Birthday Party on a Budget

I recently hosted a surprise Birthday Party for my mom.  While i wanted to throw her the nicest party i could i also wanted to save money while i did it!  I came up with some great ideas for the party and it went very well.  Twenty eight people attended the party and the guests all varied in age. 

1. The first way to save money is to choose a theme and then have everyone bring a dish that contains to the theme.  We went with a Spanish theme.  This was a perfect way to save money but also feed everyone at the party!  Our menu consisted of Cheese Enchiladas,  Beef and Cheese Enchiladas,  Spanish Rice,  Re fried Beans with Cheese,  Taco Casserole,  Spanish Tacos,  Beef Tacos,  Chips, Guacamole and Salsa and all the fixings.  For beverages we offered: Soda, Coffee, and Hot Apple Cider.

2. Favors can be fun AND cheap!  Here is a great idea for saving money on favors.  I made 15.  Here is a list of what you will need:

1. Clear Party bags

2. 15 Seasonal Plastic Cups

3. Curling Ribbon

4.Scissors

5. Peppermint Candy

6. Candy Canes

7. Chocolates

8. Crinkled colored paper

I made 15 favors and spent only twelve dollars!  Here is what i did:

1.  I bought some plastic cups from the dollar store.  They come 5-6 in a set so i bought three sets bringing me to three dollars.

2.  I bought Colored Crinkle Paper from the Dollar store as well.  This works great in the bottom of the cup and helps take up extra space in the cup.

3.  While at the Dollar Store i also picked up some Curling Ribbon, Two Boxes of Peppermint Candy Canes and a box of miniature Candy Canes which brought me up to around eight dollars.

4.  I bought a medium size bag of Peppermint candies from Wal-Mart for only one dollar.  I then picked up a few bags of chocolate candies from Rite-Aid.. They were also only one dollar a bag and there variety include: Crisp Santa's,  Cookies and Creme Candies,  And Peppermint Bells which i absolutely loved!

Directions:

Arrange Crinkled Paper in the bottom of each cup.  Then add the candy on top.  Cover with a clear party bag.  Tie the ribbon around the top of the bag and curl with the scissors. 

The guests loved them and i loved how easy and cheap they were to make!

3.  A fun and inexpensive Party game that we played was called the Cupcake Decorating Game.  Each person was told to frost and decorate a cupcake and the best one is awarded a prize.  This game can be done with your favorite types of cupcakes.  Here is what you will need for the game:

Cupcake Liners,  Two for a dollar candy bags,  Sprinkles, A Cupcake Pan,  Icing,  and Cupcake Mix.  All in all the price should be about 10- 12 dollars.  

Last but not least take lots of photos!  They are inexpensive and priceless!  This is a photo of my two youngest sons.

My Great Nephew and I.

 Me and my Husband, Daryl.