Two Carnival Parties – How To Keep up with the Joneses and your budget

Some parents spend thousands of dollars on their kids’ birthday parties, while a majority spend somewhere between $250 and $750. Are these “over the top” parties really more fun for the kids than say a party within a smaller budget? Both provide many delights and thrills for the kids.

I broke down the elements of a “Carnival” themed party…one that would cost parents $5000 and one that would cost $250. Now, with the difference in cost, how could these parties be at all similar? Well, take a look…they’re definitely more similar than different!

FIRST, LET’S GO OVER THE TOP:

Carnival Party on $5000 for 25 kids
Invitations:
The invitations would be custom-designed by a stationary store and professionally printed ($150). The invitations would be hand-delivered to each party guest by a professional clown ($150).
Decorations:
Professional balloon arches would greet the guests as they entered the carnival ($200×3). Besides the balloon arches, bunches of helium balloons would be decorating the entire party area ($400). A big top tent ($350) would be rented for the entertainment to take place under.
The party would have rented tables, linens, and table ware that matched the carnival theme ($500).
Activities:
Upon entering the party, the children would be given a Carnival Knapsack with a T-shirt and Cap with their names monogrammed on each ($15×25). The kids will wear their t-shirts and caps at the party, and the knapsack will capture their prizes from the carnival games. The knapsack ($10×25) will also hold an empty popcorn box and a string of booth tickets for the games.
Ten professional carnival game booths ($500) would be rented and staffed by professional clowns. Game booths could include: Ring Toss, Duck Pond, Balloon Darts, NBA Hoops, Crazy Ball, Coin Pitch, Tin Can Alley, Plinko, Large Hoopla, Milk Toss. When the kids win a game, they are given a prize. These can include pencils, bouncing balls, yo-yos, bubbles, plastic sunglasses, etc.
A Bouncing Carnival Inflatable ($200) and Dunking Tank ($150) would be additional fun activities.
Under the Big Top, an additional clown ($150) will be entertaining kids with her routine, along with a juggler ($150) and a stilt-walker ($150).

Food:
A Hot Dog Vendor ($150), Sno-Cone Machine ($150), and Popcorn vendor ($150) will all be available for the kids to use their tickets to buy their birthday lunch. The kids will be able to enjoy their food at the party tables.
A fancy cake ($75) will be made for the party by a professional bakery. An ice cream Sundae Cart ($150) would be available to accompany the cake.
Goody Bags:
Kids will take home a monogrammed knapsack filled with prizes from the games, the t-shirt, cap, a fancy, over-sized lollipop ($5 x 25), and their own mini-clown costume, with a red nose, clown collar, and face makeup ($5 x 25).
NOW, here’s how you could throw an “on-budget party” with the same theme:

Carnival Party on $250 for 25 kids
Invitations:
The invitation would be hand-made by printing carnival tickets off of the computer with all pertinent details. These invitations can either be hand-delivered by your child at school and/or mailed to the guests ($10).
Decorations:
Purchase a helium balloon tank ($30) and blow up balloons ($20) on your own for the party. You could make one large balloon arch on your own, or have balloons located all over the carnival party area. A few Carnival Mylar balloons would be very good to attach to the birthday kids’ chair.

Purchase streamers ($10) in an array of bright, primary colors and have them bunched heavily together from the ceiling, when the kids enter the carnival they can walk through the streamers to the fun.

For the big top, hang a very large sheet over four standing poles to create the affect.
Purchase primary colors of table ware and set the table. Over the party table, hang a mock trapeze ($3) with a stuffed Monkey ($2) on it for added décor.

Activities:
Upon entering the party, a face painter (hire a favorite babysitter who is creative with paint! -$40) would be on hand to paint little carnival animals on the guests’ faces.

From there, the kids would receive an empty popcorn box and a string of tickets to use at the different activity booths.

Turn very large appliance boxes into carnival booths for the activities. Ask for parent volunteers to run the various booths, and hand out prizes. The prizes ($25) can be little toys found at a Dollar Store, i.e. spinning tops, bouncy balls, plastic animals, Pop Rock Candy, etc. At the booths, the following activities could be done using stuff that you have around the house:

• Fishing Game: Mock up a fishing pole with a paper clip on the end, have the kids throw the line over the box and the adult clips on a prize that the kids reel in.
• Hula Hoop Throw: Have the kids throw a ball through hula hoops to win a prize.
• Have a wading pool on hand with little Rubber Ducky toys floating. Little ones can pick up a rubber ducky, look for a number on the bottom, and receive a prize that correlates to the number.
• Balloon Darts: Blow up balloons and have them taped to a cardboard box. Have kids throw darts to see how many they can break. Make sure to have additional balloons as the ones pop away.
• Guess the number of marbles in a jar.
• Enjoy a Water Balloon Toss. Have kids pair off in two’s and start to throw water balloons to one another. After each successful toss, have the kids take one step back and continue with the toss. The last team still throwing the water balloon wins.

Under the Big Top, have an additional adult volunteer or the babysitter you hired for face painting, entertain kids with a silly routine.

Food:
Have a traditional BBQ with hot dogs and hamburgers ($40), put out bowls of peanuts and popcorn. Have Cracker Jack Boxes, Animal Crackers and Cotton Candy Bags lining the party table for additional treats ($10).

Make a carnival birthday cake yourself or a batch of cupcakes that the kids can decorate as an additional activity ($10). You could also host the kids making sundaes by providing three flavors of ice cream, chocolate sauce, peanuts, cherries, etc as another party activity.
Goody Bags:
Kids can take home a bright-colored cup home filled with the prizes they won from the games, as well as extra boxes of Cracker Jacks and Animal Crackers ($2). Make sure to put the kids’ names on the cups as a personal touch.

Where are the savings?

1. Make your own invitations, decorations, and games/activities.
2. Hire a babysitter or a family friend to provide the entertainment.
3. Make your own food and birthday cake.
4. Keep the cost of prizes and goodies reasonable.

These tips work regardless of your theme for your kids’ next party! Your kids will enjoy their parties regardless of the amount of time or the money you spend!