Are you watching your pennies as you plan your child’s party?  With a little outside-the-box thinking, you can pull your next child’s party together for less than $25!  That’s right, less than $25!  Take inspiration from these budget-inspired party plans that are crafty, creative, and loads of fun!

Throw a Potluck Art Party.  In addition to the art activities, serve up ice cream, a batch of cupcakes, and juice boxes!

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Is your kid particularly creative? Does she love to draw pictures? Cut out pictures? Make collages? Finger Paint? You just might have a little artist on your hands. If it is a favorite class or activity for your kid, a great budget-friendly, easy-to-plan party is to invite your kid’s friends to a Potluck Art Party.

Send a palette invitation to your guests, cut out an oblong shape from white construction paper. Draw the circles of the palette with different colors and on each colorful circle provide a party detail. Ask the kids to bring their own favorite art supplies to use and to share with the fellow party guests. There is no need for the kids to go out and buy new supplies, this is all about bringing what you have at home to share.

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Welcome guest party blogger, Wendy Thomas! She is the mother of six children and lives in New Hampshire with her husband, Marc. Wendy writes a weekly column in the Nashua Telegraph called “Simple Thrift”  that offers thrifty tips for today’s times. She also blogs about her family’s budget experiments (including the great hamburger experiment) at www.simplethrift.wordpress.com.

This weekend I tried to do the near impossible. I tried to have a Birthday party for my 9 year old daughter with a budget of less than 10 dollars.

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Planning your next kid’s party on a shoestring budget? Here’s some cent-savvy thoughts:

First off, a birthday doesn’t always need to be celebrated with a big party. Actually, it is a good rule of thumb to not have a traditional party each and every year and to do other things instead. Gather your family around and celebrate by having a homemade cake with candles, and singing “Happy Birthday” together. If you want to include others, like your kid’s friends, just make it a “cake cutting ceremony,” and serve birthday cake and ice cream. For the rest of the time, have the kids play together. No need for presents at this one, it’s more of a simple celebration.

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If you have a toddler who is about to celebrate a birthday and you are looking for a fun yet budget-friendly party plan, why not let coloring take center stage? It’s easy, creative, and entertaining. For inspiration, check out these coloring activities:

1. Print out any variety of coloring book pages from the Internet, and have fresh boxes of crayons available so the guests can color the pictures.
2. Spread a large piece of butcher paper out on a wall, large table, or the floor, and have the kids draw a mural scene or happy birthday wishes.
3. Have different sizes of boxes available (large ones will be the most fun!). Have the kids color and decorate their own boxes. They can take their coloring box creations home as a goody. If the boxes are large enough, cut out openings so the kids can climb in. Tons of fun!
4. If it is nice outside, have the kids create sidewalk murals using chalk.
5. If you will be handing out small goody bags, give the kids brown lunch bags to decorate before you fill them with goodies. Good ideas for favors include a coloring book and fresh box of crayons.
6. Play Find the Crayons! Hide crayons around the party area for the kids to find.
7. Play Hot Crayon like Hot Potato.
8. Check out Crayola Creativity Central for loads of easy ideas from crafts to printable color-in party invitations and beyond. This is an excellent resource!
9. Check out these crayon-shaped cakes for added fun.

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This is a party theme that is easy to put together, very budget friendly, and often a favorite of kids aged 2 to 3 years old. Essentially, the party is all about the party kid. Given that kids this age are learning and recognizing who they are, having a party that reflects them will be a lot of fun for this age. For you, it is easy to put together!

Here are the tips:

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What’s a perfectly easy, fun, and budget-friendly toddler to 4-year-old party theme? A messy party! Kids love to make a mess, so why not give in and make a whole party out of it! If this idea appeals, let’s get down to the nitty gritty and bring it alive:

For the invitations, use heavy card stock and paint or a stamp pad. Have your child make hand prints all over the card, add all of the party details, and invite the kids to get ready to make a mess!

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