Budget Holiday Party Tips

During the holidays, it is the season for parties that often include the whole family.

Here are top tips for planning a kids’ holiday party this year that will be loads of fun, simple, and won’t break the bank:

1. Send your invitations early. It’s a busy time of year and getting on people’s calendars early is key.
2. Make your own invitations with candy canes or jingle bells.
3. Have the kids make ornaments and then hold an ornament swap at the party. Amazon has a good selection of ornament kits, or using heavy card stock, glitter glue, markers, and other craft materials, children can create homemade ornaments and exchange. Crafty and fun!
4. If it is a strictly kids only party, limit the number of guests you invite. Perhaps just your child’s best friends. This is not a birthday party, so the same guidelines of inviting the entire class may not apply.
5. Your holiday decorations serve as your party decorations.
6. Look around your home for fun stuff to enjoy easy activities, including a holiday taste test … bring out the spices of the season and let the kids taste and guess away, make shaving cream snowmen, get some holiday cookie cutters and have a cookie bake-off, use marshmallows to create snowmen, write letters to Santa. The activities are endless when you look around your own home for inspiration.
7. This is a busy time of year for holiday parties. Perhaps you are hosting an Open House for families. Make sure to have a few of those easy activities prepared for the kids and run by helpers during your party.
8. Host a Tree Trimming party for the kids. The main activity will be decorating the tree and your home.  If you have small trees that need trimming, this is ideal.
9. Serve cocoa and cookies, not a full meal. Do not schedule your holiday party around a meal time.
10. Say no to the goody bags at your holiday party. Let a craft or a decorated cookie that the children bake and decorate serve as take-home favor.