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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think that I can't do a child's party for under £450?

85 replies

alfabetty · 06/11/2010 14:07

I know I am

Come and give me some ideas on how to cut costs!

Plan is to do a leaving party for my 2 DCS (3 and 6) as we are moving house and leaving the area. Will be 50 children (2 classes) plus any siblings.

Costs -
£150 entertainer (as I'll be on my own, DH will have gone on ahead to new house)
Hall - £60 (also essential as packing/no DH etc)
Food - £100 (£2 per head? bearing in mind siblings and tea/coffee/biscuits for parents)
Party bag/sweets - £3 a head so £150

How can I reduce the cost? With 50 children even the party bags/sweets etc add up.

OP posts:

ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 06/11/2010 14:08

ditch the party bags

Theantsgomarching · 06/11/2010 14:08

I'd scrap the party bags for starter..it's not a birthday party so no need IMO

chocoholic · 06/11/2010 14:08

Ummmm, cancel it and take them out for the day instead?

MaDuggar · 06/11/2010 14:10

I did a party for 50 kids once, it only cost me about £150

No entertainer, as had a bouncy castle and did the games myself.

Part bags I managed way under your budget. A wee bag with a box of raisins, a wee toy & a bit of cake! No need at all for anything more.

Food Im sure cost me lass than that, bulk buying. Little children do not eat a lot at parties! 2 quarter sarnies each, 2 sausages, some grapes/strawberries, handfull of crisps (1 packet per 2 or 3 kids) bread sticks and a fairy cake.

belgo · 06/11/2010 14:11

ditch the party

Guidoinsteadnow · 06/11/2010 14:11

How about a take home thing from the 99p shop each? Thats cut your party bag price by 2/3.

MaDuggar · 06/11/2010 14:11

Oh, its just a leaving party, not a birthday! So scrap the party bags!

cece · 06/11/2010 14:12

£60 for hire of a hall is a bit steep. Is there another one nearby that is cheaper?

I think it is about £35 around here.

Also ditch the party bags or make them cheaper...

Try eBay

Original poster

alfabetty · 06/11/2010 14:14

Thanks. I was feeling a bit twitchy about the bags, all my DCs are ever interested in are the sweets so I might just hand out some sweets as prizes etc.

I had thought about a bouncy castle, but not sure I could run a party, put out food etc as well as entertain that many children. I guess a bouncy castle, some balloons, some toys in a corner and some colouring/sticking might enable them to entertain themselves? The a few party games?

MaDuggar's food selection sounds manageable...

OP posts:

Simbacatlives · 06/11/2010 14:14

Are leaving parties usual?

Could you be adding to the possible difficulties of moving for your children?

What about a few close friends at home.

Guidoinsteadnow · 06/11/2010 14:14

How about doing chips and hotdogs/fishfingers?
£5 on rolls, £5 tinned princes hotdogs (8 to a tin), few quid on oven chips. Then a cake for afters. Parents get hot drinks ad biscuits.

darleneconnor · 06/11/2010 14:15

more money than sense

entertainer?? what's wrong with a music tape and pass the parcel/musical statues???

surely a few of the 100 parents can help you out??

since when did cheese sandwiches and multipacks of crisps/sweets cost £2ph? are you ordering the parents starbucks coffees?

re:bags- as above

cece · 06/11/2010 14:15

Or if the hall has a kitchen do oven chips and fishfingers...

hairytriangle · 06/11/2010 14:16

YABVU!!!

Costs -
£150 entertainer (as I'll be on my own, DH will have gone on ahead to new house)

Why have one, how old are the children?

Hall - £60 (also essential as packing/no DH etc)

Food - £100 (£2 per head? bearing in mind siblings and tea/coffee/biscuits for parents)

Invite fewer people and cut the per head budget by doing the food yourself.

Party bag/sweets - £3 a head so £150

as above.

TrillianAstra · 06/11/2010 14:16

Get some of the parents of the invited children to help out - presumably some of these parents are your friends?

Just because DH is not there doesn't mean you have to do every single thing yourself.

Gracie123 · 06/11/2010 14:17

Definitely scrap the party bags. How well do you know the other kids mums? Could a few choice people be asked to 'bring a plate'?
I would never go to a child's party without asking the mother if we could bring something. Mostly because I love baking, and kids food is so much more fun! I bet there are some mummies who'd be glad to help out.
Also, do you live near a costco for bulk buying on a budget. Ask around if anyone has a membership so you can go with them.

Indith · 06/11/2010 14:17

Don't do food as such? We went to an afternoon party a few weeks ago that was timed so that the "meal" was afternoon snack. It was pirate themed so they did a treasure hunt, at the end of which were thair party bags which contained a couple of sweets, crackers and other nibbly bits for an afternoon snack.

You don't need an entertainer do you? At their age I'd have thought a few playground games, a round of musical statues and a pas the parcel should be enough

jaffacake2 · 06/11/2010 14:17

Wouldnt it be better to spend the money on getting to know the new area and children? Perhaps wait till they are at nursery and school and do a get to know everyone get together.
The children you are spending money on you wont probably see again. And if you make a big deal of leaving them then your kids are going to feel more upset about going.
Just a thought.

Original poster

alfabetty · 06/11/2010 14:18

Yes, oven chips & fishfingers or hotdogs would be good and perhaps more economical and easier than sandwiches/cakes.

We have the money (some sense, I hope), but I thought a party would be nice, to say goodbye - we're moving for a 2 year secondment so will see these children again, eventually, when we move back - but the costs seemed huge.

OP posts:

Guidoinsteadnow · 06/11/2010 14:18

To be fair, its 50 kids! Not that easy to entertain en masse, so I can see why she wants an entertainer! Imagine pass the parcel with 50

Clary · 06/11/2010 14:19

£3 a head a lot for party bag. Also do you need it? Just give them all a couple of bags of sweets.

Entertainer £150 that's £££, can you shop around and find someone cheaper?

Food: £100 sounds a lot, have you costed it out? Remember that 5yos eat only crap at parties; buy lots of crisps and cater for half a sandwich a head. A bit of cucumber and tomatoes, some party rings and you're done.

I would say (local to me) entertainer maybe £100; hall deffo only about £40 for 3 hrs; food about £70 max (no need for anything for parents); sweets £25. Total £235, still plenty!

You may live in a more expensive area tho...

NoahAndTheWhale · 06/11/2010 14:20

Do you need to do a leaving party? When we moved, the last thing I was thinking about was a leaving party.

I get v stressed about parties. And about moving. Think the two together would have finished me off.

Clary · 06/11/2010 14:21

I do think an entertainer is a good plan for 50 kids tho.

You can't organise party games for 50 kids aged 3 and 6. Or at least I wouldn't want to...

Guidoinsteadnow · 06/11/2010 14:21

I think you would need to give the parents something to eat tho; its crap being stuck at a party starving! And I'm guessing the parents that stay would be friends anyway? And that its a goodbye to them as much as the kids? it wont cost much for a barrel of biccies.

cazzybabs · 06/11/2010 14:22

np party bags and cheaper entertainer

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