Skint and two birthdays

[Dreamitaway]

Hi all,

Before anyone suggests it, this is NOT a begging post. I will never accept any money or anything of that sorts.

Anyway, basically I'm skint. Financially I'm in quite a bit of a debt since Christmas. Both my daughters have their birthday this march. One on the 20th and one on the 25th. I don't know what to do. I feel awful, my daughter's are turning 11 and 7. My 7 year old wants a party and my 11 year old will want something to do with her friends. Gift wise I have nothing, I'm feeling like a pretty rubbish mum right now. They're used to having lots of presents and that's just not going to be the case this year.

Any cheap present or party ideas?

Party - sleepover? Pizza and movie night?

Presents - if you live near a Select pop in and check out the sale rail. I wandered in to one the other day and stumbled across it after not being in for years. Ridiculously cheap. Also consider what you can get second hand? My DD also nearly 11 wants a £20 hair curler - I'm taking that as a win this year after an expensive year last year. If yours are girly see what cheap make up or bits and bibs you can get in primark? Good luck!

@Dreamitaway what's the budget and what are they into?

Pizza, cupcakes, pyjama party with non alcoholic cocktails with their friend's (and a promise that you'll be in another room!)

Pj sleepover party with mocktails. And pizza.

Hi op mn is so good at this.
Don't need lots for fun party the old games are still the best even with other themes. Musical statues, pace parcel.
Art stuff from wilko and music. Pizza for food.

Don't any other family give them presents?

For 7yr old, would she like a nature walk through a park, lake, reserve etc? Collect items along the way and the most interesting artwork when home wins a small prize?

Pizza night. Buy frozen pizza bases (about 70p each depending where you buy from) then have a selection of other items- tinned pineapple, ham/bacon, olives, mushrooms etc and each makes their own pizza, or 1 between 2

Any friends/relatives to help do a pamper night and help do the girls hair, nails etc?

Do you have gaming consoles or some one you could borrow from. For my DDs 10th and 8th birthdays I did home parties, lots of just dance, pizzas and the usual fun party junk. If your DDs are into other games they can have gaming competitions. I used our second tv and set it up in the lounge so we had 2 tvs in the room so they could play different games at the same time.

Or big movie, sleepover, girls pamper, board gaming nights. At this age you don’t have to plan lots of activities as they just love hanging out with each other.

Check out free gifting sites, ask if you need to, charity shops and just general shops regularly, sometimes you can get really good things cheap, it’s just a matter of right time and place at times. There are also bargain threads on here that are amazing, post on there and you will be given lots of tips and discount codes.

At this age they should understand that things cost money and that you might not be able to afford as much as usual. My DDs are getting 1 present each this year, they know this. I gave them the option, if they wanted more presents then they couldn’t have a party (they want a full on all class party each), they choose the party which will be joint as we can not afford 2. I’m also splitting the cost with another parent at the school. It’s common in my DDs school, lots of parents team up to cut costs, could you do this?

Firstly, you are NOT a rubbish mum.

I second the pizza and sleepover idea. Maybe cheap frozen pizzas, frozen veg - peppers if available- and they can make their own pizzas.

Pancakes for breakfast and frozen berries, squirty cream if you can afford that, or a cheap syrup/honey/jam.

Look for yellow stickers in supermarket, if they have anything like sausage rolls/party snacks to freeze.

hi, I’ve had a similar problem this month, but feeing really chuffed as I put loads of clothes of mine and children’s outgrown etc on Vinted and have sold quite a lot which is in my Vinted account and I’ve now bought presents from Vinted for my child! The only thing is act quick if you’re thinking of doing it, as it takes a while to get the money to your account once you’ve sold something, and sounds like the birthdays are quite soon. It’s a great way to get some cash though.
Party wise I’ve managed to find a deal for 6 kids at our local laser quest for £30 if you do it on a weekday and then home for pizzas and a sleepover so all in all, the presents have cost me nothing and the party £50 with all the food and laser quest ………

A bit of a long shot but check loyalty cards for points that could be cashed in.
Any gift cards lying around with a few pounds on them?
Any unopened gifts from Christmas that could be returned or sold.
Have a clear out and sell anything you don't want or need.
If you haven't already done so reduce food budget to minimum, a couple of weeks of meat free, cheap meals to spare up a little cash for a pizza and movie night on their birthdays.
Ask on local Facebook sites if anyone has any balloons or decs they could pass on.

Thank you for all the ideas everyone, I managed to do it and used some of these tips. They had a cheap and cheerful birthday but they were happy and that is all that matters 😃