Thrifty Tuesday

Creative Partying on a Budget Part 2

We left off with keeping a notebook
I divided the notebook into sections
Invitations
Decorations
Food
Games
Prizes
Favors
In each section I wrote down all the ideas I liked from my research
Then I left a page in each section
for a final list of the ideas I definitely wanted to use
and Pricing / Inventory of what I purchased
(since I started in advance it was good to have a list so I didn't over purchase or duplicate)
I narrowed down a lot of the ideas by what was age appropriate
Also by how much I wanted to spend

Starting a few months in advance doesn't mean I obsessed over this for all that time
I feel it made it easier because everything didn't pile up on me at once
Time, Work, and Money
Spreading out the Money - that is a given
Time - I wasn't overwhelmed with a bunch of running around
Work - I had everything I needed and could take my time getting the party ready

Next I recommend you buy a big plastic bin with a lid
(who doesn't need one of these? It can be reused after the party)
Label the bin "Birthday Party"
Use this to store all of your purchases in as you collect them

The months leading up to the party if I was out shopping
and I saw something I could use on clearance or really cheap I picked it up
A lot of times if there is a holiday near your party
you can get candy, stickers, all kinds of small goodies/toys for cheap!
My sons birthday is after Christmas
So after Halloween I got all kinds of small tattoos, stickers, candy for 75% off
Into the tub they went!
Same thing for all other holidays
Everything leftover goes 1/2 price or more the day after!
Next week we'll talk where to shop and ideas for freebies.