themed parties are relatively easier to manage and plan for - and they do not have to be pricey! If your child enjoys cooking or baking, throw them a chef/baking party with little chef hats and aprons for their friends to join in. Just make sure the adult to child ratio is just right to lend a helping hand whenever needed!
Cake
Cakes can be super expensive depending on the size, flavours and decorations. Why not bake your own and enlist the help of your child to decorate it? Not only will you spend more time with your child, they’ll feel a sense of achievement of having “made” their own birthday cake! Huge confidence booster!
Cheap plastic cups + stickers
There’s absolutely no need to purchase new and matching silverware to cater to your many little guests arriving for the party. Get a tube of plastic cups from the supermarket, paste a couple of stickers and voila! Your little guests can choose whichever stickers to their liking and paste them on THEIR cup. Pass them a marker to write their names on it too, so they wouldn’t mix it up!
Craft booth
Instead of paying big bucks to hire an entertainer or have a bunch of kids crowd around the TV/Computer/Tablet, create a craft booth! For younger children, you may want to stick with child-safe, mess-free craft booth ideas such as ‘Decorate your party hat’. For older children, feel free to experiment with messier ideas like ‘Cupcake decorating’. Children love the idea of decorating their own food! A small tip here, use plastic wrap to cover the floor area where your craft booth sits - saves you a lot of cleaning time!
Photobooth, DIY props
Photo opportunities are a must especially at such joyous occasions! What better way to document these than a photobooth? With the mega quality cameras built in our smartphones, we just need a few props to make the picture POP! Few ideas include creating a frame with your child’s birthdate and your family photo and a few more fun props according to the party theme! If the theme is Magic, first print out magic-related items (wand, Wizard’s hat). Then paste them on cardboard to make them more durable and add a wooden stick (disposable chopsticks from hawker centres work just fine) to make it handy for posing!
Balloon Decorations
Who doesn’t love balloons at a party? Blow up balloons and string them together to create a balloon garland and drape it across your windows, door frames or walls! Put a hole through the mouthpiece part of the balloon and use yarn or thread to string them together. You could also tie a string to the balloon and weigh them down with keychain rings and place them around the house, on the ground! (Tip: Instead of blowing up balloons manually or buying an air pump, fill up bottle with Vinegar and Baking Soda and drape the balloon opening over the bottle mouth!)
Make your own Juice Bar/Popsicles!
Singapore’s hot weather calls for a cool, refreshing snack. What healthier way than making your own juice bar or popsicles? Juice out fresh fruits and freeze them in either ice cube trays or popsicle moulds overnight for that mid-party Vitamin C booster! Set aside juices for Adults to make themselves a drink as and when they want!
Party Favours
No kid wants to leave a party empty-handed, however, favour bags do not have to be over the top! Get some colourful paper bags stapled with a small Thank You note and a marker to pen the names of recipients. Favour items could include more sweets (never one too many for kids!), or essentials items such as stationery.
There you have it! 10 birthday party ideas to include in your plan that doesn’t break the bank! Do keep in mind that children are simple and happiness comes easily to them! Do not stress yourself out trying to initiate an awesome party you saw online or heard from someone else. It’s YOUR child’s party not anyone else’s, so focus on what they like and make it fun ( and budget-friendly) for everyone!