Birthday party ideas

[mumlife124]

My DS (4) and DD (5) have their birthdays coming up and really want a birthday party. Their birthdays are 2 weeks apart.

We're pretty tight money wise atm so was wondering if anyone had any money saving tips that can help with the party. Venue, party bags, food ideas etc.

Any advise will be so helpful!
Thank you!

How lovely they are so close in age!

I'd do a joint party at home, three friends each. Traditional party games and party tea. Cake and goodie bag.

If you have access to an oven serve chips and cold pizza. It’s around £10 for 5 large frozen pizzas, plus two bags of fries (about £5). Party bag could be two small piece of confectionary e.g Freddo and snack mars bar. I’ve also been told that a small sandwich, a bag of crisps and Freddo is cost effective.

Entertainers are cheaper than a bouncy castle combo.

Lots of balloons for the kids to throw around. A craft table can be done very cheaply, e.d a few bits of card, tissue paper and eyes to make a jelly fish.

My daughter has never shown any interest in other people party bags so you could skip them altogether and I doubt anyone would care.

Local leisure centres often have small soft plays which can be hired cheaply. I paid less than £60 for one hour hire of soft play and one hour hire of party room for food.

Teddy bears picnic could be fun. Baker & Ross for party bags or craft activities.

Hire a church hall, do a disco yourself by creating a playlist, chucking loads of balloons in and see if you can get some coloured lights/disco ball. Kids love running around together. You could then do a few traditional party games like musical statues and pass the parcel. With time to sit down for food you could easily fill 1.30 hours party for little cost.

I disagree about party bags though. They don't need to cost much but kids do really expect them and it's a great way to signal the end of the party.

Me too

Don't skip party bags!

Are you on any local parent forums? Obvs if you can keep it small it's cheaper to have it at home, otherwise look at local children's centres or soft play at council run lesuire centres, or possibly a "party bus".
Imo kids don't give a fig about fancy birthday cakes so I'd just get a tray bake or make something yourself.

I just threw a birthday party for my 1yr old and got some really cheap party bag fillers from Kids Party Craft - their website is full of cheap toys/books/crafts to add to party bags xx

i was also surprised at how reasonable it was to hire a hall. We hired a local community hall for £35p/hr (in London, so could be cheaper outside of London?). Every budget is different, so if that’s something that you’d consider affordable, it may be worth looking into x

We had a mexican themed party last time. Snacks are cheap, tortilla chips with dipping, quesadillas (cheese, beans, chicken-- so easy and cheap to make).

The pinata was the absolute winner. Kids played with it for ages, and they had so much fun. And of course, they enjoyed the sweets after.

The party was simple, and cheap but they had so much fun!