Save Money on your Child’s Birthday Bash

by Karen


With my younger son turning 2 this week, we’re in full-blown birthday party mode getting ready for his big celebration. We've learned a thing or two over the years about planning for parties and saving a little money in the process. Here are a couple of tips:

* Get on the mailing list of your local party store. Many stores offer coupons to those who sign up online or in-store. Factory Card Outlet, for instance, has stores throughout the U.S. If you sign up on their Web site, you'll receive occasional e-mails containing coupons such as 20% off your entire purchase.

The party stores are great for picking up supplies for themed parties. Many kids enjoy picking their theme, which is usually based on their latest favorite TV show or toy, such as Curious George, Power Rangers, Barney, etc. Many party stores have a wide selection of themed invitations, party hats, balloons and other decorations. A 20% off coupon really comes in handy for these shopping trips!

* Don’t buy too much food. Often people tend to prepare or buy an over-abundance of food, worried they will run out. It may take several parties’ worth of food-purchasing and cooking to get a handle on predicting how much food people will eat.

For future reference it helps to keep a party journal to keep track of how much food you bought and/or cooked, and how much of it was eaten by your guests. In looking back at entries I made in my journal from previous parties, I realize I was sometimes ordering almost twice as much food for the parties as people were actually eating!

Please chime in with any other tried and true tips that have worked for you in saving money on your kids’ parties.