Goody Bags Be Gone!
One of the more ridiculous wastes of money is the seemingly mandatory 'goody bag' at every kid's birthday party.
Nine times out of ten, Mom manages to make the teeth rotting candy in the goody bag disappear.
And it's a good bet that the little plastic do-dad's in there get looked at, maybe played with, once.
Costing between $2 and even up to $5 per goody bag, for between 10 and 15 children, these goody bags add $20 to $75 to the cost of your party.
Is it really worth the extra expense? If your party group is into crafts and you plan a craft as one of your activities - GREAT! You're done and don't need anything more.
But not all party groups are into crafts: boys and older kids aren't so keen on this activity.
It is hard to break with tradition, so it's best to find a really cheap alternative.
It's always time or money, so it's no surprise that the cheapest way to go is the do-it-yourself route.
But it doesn't have to be time consuming.
Do it in front of the TV some night, and you won't even know you spent any time saving yourself those party dollars.
Do it with your birthday child, and put the time you spend together in your memory bank.
Here are 3 inexpensive, quick D-I-Y kids party favor ideas to help save you money: Picture Memories You're no doubt going to be taking pictures at your child's party for your own memories (or having a friend do it for you).
So make your photos your take-home.
Get a shot of each guest, perhaps with the birthday child, or wearing a silly hat, or good candid shots.
Have your party helper print out your digital photos at some point when his or her help isn't needed doing something else, and glue each into a ready to go paper frame.
Design and print your frames ahead of time using WORD and have them all assembled and ready for the photos.
Use photo paper for printing the pictures, but you can put 2 maybe three on a sheet to save money on the printing.
Give away what you're going to give away anyways There's a very high probability that you child's party guests will be guests in your home at some point down the road.
They're your child's friends, right? There's a further high probability that you will be entertaining your child and these friends in different ways - going to the movies, having ice cream cones, having a sleepover, going to the park, etc.
Give these 'activities' away as your party favors.
Dress them up nicely in WORD, print them out, perhaps even wrap them with left over scraps of wrapping paper, and you've got a personalized favor for each of your guests.
All Boxed Up Make your favor presentation so unique that the substance becomes secondary.
A single chocolate kiss in a beautiful paper box with a pretty ribbon is a thoughtful, lovely and very cheap party favor.
You'll find a multitude of origami container instructions on the internet that you can make with your birthday child, and have a good together time doing it.
Cut your normal 8 1/2 X 11 computer paper down to an origami square, even print it with appropriate clip art or other decorations for making your favor boxes.
Just because every other hostess sends your child home from their birthday party with a little plastic bag filled with junk doesn't mean you have to.
Think outside the box, and you'll come up with many different things that are far more meaningful than a bag full of candy and cost far less.
Nine times out of ten, Mom manages to make the teeth rotting candy in the goody bag disappear.
And it's a good bet that the little plastic do-dad's in there get looked at, maybe played with, once.
Costing between $2 and even up to $5 per goody bag, for between 10 and 15 children, these goody bags add $20 to $75 to the cost of your party.
Is it really worth the extra expense? If your party group is into crafts and you plan a craft as one of your activities - GREAT! You're done and don't need anything more.
But not all party groups are into crafts: boys and older kids aren't so keen on this activity.
It is hard to break with tradition, so it's best to find a really cheap alternative.
It's always time or money, so it's no surprise that the cheapest way to go is the do-it-yourself route.
But it doesn't have to be time consuming.
Do it in front of the TV some night, and you won't even know you spent any time saving yourself those party dollars.
Do it with your birthday child, and put the time you spend together in your memory bank.
Here are 3 inexpensive, quick D-I-Y kids party favor ideas to help save you money: Picture Memories You're no doubt going to be taking pictures at your child's party for your own memories (or having a friend do it for you).
So make your photos your take-home.
Get a shot of each guest, perhaps with the birthday child, or wearing a silly hat, or good candid shots.
Have your party helper print out your digital photos at some point when his or her help isn't needed doing something else, and glue each into a ready to go paper frame.
Design and print your frames ahead of time using WORD and have them all assembled and ready for the photos.
Use photo paper for printing the pictures, but you can put 2 maybe three on a sheet to save money on the printing.
Give away what you're going to give away anyways There's a very high probability that you child's party guests will be guests in your home at some point down the road.
They're your child's friends, right? There's a further high probability that you will be entertaining your child and these friends in different ways - going to the movies, having ice cream cones, having a sleepover, going to the park, etc.
Give these 'activities' away as your party favors.
Dress them up nicely in WORD, print them out, perhaps even wrap them with left over scraps of wrapping paper, and you've got a personalized favor for each of your guests.
All Boxed Up Make your favor presentation so unique that the substance becomes secondary.
A single chocolate kiss in a beautiful paper box with a pretty ribbon is a thoughtful, lovely and very cheap party favor.
You'll find a multitude of origami container instructions on the internet that you can make with your birthday child, and have a good together time doing it.
Cut your normal 8 1/2 X 11 computer paper down to an origami square, even print it with appropriate clip art or other decorations for making your favor boxes.
Just because every other hostess sends your child home from their birthday party with a little plastic bag filled with junk doesn't mean you have to.
Think outside the box, and you'll come up with many different things that are far more meaningful than a bag full of candy and cost far less.
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