Aibu - to ask your cheap birthday party hacks (for a 5 year old ds)

[milkyman]

It's in a hall with a bouncy castle. I need to save money on food, craft activity and party bags - any inspiration? Was thinking of doing dinosaur lunch boxes rather than a buffet of food to save on waste and time?

The boxes are a great idea, I used them at a couple of parties. Much less waste involved and it all goes in the bin at the end.

Have a look on Pinterest? They usually have some really good ideas. Make your own decorations. Jelly pots. Party games.

Don't forget balloons. Kids bloody love balloons and the majority of parties I have been too involved 20 children chasing balloons around!

Baker Ross is normally good for some cheap craft activities and if you sign up for emails they normally send a discount code.

You can combine craft/party bag if you get those blank paper party bags from ebay and get the kids to colour/decorate them with stickers etc (you can write their names on first to make sure you know who they belong to). Then when they've gone off to play/eat put in a balloon, not blown up, a bag of haribo and a slice of cake, some stickers if you want. Job done.

Autumn collage pics if it's soon as a craft activity? Then you just need paper, pva glue and a load of autumn leaves.

I did kebab sticks of sweets instead of party bags one year - just thread on marshmallows and jelly sweets and hand them out at the door instead of bags. I wrapped mine in cellophane with parcel ribbon but you prob don't have too...

For food I have done hotdogs in the past - v. cheap and easy. Don't bother making any sandwiches - waste of energy cos they won't get eaten!

Craft wise I wouldn't expect too much - they will be hyper on the bouncy castle and I doubt much crafting will be achieved! Pick something that can't possibly make a huge mess - no glitter/paint etc
Could you just put out some colouring or bead threading for those that meed a break from the chaos??

DS got these from a party rather than a party bag. Rainbow Drops are cheaper than Millions and would fill more space!

I made 50 sweet cones for my DS party and we spent £25 in b&m on sweets.

We did a buffet rather than boxes.. children eat different things. Mine only eat jam sandwiches and we go to parties where they put ham/cheese in them so they get wasted.

Lots of loose balloons, and can you borrow a bubble machine? Party bags can be a hugely naff waste of money, just give them a piece of cake wrapped up to take and one small item. You could even wrap random small (cheap) toys and do a lucky dip box so as they leave they dip one parcel and get a piece of cake.

For food: cocktail sausages, party bread (white bread and butter with sprinkles on) and fruit kebabs. Making the kebabs can be the craft activity - just make sure you've got it all well prepped beforehand.
That and a birthday cake is all you need for food.
Helium balloons instead of party bags.
Spend an hour googling for party games (all the best ones are found on mumsnet!) and make a set list of them so you always know what to do next. Have twice as many as you think you'll need.

PS Don't Eat Tommy's Smartie is the best party game ever.

Don't bother with craft activities.

Big pack of different shaped balloons (you used to be able to get 100 in a pack from the poundshop, blow them all up, scatter round room. That and the bouncy castle will keep kids happy. Take something to play generic party music on.

Putting food in boxes sound a faff. I'd do a tray of 3 varieties of sandwich - ham, cheese and jam. Few bowls of crisps (the smart price asda snack ones including onion rings etc are good), mini rolls and party ring biscuits will prob do it.

Also make your own piñata. Blow up balloon, paper mache it, paint/ color it, stuff with wrapped sweets, lol lies, mini bags of haribo etc then hang it up with a blanket underneath and let the kids whack it. I did one every year for my DC and it was the highlight of their parties...kids would arrive asking if there was going to be a piñata again . It will take them a while to get all the sweets out, then you can get them to put their sweets in their party bags. That plus cake and any leftover uninflated balloons does as a party bag offering.

I loved doing all the party stuff. Makes me sad my DC are too old for parties!

My husband went to Aldi first thing on the morning and just bought a load of their sandwiches. Ten minutes cutting them in half - quicker than doing your own sandwiches but cheaper than a predone platter.

Also if it's a hall and over a lunch time, the parents will love you if you at least provide a cup of tea and a box of biscuits, especially if the food is in lunch boxes. There's nothing fun about sitting and watching your kid eat when there's nowhere to purchase food for yourself.

Skip party bags and bulk buy some books from somewhere like The Book People instead.

Uninflated balloons really shouldn't be given to children that young. See:
www.stlouischildrens.org/articles/wellness/the-dangers-latex-balloons-good-fun-gone-wrong

I have childhood memories of my friends and I chewing on pieces of broken balloons and uninflated balloons because the texture was interesting, and we were probably older than 5 at the time. Balloons are almost impossible to dislodge if inhaled and I think we were really lucky none of us died.

Boxes add to cost and add to, not save, waste.

Would also skip crafts and, if you must, just put out colouring stuff.

No party bags, just one thing to take home (get something in bulk online, eg amazon or book people) and a fun sized bar/sweets and bit of cake.

If DC don’t want to eat they’ll leave food however it’s presented.

Might be a bit old for five year olds, but we order takeaway pizzas from our local place (not dominoes). They're bogof on Sundays so we do parties that day. Get them to double cut the slices so they're smaller and they deliver to the venue.
No hassle, good value and we take the rest home for dinner.

party bags - get a book set from the book people, I've always found them at less than £1 per book, then just add some sweets and a piece of cake

I found a load of fidget spinners in poundland for the party bags, so they just got those, a small packet of sweets and a slice of cake. They actually squealed with pleasure when they opened them!

I was coming on to say the Book People. A book and some sweets, party bags done!

I second (third..?) Book people.
A book and a lolly in the party bags - job done.
I’ve found making up lunch boxes is a faff. Just keep it simple with sandwiches cut in quarters, carrot sticks, cucumber, mini sausages and crisps etc.

Food - frozen pizza and oven chips is often cheaper than doing a buffet, plus jugs of squash.

At that age we did takeaway pizza - had preordered at local place, went to pick up just before they all sat down to eat, got a discount for bulk, and it was maguerita only so everyone could eat it (including vegetarians and kids who are kosher or halal). It went down a storm, all the kids loved it, and there wasn't tons of crisps trodden into the floor afterwards. (And it was so easy for us, too.)

Don't bother with the buffet - you usually end up with a lot of waste! I hosted my 4year old DS party a few months ago, at home (a lot of his friends were five).

We did:

• hotdogs & chips with a cheese pizza option for vegetarians. Dish up on paper plates & pass out. Obviously, this only works if you have cooking facilities.
• Have squash & paper cups on hand throughout the party: kids get thirsty really quickly. Their parents will help them with that aspect.

For activities:

• Face painting & balloon modelling (mostly swords).
• Quick party bags with a piece of cake, cheap toy and stickers. I grabbed the bags from Ebay and toys from poundland.
• Balloons on the trampolines: these were really loved!
• Check if the hall hires out any other children's equipment, such as a ball pit or foam mats. Basically, assume everything will be jumped on, used as a weapon or made into something to play upon.

Don't bother with crafts: most kids just want to run around in an excited huddle with their friends. You may be able to do a party game such as musical statues or pass the parcel, after the meal. Keep it to two hours (for your sanity) and if you like the parents, offer tea/coffee and a snack specifically for the adults.