Comments on: 5 tips for a cheap(er) third birthday party

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:25:52 +0000

Ooh – the decorate your own bagel party is genius! (It doesn’t hurt that my kid LOVES bagels.) I may steal it — we had to cancel our party for bad weather earlier this year, so I do owe him a little get together with some friends.

By: Cara

Cara — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:04:33 +0000

We luck out with a summer birthday in the Bay Area – baby boy’s January birthday will be trickier.
Her 3rd birthday party was at Arlington Park in El Cerrito — favors were in aluminum buckets I had gotten on clearance at Target after Easter. We still use ours for art supplies, and I see my friends using them in various ways in their houses too, so that’s my favorite part.
We always do a party that doesn’t occur during meal time, so snacks and cake are legit as the only offerings:)
However the 4th birthday was the best as she has requested we do the exact same thing this year — a painting party in our backyard. Cardboard house and castle to decorate and play in, wooden birdhouses and tshirts to paint, and a piñata of course. It was a blast:)

By: shylo

shylo — Thu, 16 May 2013 02:46:29 +0000

For a cheaper location, try renting a room (or even a gymnasium) at your local park. Our park (in Chicago, even) rents rooms for as low as $25 an hour.

By: Elizabeth Alasdair

Elizabeth Alasdair — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:45:09 +0000

It is sometimes very difficult to arrange a great birthday party without spending too much money. We fail to keep balance between our expenses and our the quality of the party. The ideas that you have shared here are a great to way to spend less and have a party full of fun.

By: Reshelle Bryant

Reshelle Bryant — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 15:50:05 +0000

i like your idea but what if you have to find the location. I have three kids that i really want to have them a second birthday party. And it is really hard for me i would like to know what ideas you have.

By: Interesting Links: PF Birthday Special 2/19/12

Interesting Links: PF Birthday Special 2/19/12 — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:00:18 +0000

[...] 10 Frugal But Fun ideas for kid’s birthday party. At Rookie Moms you can find out how you can cut down on cost when you throw a kids birthday party. I especially like their idea of making your own cupcakes instead of buying an expensive birthday [...]

By: Kelly

Kelly — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 03:21:58 +0000

We are looking forward to our son’s 1st birthday, but we’re going the same route as we have with our daughter. I would love to shell out hundreds of dollars for them on their birthdays, but it’s all for show and most of our money allotted to their birthdays are for their presents. Last year Bug’s mom went and spent over a hundred dollars for a Yo Gabba Gabba party for her 2nd, and while it was pretty she really didn’t care other than her “oooh!” at the cake. At our house the day before, we bought the Dora the Explorer table cloth and since we have a small table, I cut of part of it to decorate the front door, then made matching chains with pink and purple construction paper and baked cupcakes, and we ordered pizza. She loved it, spent the next two weekends we had her making more because she wanted to play with them. For Monkey’s 1st birthday, I’m going to learn to make fondue with my mom so we can make the cake ourselves, and it’s going to be family only, maybe one or two of our friends that have a few kids. We are going to buy variety balloons, and my stepdad has a helium tank at work, so we’re covered there too. Food will be covered with my family, we all like to bring food no matter when you’re told not to lol.

By: BMH

BMH — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:51:18 +0000

Love this! Last year for our daughter’s 2nd birthday we did an extremely simple party, very very cheap. I almost forgot about it until last minute due to being pregnant w/ our second child and working and all the other things life throws at us. We felt so bad b/c we didn’t do this HUGE extravaganza like some family’s do, but it was what we could at the time, this makes me feel so much better about no wasting the money. I’m trying to get ideas for her party this year, and we will be keeping it simple once again. Thanks for sharing your great ideas!

By: Desiree

Desiree — Wed, 04 May 2011 04:28:38 +0000

I love the fact that you let your son choose the menu. He will probably remember that you asked for his input for the party more than anything. Kids think simple so it’s best to look for them. For my 1st son’s 3rd birthday party, he wanted a Spiderman party. I made the cake myself and I got a Spiderman costume off E-bay for like $20 that my dad wore and made his day! I find water and bubbles are great for summer parties. Kids will entertain themselves for HOURS with either one. I love the idea of using the playground as the party site. I’ve done my son’s at the state park before and to have a site there is only $10 and the beach is right there! And the Dollar Tree has great decorations and prizes if you do that sort of thing. Overall I think you had some great ideas.

By: misty

misty — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:29:46 +0000

LOVE IT! I am the mom that goes WAYYYY overboard with $200 cakes, perfect venue, etc. and so on and this year I have decided that it’s just not in the cards!
Have a smaller party at a park or in the backyard and do most myself and if I want to shell out money on something buy him a bigger gift. Thank you for saying how very simple it actually is!

By: kdrake

kdrake — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 20:04:37 +0000

My daughter was born on July 2nd…so she gets the 4th as her birthday. (She thinks fireworks are for birthdays!) For her first birthday we bought the little red plastic baskets you get at lot of restaurants. Best purchase ever. We do hot dogs and Hamburgers in baskets with bags of chips. All I have to buy each year is the napkins. So far she hasn’t asked for different decorations…but I could easily add or incorporate others into the red, white, and blue theme.

By: Do more with less (win a super smart phone!)

Do more with less (win a super smart phone!) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:01:49 +0000

[...] When Holden turned three, we had his birthday party at the playground nearest our house, complete with picnic tables, play structure, and sandy area. Rather than spend time and money assembling goodie bags, I sent each kid home with a sand toy. Done and done. Easy for me, useful for them {5 tips for a cheaper third birthday party}. [...]